Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2011/03/29/2011-7307/special-conditions-embraer-sa-model-emb-500-single-place-side-facing-seat-dynamic-test-requirements
Timestamp: 2018-04-20 14:52:56
Document Index: 486306101

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 23', 'art 23', '§\u200923', 'art 25', '§\u200921', 'art 23', 'art 36', 'art 34', 'art 23', '§\u200921', '§\u200923', '§\u200923', 'art 572', 'art 572', 'art 571', 'art 571', '§\u200923', '§\u200923', '§\u200923']

Federal Register :: Special Conditions: Embraer S.A.; Model EMB 500; Single-Place Side-Facing Seat Dynamic Test Requirements
Special Conditions: Embraer S.A.; Model EMB 500; Single-Place Side-Facing Seat Dynamic Test Requirements
The effective date of these special conditions is March 22, 2011. Comments must be received on or before April 28, 2011.
Docket No. CE311
Special Conditions No. 23-251-SC
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-7307 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2011-7307
These special conditions are issued for the installation of a single-place side-facing seat/lavatory on Embraer S.A. EMB 500 aircraft. Side-facing seats are considered a novel design, and their installation in a part 23 airplane was not envisaged and is not adequately addressed in 14 CFR part 23. The FAA has determined that the existing regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate safety standards for occupants of single-place side-facing seats. In order to provide a level of safety that is equivalent to that afforded to occupants of forward and aft facing seating, additional airworthiness standards, in the form of special conditions, are necessary.
Comments on these special conditions may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Regional Counsel, ACE-7, Attention: Rules Docket, Docket No. CE311, 901 Locust, Room 506, Kansas City, Missouri 64106, or delivered in duplicate to the Regional Counsel at the above address. Comments must be marked: Docket No. CE311. Comments may be inspected in the Rules Docket weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
On December 26, 2009, Embraer S.A. submitted request for a change to type certificate No. A59CE for a design change application (DCA) for installation of a side-facing belted toilet in the EMB-500 airplane. The implication of the term belted is that the toilet will be used for a passenger seat during takeoff and landing and so must comply with the provisions of 14 CFR §§ 23.562 and 23.785 (in addition to the certification basis as established in type certificate A59CE) and any additional requirements that the FAA determines are applicable. In this case, the approval of a side-facing seat to these provisions is considered new and novel and, as such, will require special conditions and specific methods of compliance to certificate.
The FAA decided to review compliance with these regulations because the current regulations do not provide adequate and appropriate standards for the type certification of this type of seat.
These requirements are substantially similar to other single place side-facing seat installations approved for use on several different 14 CFR part 25 airplanes.
Under the provisions of § 21.101, Embraer S.A. must show that the model EMB 500, as modified, continues to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. A59CE or the applicable regulations in effect on the date of application for the change. The regulations incorporated by reference in the type certificate are commonly referred to as the “original type certification basis.” The regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. A59CE are as follows: Start Printed Page 17333Part 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations effective February 1, 1965, as amended by 23-1 through 23-55; Part 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations effective December 1, 1969, as amended by 36-1 through 36-28; Part 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations effective September 10, 1990, as amended by 34-1 through 34-3.
The Administrator has determined that the applicable airworthiness regulations (i.e., part 23 as amended) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Embraer EMB 500 side-facing seat because of a novel or unusual design feature. Therefore, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 21.16.
The Embraer S.A., model EMB 500 will incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature:
The seat is to incorporate design features that reduce the potential for injury in the event of an accident. In a severe impact, the occupant will be restrained by a 3-point seatbelt and bear on an adjacent padded wall. In addition to the design features intended to minimize occupant injury during an accident sequence, the installation will also require operational procedures that will facilitate egress after an accident, including leaving the lavatory door locked open during taxi, takeoff and landing. The adjacent forward wall/bulkhead interior structure will have padding, which will provide some protection to the head of the occupant.
Accordingly, these special conditions are for the Embraer S.A. model EMB 500 side-facing seat location. Other conditions may be developed, as needed, based on further FAA review and discussions with the manufacturer and civil aviation authorities.
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the EMB 500. Should Embraer S.A. apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate to include another model incorporating the same novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions would apply to that model as well.
This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features on the previously identified Embraer S.A. model. It is not a rule of general applicability, and it affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for approval of these features on the airplane.
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 the Embraer S.A. model EMB 500, as changed to allow installation of a single-place side-facing seat.
1. Existing Criteria. As referenced by § 23.785(b), all injury protection criteria of §§ 23.562(c)(1) through (c)(7) apply to the occupants of the side-facing seats. Head injury criteria (HIC) assessments are only required for head contact with the seat and/or adjacent structures.
2. Body-to-wall/furnishing contact. The seat must be installed aft of a structure such as an interior wall or furnishing that will contact the pelvis, upper arm, chest, or head of an occupant seated next to the structure. A conservative representation of the structure and its stiffness must be included in the tests. It is required that the contact surface of this structure must be covered with at least two inches of energy absorbing protective padding (foam or equivalent), such as Ensolite.
3. Thoracic Trauma. Testing with a Side Impact Dummy (SID), as defined by 49 CFR part 572, subpart F, or its equivalent, must be performed in order to establish Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) injury criteria. TTI acquired with the SID must be less than 85, as defined in 49 CFR part 572, subpart F. SID TTI data must be processed as defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Part 571.214, section S6.13.5. Rational analysis, comparing an installation with another installation where TTI data were acquired and found acceptable, may also be viable.
4. Pelvis. Pelvic lateral acceleration must not exceed 130g. Pelvic acceleration data must be processed as defined in FMVSS Part 571.214, section S6.13.5.
5. Shoulder Strap Loads. Where upper torso straps (shoulder straps) are used for occupants, tension loads in individual straps must not exceed 1,750 pounds. If dual straps are used for restraining the upper torso, the total strap tension loads must not exceed 2,000 pounds.
6. Compression Loads. The compression load measured between the pelvis and the lumbar spine of the ATD may not exceed 1,500 pounds.
7. Emergency Evacuation. When occupied, the lavatory door must be latched open for takeoff and landing and must remain latched under the § 23.561(b) loads. The airplane configuration must meet the emergency evaluation requirements of its certification basis with the seat occupied.
8. Lavatory Door Placard. A placard specifying the lavatory door must be latched open for takeoff and landing when occupied must be displayed on the outside of the door.
9. Test Requirements in § 23.562 dynamic loads. The tests in § 23.562(a), (b) and (c) must be conducted on the lavatory seat. Floor deformation is required except for a seat that is cantilevered to the bulkhead.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri on March 22, 2011.
[FR Doc. 2011-7307 Filed 3-28-11; 8:45 am]