[Federal Register: October 8, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 195)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 58042-58043]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08oc03-14]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 58042]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. NM266; Notice No. 25-03-07-SC]
Special Conditions: Airbus Model A320 Airplanes; Child Restraint
System
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed special conditions.
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SUMMARY: This notice proposes special conditions for Airbus Model A320
airplanes. These airplanes, as modified by AMSAFE Inc., will have novel
and unusual design features associated with a child restraint system
that attaches to the existing passenger lap belt. The applicable
airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety
standards for this design feature. These proposed 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: Comments must be received on or before November 7, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Comments on these proposed special conditions may be mailed
in duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Airplane
Directorate, Attn: Rules Docket (ANM-113), Docket No. NM266, 1601 Lind
Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056; or delivered in duplicate to
the Transport Airplane Directorate at the above address. Comments must
be marked: Docket No. NM266. Comments may be inspected in the Rules
Docket weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Sinclair, FAA, Airframe and Cabin
Safety Branch, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft
Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington, 98055-
4056; telephone (425) 227-2195; facsimile (425) 227-1149, e-mail alan.sinclair@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this
rulemaking by submitting 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 ask that you send us two copies of written
comments.
We will file in the docket all comments we receive, as well as a
report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel
concerning these special conditions. The docket is available for public
inspection before and after the comment closing date. If you wish to
review the docket in person, go to the address in the ADDRESSES section
of this preamble between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
We will consider all comments we receive on or before the closing
date for comments. We will consider comments filed late if it is
possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. We may change
these special conditions based on the comments we receive.
If you want the FAA to acknowledge receipt of your comments on
these proposed special conditions, include with your comments a pre-
addressed, stamped postcard on which the docket number appears. We will
stamp the date on the postcard and mail it back to you.
Background
On February 12, 2003, AMSAFE Inc., P.O. Box 1570, Higley, Arizona
85236, applied for a supplemental type certificate for the modification
of Airbus Model A320 airplanes. The modification includes a child
restraint system that attaches to the existing passenger lap belt and
can be installed on certain seats of Airbus Model A320 airplanes in
order to reduce the potential for injury in the event of an accident.
The Model A320 is a swept-wing, conventional tail, twin-engine,
turbofan-powered transport airplane.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of Sec. 21.101, AMSAFE Inc. must show that
the Airbus Model A320 airplanes, as changed, continue to meet the
applicable provisions of the regulations incorporated by reference in
Type Certificate No. A28NM, 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. A28NM are as follows: 14 CFR part 25,
effective February 1, 1965, including Amendments 25-1 through 25-56;
SFAR 27, effective February 1, 1974, including Amendments 27-1 through
27-5; and 14 CFR part 36 effective December 1, 1969, including
Amendments 36-1 through 36-12. In addition, the certification basis
includes other regulations and special conditions that are not
pertinent to these special conditions.
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 Airbus Model A320 airplanes
because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are
prescribed under the provisions of Sec. 21.16.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Airbus Model A320 airplanes 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.
Special conditions, as defined in Sec. 11.19, are issued in
accordance with Sec. 11.38 and become part of the type certification
basis in accordance with Sec. 21.101.
Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which
they are issued. Should AMSAFE Inc. apply for a supplemental type
certificate to modify any other model included on the same type
certificate to incorporate the same or similar novel or unusual design
feature, the special conditions would also apply to the other model
under the provisions of Sec. 21.101.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The AMSAFE Inc. Child Safety System (CSS) is an improved harness
type Child Restraint System (CRS) that utilizes the seat back and the
lap belt on
[[Page 58043]]
passenger seats to provide upper torso restraint and improve the
restraint of small children. The physical characteristics of small
children will govern the use of the CSS and must be defined according
to accepted classification standards. The device is intended for
children in the 2- to 4-year age group who are prohibited from being
held in their parents' arms during taxi, take-off, and landing and must
occupy their own passenger seat, typically with no supplemental
restraint. The CSS is made with webbing and fastening hardware and
consists of an adjustable strap that wraps horizontally around the seat
back to secure the device to the passenger seat, and a double shoulder
harness that is fastened around the child's upper torso. The ends of
the device's shoulder harness are held in place using the existing
passenger lap belt that is passed through two open loops on the lower
ends of the device's shoulder straps. The current part 25 airworthiness
regulations are not adequate to define the necessary certification
criteria.
