[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 167 (Thursday, August 28, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45589-45591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22921]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / 
Proposed Rules  

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM-25; Notice No. SC-97-4-NM]


Special Conditions: Boeing Model 747 Series Airplanes; Overhead 
Crew Rest Area

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed special conditions.

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SUMMARY: This notice proposes to amend special conditions issued to the 
Boeing Commercial Airplane Company for the Model 747 series airplanes. 
This airplane has a novel or unusual design feature associated with the 
overhead crew rest area. Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16 were issued 
on November 13, 1987, addressing this installation. On January 23, 
1997, Boeing applied for a type design change which proposes to add an 
additional feature; the installation of curtains or partitions in the 
crew rest area. Since the applicable airworthiness regulations, 
including those contained in Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16, do not 
contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this particular 
design feature, this notice contains the additional safety standards 
which the Administrator finds necessary to establish a level of safety 
equivalent to that established by the airworthienss standards for 
transport category airplanes.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal may be mailed in duplicate to 
Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel, 
Attn: Rules Docket (ANM-7), Docket No. NM-25, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 
Renton, WA 98055-4056; or delivered in duplicate to the Office of the 
Assistant Chief Counsel at the above address. Comments must be marked: 
Docket No. NM-25. Comments may be inspected in the Rules Docket 
weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Dunn, FAA, Transport Standards 
Staff, Standardization Branch, ANM-113, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 
WA 98055-4056; telephone (425) 227-2799, or facsimile (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of the 
proposed special conditions by submitting such written data, views, or 
arguments as they may desire. Communications should identify the 
regulatory docket or notice number and be submitted in duplicate to the 
address specified above. All communications received on or before the 
closing date for comments will be considered by the Administrator. The 
proposal described in this notice 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 this notice must submit with those 
comments a self addressed, stamped postcard on which the following 
statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. NM-25.'' The postcard will 
be date stamped and returned to the commenter.

Background

    On December 17, 1986, the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company 
applied for a change to Type Certificate No. A20WE to include Model 747 
series airplanes with overhead crew rest areas installed. The crew rest 
area was to be installed above the main passenger cabin in the vicinity 
of the Number 5 passenger door. This is an area that had not been used 
for this purpose in any previous transport-category airplane. Due to 
the novel or unusual features associated with the installation of those 
crew rest areas, Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16 were issued on 
November 13, 1987, to provide a level of safety equal to that 
established by the regulations incorporated by reference in the type 
certificate. Upon issuance, Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16 became 
part of the regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate 
No. A20WE for Boeing 747 series airplanes.
    Boeing Commercial Airplane Group now proposes certification of 
overhead crew rest areas that would be divided into three sections by a 
hard partition and a curtain. These crew rest areas, which would be in 
the same location, would be designated for in-flight use only and would 
include additional novel or unusual design features not incorporated in 
the previous crew rest areas. Because of these additional features, the 
regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. A20WE, 
including Special Conditions 25-ANM-16, do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards. Special Conditions 25-ANM-16 would, 
therefore, be amended to contain the additional safety standards found 
necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established 
in the regulations.

Discussion

    A hard partition separates the crew rest area into forward and aft 
sections while a door in the partition provides access between the 
forward and aft sections. A curtain slides in the forward and aft 
directions to visually divide the aft section of the crew rest area. 
Item 3 of Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16 requires that a stairway be 
installed between the main deck and the crew rest area. Additionally, 
there must be an alternate evacuation route for occupants of the crew 
rest area, located on the opposite side of the crew rest area or 
sufficiently separated within the compartment from the stairway. The 
installation of a hard partition creates an area within the crew rest 
area which does not have a means of egressing directly to the main 
cabin.
    In addition to the partition, a curtain has been added to the crew 
rest area which further breaks up the crew rest area into sections. 
This was not considered in Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16. The 
curtain and partition installation also reduces the accessibility to 
the emergency equipment and communication controls, and has the 
potential to prevent the occupants from being able to easily locate the 
primary and

[[Page 45590]]

secondary escape means. This could cause additional confusion during an 
emergency.
    Since the installation of a door in the crew rest area raises 
concerns about operational reliability during an in-flight emergency 
and since the related paragraphs of Sec. 25.819 from which the original 
special conditions were developed require two evacuation routes, design 
features must be provided to assure that occupants of the forward 
section will be able to vacate the crew rest area in the event of an 
in-flight emergency. Additional emergency equipment and two-way 
communication equipment will also be required in the forward section 
since the equipment in the aft area will not be readily accessible to 
the forward section occupants in the event of an in-flight emergency.
    A limitation in the Airplane Flight Manual or other suitable means 
requiring that crewmembers be trained in the use of the evacuation 
routes would be required.
    The additional proposed safety standards would be contained in 
proposed new Item 13. Although Items 1 through 12 are standards already 
adopted in Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16 and are not subject to 
further public comment, they are repeated in this notice in order to 
place the additional proposed standards in proper perspective.
    Delivery of Model 747-400 airplanes with these additional novel or 
unusual design features is currently scheduled for September 26, 1997. 
Because a delay would significantly affect the applicant's installation 
and type certification of the crew rest areas, the public comment 
period is only 20 days.

