[Federal Register: October 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 201)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 59705-59707]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc03-1]
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Rules and Regulations
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[[Page 59705]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. NM267; Special Conditions No. 25-251-SC]
Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model
Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy); Single-Occupant Side-Facing Seats
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 Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation Model Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) airplane. This
airplane as modified by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation will have
novel or unusual design features associated with single-occupant side-
facing seats. 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.
DATES: The effective date of these special conditions is October 9,
2003. Comments must be received on or before November 17, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Comments on these special conditions may be mailed in
duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Airplane
Directorate, Attn: Rules Docket (ANM-113), Docket No. NM267, 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. NM267. 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: Michael Thompson, FAA, Airframe/Cabin
Safety Branch, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft
Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington, 98055-
4056; telephone (425) 227-1157; facsimile (425) 227-1149.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice and
opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable because these
procedures would significantly delay issuance of the design approval.
In addition, the substance of these special conditions has been subject
to the public comment process with no substantive comments received.
The FAA therefore finds that good cause exists for making these special
conditions effective upon issuance.
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to submit such written data, views,
or arguments, as they may desire. Communications should identify the
rules docket number and be submitted in duplicate to the address
specified above. The Administrator will consider all communications
received on or before the closing date for comments. The special
conditions may be changed in light of the comments received. All
comments received will be available in the Rules Docket for examination
by interested persons, both before and after the closing date for
comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this rulemaking will be filed in the docket.
Persons wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments
submitted in response to these special conditions must include with
those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the
following statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. NMxxx.'' The
postcard will be date stamped and returned to you.
Background
On May 30, 2003, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, 7440 Aviation
Place, Dallas, Texas, 75235, applied for a supplemental type
certificate for installation of single-occupant side-facing seats on
Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) airplanes. Gulfstream requested special
conditions for these seats and that the special conditions be listed on
the supplemental type certificate. The Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) airplane
is a twin engine, turbofan powered, transport category airplane, which
is currently the subject of a type certification program.
Section 25.785(b) requires that ``each seat * * * at each station
designated as occupiable during takeoff and landing must be designed so
that a person making proper use of these facilities will not suffer
serious injury in an emergency landing as a result of the inertia
forces specified in Sec. Sec. 25.561 and 25.562.'' Additionally, Sec.
25.562 requires dynamic testing of all seats that are occupied during
takeoff and landing. However, side-facing seats are considered a novel
design for transport category airplanes that include Amendment 25-64 in
the certification basis and were not considered when those
airworthiness standards were promulgated. Hence, the existing
regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate safety standards for
occupants of side-facing seats. In order to provide a level of safety
that is equivalent to that afforded occupants of forward and aft facing
seats, additional airworthiness standards in the form of special
conditions are necessary.
These special conditions are applicable only to single-occupant
side-facing seats. They are not sufficient or intended to be used for
the certification of multiple-occupant side-facing divans or sofas.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of Sec. 21.101, Gulfstream Aerospace
Corporation must show that the Gulfstream Model 200 (Galaxy) airplane,
as changed, continues to meet the applicable provisions of the
regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. A53NM 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. A53NM are as follows: 14 CFR part 25, effective
February 1, 1965, as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-82.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness
regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards
[[Page 59706]]
for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy)
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 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model Gulfstream 200
(Galaxy) 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 the applicant apply for a supplemental type
certificate to modify any other model included on the same type
certificate to incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature,
the special conditions would also apply to the other model.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation will install single-occupant,
side-facing seats on Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) airplanes. Section
25.785(b) requires that ``each seat * * * at each station designated as
occupiable during takeoff and landing must be designed so that a person
making proper use of these facilities will not suffer serious injury in
an emergency landing as a result of the inertia forces specified in
Sec. Sec. 25.561 and 25.562.'' Additionally, Sec. 25.562 requires
dynamic testing of all seats that are occupied during takeoff and
landing. However, side-facing seats are considered a novel design for
transport category airplanes that include Amendment 25-64 in the
certification basis, and were not considered when those airworthiness
standards were promulgated. Hence, the existing regulations do not
provide adequate or appropriate safety standards for occupants of side-
facing seats. In order to provide a level of safety that is equivalent
to that afforded occupants of forward and aft facing seats, additional
airworthiness standards, in the form of special conditions, are
necessary.
Discussion
The following special conditions are considered to provide
occupants of single-occupancy side-facing seats a level of safety that
is equivalent to that afforded occupants of forward and aft facing
seats. These special conditions supplement 14 CFR part 25 and, more
specifically, they supplement Sec. Sec. 25.785 and 25.562.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) modified
by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Should Gulfstream Aerospace
Corporation apply at a later date for a supplemental type certificate
to modify any other model included on Type Certificate No. A53NM to
incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature, the special
conditions would apply to that model as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features
on one model of 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.
The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the
notice and comment period in 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. For this reason, and because a delay would
significantly affect the certification of the airplane, which is
imminent, the FAA has determined that prior public notice and comment
are unnecessary and impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting
these special conditions upon issuance. The FAA is requesting comments
to allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been
submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment described
above.
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, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the following special conditions are issued as part of
the type certification basis for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model
Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy) airplanes. In addition to the airworthiness
standards of Sec. Sec. 25.562 and 25.785, the minimum acceptable
standards for dynamic certification of Model Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy)
single-occupant side-facing seats are as follows:
Injury Criteria
(a) Existing Criteria: All injury protection criteria of Sec.
25.562(c)(1) through (c)(6) apply to the occupant of a side-facing
seat. Head Injury Criterion (HIC) assessments are required only for
head contact with the seat and/or adjacent structures.
(b) Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact: The seat must be installed aft
of a structure, such as an interior wall or furnishing, that will
support the pelvis, upper arm, chest, and 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 recommended, but
not required, that the contact surface of this structure be covered
with at least two inches of energy absorbing protective padding (foam
or equivalent), such as Ensolite.
(c) Thoracic Trauma: The Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) injury
criterion must be substantiated by dynamic test or by rational
analysis, based on a previous test or tests of a similar seat
installation. Testing must be conducted with a Side Impact Dummy (SID),
as defined by 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F, or its equivalent. TTI must
be less than 85, as defined in 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F. TTI data
must be processed as defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) Part 571.214, section S6.13.5.
(d) Pelvis: Pelvic lateral acceleration must be shown by dynamic
test or by rational analysis based on previous test(s) of a similar
seat installation to not exceed 130g. Pelvic acceleration data must be
processed as defined in FMVSS Part 571.214, section S6.13.5.
(e) 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.
Test Requirements
The above performance measures must not be exceeded during the
following dynamic tests:
(a) Conduct a longitudinal test per Sec. 25.562(b)(2) with a SID,
undeformed floor, no yaw, and with all lateral structural supports
(armrests/walls).
Pass/fail injury assessments: TTI and pelvic acceleration.
(b) Conduct a longitudinal test per Sec. 25.562(b)(2) with the
Hybrid II ATD, deformed floor, 10 degrees yaw, and
[[Page 59707]]
with all lateral structural supports (armrests/walls).
Pass/fail injury assessments: HIC, upper torso restraint load,
restraint system retention and pelvic acceleration.
(c) Conduct a downward vertical test per Sec. 25.562(b)(1) with a
modified Hybrid II ATD with existing pass/fail criteria.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 9, 2003.
Ali Bahrami,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 03-26310 Filed 10-16-03; 8:45 am]
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