Document ID: FAA-2017-0580-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Special Conditions: ALOFT AeroArchitects, Boeing Model 737-800 Airplanes; Aircraft Electronic System Security Protection from Unauthorized External Access
Posted Date: 2017-10-17T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48193-48194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22415]

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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2017 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 48193]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0580; Special Conditions No. 25-701-SC]

Special Conditions: ALOFT AeroArchitects, Boeing Model 737-800 
Airplanes; Aircraft Electronic System Security Protection From 
Unauthorized External Access

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 737-
800 airplane. These airplanes, as modified by ALOFT AeroArchitects 
(ALOFT), will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to 
the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for 
transport-category airplanes. This design feature is a Wireless Access 
Point (WAP), and connection of an improved Wireless Quick Access 
Recorder (WQAR) to the satellite communications (SATCOM) system, to 
provide in-flight access to information, in the WQAR, to ground 
personnel. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain 
adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. 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.

DATES: This action is effective on ALOFT on October 17, 2017. Send your 
comments by December 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2017-0580 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and follow the online instructions for sending 
your comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC, 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the 
docket Web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all 
comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the 
individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an 
association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477-19478).
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov/ at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of 
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Varun Khanna, FAA, Airplane and 
Flightcrew Interface Section, AIR-671, Transport Standards Branch, 
Policy and Innovation Division, Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 
Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone 425-227-1298; 
facsimile 425-227-1320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions 
has been subject to the notice and comment period in several prior 
instances and has been derived without substantive change from those 
previously issued. It is unlikely that prior public comment would 
result in a significant change from the substance contained herein. 
Therefore, because a delay would significantly affect the certification 
of the airplane, the FAA has determined that prior public notice and 
comment are unnecessary and impracticable.
    In addition, for the reasons stated above, the FAA finds it 
unnecessary to delay the effective date and finds that good cause 
exists for making these special conditions effective upon publication 
in the Federal Register.

Comments Invited

    We invite interested people to take part in this rulemaking by 
sending written comments, data, or views. The most helpful comments 
reference a specific portion of the special conditions, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data.
    We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for 
comments. We may change these special conditions based on the comments 
we receive.

Background

    On December 8, 2016, ALOFT applied for a supplemental type 
certificate for installing a Wireless Access Point (WAP), and 
connection of an improved Wireless Quick Access Recorder (WQAR) to the 
satellite communications (SATCOM) system, in a Boeing Model 737-800 
airplane. The Boeing Model 737-800 airplane is a twin jet engine, 
short-to-medium-range passenger airplane with a maximum takeoff weight 
of 174,200 pounds and seating for 189 passengers.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.101, ALOFT must show that the Boeing Model 737-800, as changed, 
continues to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations listed 
in Type Certificate No. A16WE or the applicable regulations in effect 
on the date of application for the change, except for earlier 
amendments as agreed upon by the FAA.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for the Boeing Model 737-800 airplane 
because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are 
prescribed under the provisions of Sec.  21.16.
    Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which 
they are issued. Should the applicant apply for a supplemental type 
certificate to

[[Page 48194]]

modify any other model included on the same type certificate, to 
incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature, these special 
conditions would also apply to the other model under Sec.  21.101.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the Boeing Model 737-800 airplane 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.
    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.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Boeing Model 737-800 airplane will incorporate the following 
novel or unusual design features:
    A Wireless Access Point (WAP), and connection of an improved 
Wireless Quick Access Recorder (WQAR) to the satellite communications 
(SATCOM) system, to provide in-flight access to information, in the 
WQAR, to ground personnel.

Discussion

    The applicant supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Boeing 
Model 737-800 airplane design adds wired and wireless access points to 
the aircraft-control domain and airline-information-services domain 
networks, which do not exist on current airplanes. The aircraft-control 
domain consists of the airplane electronic systems, equipment, 
instruments, networks, servers, software and hardware components, 
databases, etc., which are part of the type design of the airplane and 
are installed in the airplane to enable the safe operation of the 
airplane. These can also be referred to as flight-safety-related 
systems, and include flight controls, communication, display, 
monitoring, navigation, and other systems.
    The airline-information services domain generally consists of 
functions that are managed or controlled by the operator, such as 
administrative functions and cabin-support functions.
    This design creates a potential for unauthorized access to 
aircraft-control and airline-information-services domains, as well as 
security vulnerabilities related to the introduction of viruses, worms, 
user mistakes, and intentional sabotage of airplane electronic assets 
such as networks, systems, and databases.
    Historically, the operating systems for current airplanes are 
proprietary. Therefore, they are not as susceptible to corruption from 
worms, viruses and other malicious actions as are more widely used 
commercial operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, because access 
to the design details of the proprietary operating system is limited to 
the system developer and airplane integrator. Some systems installed on 
the Boeing Model 737-800 airplane, as modified by ALOFT, will use 
operating systems that are widely used and commercially available from 
third-party software suppliers. The security vulnerabilities of these 
operating systems may be more widely known than are the vulnerabilities 
of proprietary operating systems currently used by avionics 
manufacturers. The increased networking of systems based on these 
popular operating systems increases the opportunity for attack by a 
larger community, especially those using scripted attacks.
    While the FAA has developed policy and guidance on the use and 
protection of certain databases and software, these documents did not 
anticipate the potential for access to the airplane systems, networks, 
and software components by external systems, and the resulting 
potential security vulnerabilities from access by unauthorized users or 
from the potential corruption of airplane system software resources 
(applications, databases, configuration files, etc.) by worms, viruses 
or other malicious entities.
    The major differences between the applicant's STC for the Boeing 
Model 737-800 airplane implementation and typical implementations 
include:
    1. The electronic transmission of updates to airplane servers of 
databases and software applications using ground data networks rather 
than physically controlled media.
    2. The connection of external data networks or devices to airplane 
data networks of the Aircraft Control Domain and the Airline 
Information Services Domain, which may use wired or wireless 
connections.
    3. The connection of wireless devices operated by the flight crew 
or operator maintenance personnel to the airplane data networks of the 
Aircraft Control Domain, and connections between the Airline 
Information Services Domain (including unprotected electronic flight 
bags and maintenance computers) and the Aircraft Control Domain.
    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.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Boeing Model 737-800 airplane. Should ALOFT apply at a later date for a 
supplemental type certificate to modify any other model included on 
Type Certificate No. A16WE to incorporate the same novel or unusual 
design feature, these special conditions would apply to that model as 
well.

Conclusion

    This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features 
on one model series of airplanes. It is not a rule of general 
applicability and affects only the applicant who 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.

    The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

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

The Special Conditions

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the following special conditions are issued as part of 
the type certification basis for Boeing Model 737-800 airplanes 
modified by ALOFT.
    1. The applicant must ensure airplane electronic system security 
protection from access by unauthorized sources external to the 
airplane, including those possibly caused by maintenance activity.
    2. The applicant must ensure that electronic system security 
threats are identified and assessed, and that effective electronic 
system security protection strategies are implemented to protect the 
airplane from all adverse impacts on safety, functionality, and 
continued airworthiness.
    3. The applicant must establish appropriate procedures to allow the 
operator to ensure that continued airworthiness of the aircraft is 
maintained, including all post type-certification modifications that 
may have an impact on the approved electronic system security 
safeguards.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on September 28, 2017.
Suzanne Masterson,
Acting Manager, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-22415 Filed 10-16-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P