Type Certification Basis

    The Type Certification Basis for the Boeing Model 747 series prior 
to the 747-400 is Part 25 of the FAR effective February 1, 1965, as 
amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-8, plus Amendments 25-15, 25-17, 
25-18, 25-20, and 25-39, with certain exceptions and several sets of 
special conditions, which are identified in Type Certificate Data Sheet 
No. A20WE. These exceptions are not pertinent to the subject of 
overhead crew rest areas.
    The regulations incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. 
A20WE for the Boeing Model 747-400 series airplanes include Part 25 of 
the FAR as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-59, with certain 
exceptions not relevant to the installation of an overhead crew rest 
area.
    In addition, the regulations incorporated by reference for all 747 
series include the noise certification requirements of Part 36 of the 
FAR, emission standards, and a number of special conditions, including 
Special Conditions No. 25-ANM-16.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (i.e., Part 25 as amended) do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for the Boeing model 747 because of a 
novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed 
under the provisions of Sec. 21.16.
    Special conditions, as appropriate, are issued in accordance with 
Sec. 11.49 of the FAR after public notice, as required by Secs. 11.28 
and 11.29(b), and become part of the type certification basis in 
accordance with Sec. 21.101(b)(2).
    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 manufacturer who applied to 
the FAA for approval of these features on the airplane.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, safety.
    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 proposes the 
following additional special condition (Item No. 13) as part of the 
type certification basis for the Boeing Model 747 series airplanes with 
overhead crew rest areas installed. (Existing special conditions (Item 
Nos. 1-12) are repeated below for clarity.)
    1. Occupancy of the overhead crew rest area is limited to a maximum 
of 10 crewmembers. Occupancy during taxi, takeoff, or landing is not 
permitted.
    2. There must be a stairway between the main deck and the crew rest 
area and there must be an alternate evacuation route for occupants of 
the crew rest area.
    The stairway and alternate evacuation route must be located on 
opposite sides of the crew rest area or have sufficient separation 
within the compartment. The stairway and the alternate evacuation route 
must provide for evacuation of an incapacitated person, with 
assistance, from the crew rest area to the main deck, must not be 
dependent on any powered device, and must be designed to minimize the 
possibility of blockage which might result from fire, mechanical or 
structural failure. The crewmember procedures for carriage of an 
incapacitated person must be established.
    3. An exit sign meeting the requirements of Sec. 25.812(b)(1)(i) 
must be provided in the crew rest area near the stairway.
    4. In the event the airplane's main power system should fail, 
emergency illumination of the crew rest area must be automatically 
provided. Unless two independent sources of normal lighting are 
provided, the emergency illumination of the crew rest area must be 
automatically provided if the crew rest area normal lighting system 
should fail. The illumination level must be sufficient for the 
occupants of the crew rest area to locate, and descend to the main deck 
by means of the stairway and/or the alternate evacuation route, and to 
read any required operating instructions.
    5. There must be a means for two-way voice communication between 
crewmembers on the flight deck and occupants of the crew rest area, and 
between crewmembers at least one flight attendant seat on the main deck 
and occupants of the crew rest area.
    6. There must also be either public address speaker(s), or other 
means of alerting the occupants of the crew rest area to an emergency 
situation, installed in the crew rest area.
    7. There must be a means, readily detectable by occupants of the 
crew rest area, that indicates when seat belts should be fastened and 
when smoking is prohibited.
    8. For each occupant permitted in the crew rest area, there must be 
an approved seat or berth that must be able to withstand the maximum 
flight loads when occupied.
    9. The following equipment must be provided:
    a. At least one approved fire extinguisher appropriate to the kinds 
of fires likely to occur.
    b. One protective breathing device, having TSO-C99 authorization or 
equivalent, suitable for firefighting.
    c. One flashlight.
    10. A smoke detection system that annunciates in the flight deck 
and is audible in the crew rest area must be provided.
    11. A supplemental oxygen system equivalent to that provided for 
main deck passengers must be provided for each seat and berth.
    12. There must be a limitation in the Airplane Flight Manual or 
other suitable means requiring that crewmembers be trained in the use 
of the evacuation routes.
    13. The following requirements apply to crew rest areas that are 
divided into

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several sections by the installation of curtains or partitions.
    a. To compensate for lack of crowd awareness, there must be an 
audible alert concurrent with automatic presentation of supplemental 
oxygen masks in each section of the crew rest area, whether or not 
seats or berths are installed in the section. There must also be a 
means by which the flightcrew can manually deploy the oxygen masks.
    b. A placard is required adjacent to each curtain that visually 
divides or separates the overhead crew rest area into small areas to 
serve a function of creating privacy. The placard must require that the 
curtain(s) remain open when the private area it creates is unoccupied. 
The vestibule area adjacent to the stair well is not considered a 
private area, and as such, its vacancy does not require a placard.
    c. Each crew rest section created by the installation of a curtain 
must meet the requirements of items 4, 6, 7, and 10 of these special 
conditions with the curtain open or closed.
    d. Overhead crew rest areas, which are visually divided to the 
extent that evacuation could be affected, must have exit signs meeting 
the requirements of Sec. 25.812(b)(1)(i) in each separate area of the 
crew rest which direct occupants to the primary stairway exit.
    e. Sections within an overhead crew rest area that are created by 
the installation of a rigid partition with a door physically separating 
the sections require either a secondary evacuation route from each 
section of the crew rest area to the main deck or it must be shown that 
any door between the sections cannot be jammed, rendering the door 
unusable. In either case, any door between compartments must be shown 
to be frangible from both directions and openable when crowded against. 
There can be no more than one door between each section of a crew rest 
area and the primary stairway exit. Exit signs meeting the requirements 
of Sec. 25.812(b)(1)(i) that direct occupants to the primary stairway 
exit must be provided in each section of the crew rest area.
    f. Each smaller area, within the main crew rest area, created by 
the installation of a partition with a door must individually meet the 
requirements of items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 of these special conditions 
with the door open or closed.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on August 20, 1997.
John J. Hickey,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, ANM-100.
[FR Doc. 97-22921 Filed 8-27-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P