[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6092-6094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2680]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM417; Special Conditions No. 25-392-SC]


Special Conditions: Model C-27J Airplane; Class E Cargo 
Compartment Lavatory

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Alenia Model C-27J 
airplane. This airplane has novel or unusual design features when 
compared to the state of technology described in the airworthiness 
standards for transport-category airplanes. These design features 
include a lavatory in the Class E cargo compartment. The applicable 
airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety 
standards for these design features. These special conditions contain 
the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers 
necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established 
by the existing airworthiness standards. The FAA has issued additional 
special conditions for other novel or unusual design features of the C-
27J.

DATES: Effective Date: January 22, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Groves, FAA, International Branch, 
ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; 
telephone (425) 227-1503, facsimile (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On March 27, 2006, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 
forwarded to the FAA an application from Alenia Aeronautica of Torino, 
Italy, for U.S. type certification of a twin-engine, commercial 
transport designated as the Model C-27J. The C-27J is a twin-
turbopropeller, cargo-transport aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight 
of 30,500 kilograms.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of Sec.  21.17 of Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR), and the bilateral agreement between the U.S. and 
Italy, Alenia Aeronautica must show that the C-27J meets the applicable 
provisions of 14 CFR part 25, as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-
87.

[[Page 6093]]

Alenia also elects to comply with Amendment 25-122, effective September 
5, 2007, for 14 CFR 25.1317.
    If the Administrator finds that existing airworthiness regulations 
do not adequately or appropriately address safety standards for the C-
27J due to a novel or unusual design feature, the FAA prescribes 
special conditions under provisions of 14 CFR 21.16.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the C-27J must comply with the fuel-vent and exhaust-
emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34 and the noise-certification 
requirements of 14 CFR part 36, and the FAA must issue a finding of 
regulatory adequacy under Sec.  611 of Public Law 92-574, the ``Noise 
Control Act of 1972.''
    The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in 
accordance with Sec.  11.38, and they become part of the type-
certification basis under Sec.  21.17(a)(2).
    Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which 
they are issued. Should the type certificate for that model be amended 
later to include any other model that incorporates the same or similar 
novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions also apply to 
the other model under Sec.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The C-27J incorporates a lavatory into the Class E cargo 
compartment, which is considered a novel or unusual design feature in a 
cargo compartment. In developing the airworthiness requirements for 
cargo compartments, the FAA did not envision that a lavatory would be 
installed inside a Class E cargo compartment. Lavatories, including the 
one to be installed in the C-27J, typically contain electrical systems, 
which could serve as ignition sources for a fire; and an oxygen supply 
system, which could intensify the growth and size of a fire. Therefore, 
a means must be provided to disconnect or otherwise remove these two 
factors, as potentially contributing to a fire, in the event smoke or 
fire is detected in the cargo compartment and lavatory.
    The existing airworthiness regulations do not adequately or 
appropriately address safety standards for these design features. These 
special conditions for the C-27J contain the additional safety 
standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a 
level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing 
airworthiness standards.

Discussion

    Specific regulations governing Class E cargo compartments:
    (a) Section 25.855, the material-standards and design 
considerations for cargo-compartment interiors; the statement that each 
cargo compartment must meet one of the Class requirements of Sec.  
25.857; and the flight testing which must be conducted for 
certification.
    (b) Section 25.857, the standards for the various classes of 
transport-category airplane-cargo compartments.
    (c) Section 25.858, design and certification requirements for 
cargo- or baggage-compartment fire- or smoke-detection systems, and a 
standard that fire be detected and indicated to the crew less than one 
minute after inception.
    Specific regulations governing lavatory installations, regardless 
of location:
    (d) Section 25.783, requirements to preclude anyone from becoming 
trapped inside the lavatory.
    (e) Section 25.791, lavatory placarding requirements.
    (f) Section 25.853, interior material-test standards, smoking-
prohibition requirements, ashtray requirements, and waste-receptacle 
design-and-material standards.
    (g) Section 25.854, lavatory smoke-detector and fire-extinguisher 
requirements.
    In developing the airworthiness requirements for cargo 
compartments, the FAA did not envision that a lavatory would be 
installed in a Class E cargo compartment. Therefore, special conditions 
must be established to ensure that means are available to shut off the 
electrical system in the lavatory, and the oxygen-supply system in the 
lavatory, in the event of a smoke-detector alarm in the cargo 
compartment or lavatory.

Discussion of Comments

    Notice of proposed special conditions no. 25-09-12-SC for the 
Alenia Model C-27J airplanes was published in the Federal Register on 
October 23, 2009. No comments were received, and the special conditions 
are adopted as proposed.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
C-27J. Should Alenia apply at a later date for a change to the type 
certificate to include another model incorporating the same or similar 
novel or unusual design features, these special conditions apply to 
that model as well under Sec.  21.101.
    Under standard practice, the effective date of final special 
conditions would be 30 days after the date of publication in the 
Federal Register; however, as the certification date for the Alenia 
Model C-27J airplane is imminent, the FAA finds that good cause exists 
to make these special conditions effective upon issuance.

Conclusion

    This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features 
of the Alenia C-27J. It is not a rule of general applicability, and it 
affects only the applicant that applied to the FAA for approval of 
these features on the airplane.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.


0
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 44704.

The Special Conditions

0
Accordingly, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) proposes the following special conditions as part of the type-
certification basis for the C-27J.

1. Control of Electrical Power to the Lavatory Located in the Class E 
Cargo Compartment

    A means must be provided to shut off electrical power to the 
lavatory should smoke or fire be detected anywhere in the Class E cargo 
compartment, including in the lavatory. Two types of shut-off systems 
meet this requirement:
    <bullet> A manual system, with an airplane flight manual (AFM) 
procedure to instruct the flight crew on where and how to shut off the 
power, or
    <bullet> An automatic system that shuts off power to the lavatory 
following a lavatory or cargo-compartment smoke-detector alarm.

2. Control of the Oxygen-Delivery-System Flow to the Lavatory and Cargo 
Compartment

    A means must be provided to shut off oxygen flow to the lavatory 
should smoke or fire be detected anywhere in the Class E cargo 
compartment, including in the lavatory. Two types of shut-off systems 
meet this requirement:
    <bullet> A manual system, with an AFM procedure to instruct the 
flight crew on where and how to shut off the oxygen flow, or
    <bullet> An automatic system that shuts off oxygen flow to the 
lavatory following a lavatory or cargo-compartment smoke-detector 
alarm.


[[Page 6094]]


    Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 22, 2010.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-2680 Filed 2-5-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P