Discussion
The CSS is a non-conforming CRS (that is, not approved for use on
aircraft per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 and as
such the design requirements are established in these special
conditions. It is a safety restraint device specifically designed for
use by small children on JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 aircraft.
The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for this particular design feature.
Additional safety standards are therefore necessary to establish a
level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing
airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes.
Additionally, the operating regulations, 14 CFR 91.107 and 121.311,
prohibit the use of any ``vest-type child restraints, and harness-type
child restraints'' for commercial and private use operations. In order
for the CSS, which is a harness-type child restraint, to be useable in
the U.S., AMSAFE Inc., or their agent, must petition the FAA for an
exemption from the operating regulations. The petition must be granted
in order to allow use of the CSS.
The following special conditions can be characterized as addressing
the safety performance of the system and the capability of the system
to be installed and utilized without creating additional safety
concerns. Because of the nature of the system and the direct interface
with the crew and passengers, as well as the intended occupants, these
special conditions are more rigorous from a design standpoint than for
the standard lapbelt installation.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Airbus Model A320 airplanes modified by AMSAFE Inc. Should AMSAFE Inc.
apply at a later date for a supplemental type certificate to modify any
other model included on Type Certificate No. A28NM to incorporate the
same or similar novel or unusual design feature, these special
conditions would apply to that model as well under the provisions of
Sec. 21.101.
Conclusion
This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features
on Airbus Model A320 airplanes. 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.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority Citation
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 44704.
The Proposed Special Conditions
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes the
following special conditions as part of the type certification basis
for Airbus Model A320 airplanes modified by AMSAFE Inc.
1. The child restraint system (CSS) must provide child restraint
protection under dynamic emergency landing conditions to prevent
serious head and other injuries. It must protect a range of occupant
statures for which the system is designed in accordance with Sections
2.3 and 2.4 of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) document
AS5276/1. The CSS must provide a consistent approach to energy
absorption throughout that range.
2. Means must be provided to prevent the use of the CSS with
children who are outside the range of statures for which the system was
designed and tested. The range of statures for which the CSS is
approved must be clearly labeled on the device.
3. There must be obvious, clear, and concise instructions readily
available to the flight and cabin crew as to the proper installation
and use of the CSS system for children.
4. The design of the CSS must prevent it from being incorrectly
buckled and/or incorrectly installed such that the CSS would not
properly perform its intended function.
5. The CSS must meet the minimum performance standards of Appendix
1 and the test conditions of Appendix 2 of Technical Standard Order
C100b.
6. The CSS must not impede rapid egress of the occupant using the
CSS and the occupants seated in the same row.
7. Means must be provided to prohibit the installation and use of
the CSS in the emergency exit rows.
8. The CSS must be shown to operate safely in the following
locations, or means must be provided to prohibit the installation and
use of the CSS at these seat locations:
a. Behind any wall or seat back that has an inflatable airbag.
b. Any passenger seat that has an inflatable restraint system.
c. Side-facing seats.
9. It must be shown that the CSS will not cause the occupant's
passenger seat back to fold over during a crash situation and cause
injury to the occupant.
10. It must be shown that tray tables, phones or other devices
installed in the seat back will not degrade the performance of the CSS.
11. Passenger seats approved for installation of the CSS must be
clearly identified to the installer by location and part number.
12. The operating regulations, 14 CFR 91.107 and 14 CFR 121.311,
prohibit the use of any ``vest-type child restraints, and harness-type
child restraints'' in commercial and private use operations. It is
therefore incumbent upon AMSAFE Inc., or their agent, to petition the
FAA for exemption from these two regulations. The exemption must be
granted in order for the system to be used by a U.S. operator.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on September 25, 2003.
Ali Bahrami,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 03-25423 Filed 10-7-03; 8:45 am]
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