[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53672-53674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23293]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM254; Special Conditions No. 25-246-SC]


Special Conditions: Cessna Model 680 Sovereign; Side-Facing 
Single-Occupant Seats

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Cessna Model 680 
Sovereign airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design 
feature(s) associated with side-facing single-occupant seats. 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 14, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Quam, FAA, Standardization 
Branch, ANM-113, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington, 98055-4056; 
telephone (425) 227-2145, facsimile (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 24, 1999, Cessna Aircraft Company, One Cessna 
Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67277, applied for type certificate for their 
new Cessna Model 680 Sovereign airplane. The Model 680 Sovereign is a 
twin-engine pressurized executive jet airplane with standard seating 
provisions for 12 passenger/crew and allowance for baggage and optional 
equipment. This airplane will have a maximum takeoff weight of 30,000 
pounds with a wingspan of 63.1 feet and will have two aft-mounted Pratt 
& Whitney 306C engines.
    The Cessna Model 680 offers interior arrangements, which include 
single-occupant side-facing seat installations. These seats are 
installed on the LH and RH side of the cabin's forward section, forward 
of and opposite to the entry door respectively. Dynamic testing of all 
seats approved for occupancy during takeoff and landing is required by 
14 CFR 25.562. The pass/fail criteria for the testing developed in 
Amendment 25-64

[[Page 53673]]

to Sec.  25.562 focused primarily on fore/aft-facing seats. Side-facing 
seating installations were not adequately addressed for transport 
category airplanes in this Amendment.
    These special conditions are applicable to single-occupant side-
facing seats only. They are not intended to be used for multiple-
occupant side-facing divans or sofas, as they do not account for 
possible interaction among the occupants.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, the Cessna Aircraft Company 
must show that the Model 680 Sovereign airplane meets the applicable 
provisions of 14 CFR part 25, effective February 1, 1965, as amended by 
Amendments 25-1 through 25-98; 14 CFR part 34, effective September 10, 
1990, as amended by any amendment in effect on the date of 
certification.
    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 Cessna Model 680 Sovereign 
airplane 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 Cessna Model 680 Sovereign 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, and the FAA must issue a 
finding of regulatory adequacy pursuant to Sec.  611 of Public Law 92-
574, the ``Noise Control Act of 1972.''
    Special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, are issued in 
accordance with Sec.  11.38 and become part of the type certification 
basis in accordance with Sec.  21.17(a)(2).
    Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which 
they are issued. Should the type certificate for that model be amended 
later to include any other model that incorporates the same novel or 
unusual design feature, the special conditions would also apply to the 
other model.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Cessna Model 680 offers interior arrangements, which include 
single-occupant side-facing seat installations. These seats are 
installed on the LH and RH side of the cabin's forward section, forward 
and opposite to the entry door respectively. Dynamic testing of all 
seats approved for occupancy during takeoff and landing is required by 
Sec.  25.562. The pass/fail criteria for the testing developed in 
Amendment 25-64 to Sec.  25.562 focused primarily on fore/aft-facing 
seats. Side-facing seating installations were not adequately addressed 
for transport category airplanes in this Amendment.

Discussion

    The following injury criteria and testing represent the minimum 
acceptable standards for certification of the Model 680 single-occupant 
side-facing seats, and are to be included as requirements in these 
special conditions. However, the existing requirements call for a ``no 
yaw'' test condition. Cessna will demonstrate values of thoracic trauma 
index (TTI) and lateral pelvic acceleration (LPA) for a ``10 degree 
yaw'' for which it has some test data. In this case, Cessna must show 
the ``10 degree yaw'' yields results that will only differ slightly 
from the ``no yaw'' condition and that these differences would not be 
of such magnitude as to exceed the maximum allowable.

Proposed Injury Criteria

    (a) Existing Criteria. As referenced by Sec.  25.785(b), all injury 
protection criteria of Sec. Sec.  25.562(c)(1) through (c)(6) apply to 
the occupants of the single-occupant side-facing seats. Head injury 
criteria (HIC) assessments are only required 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 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 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. Testing with a Side Impact Dummy (SID), as 
defined by 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F, or its equivalent, must be 
conducted and TTI injury criteria acquired with the SID must be less 
than 85, as defined in 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F. Side Impact Dummy 
TTI 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.
    (d) 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
    (f) Shoulder Strap Loads. Where upper torso straps (shoulder 
straps) are used for sofa 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.

Discussion of Comments

    Notice of Proposed Special Conditions No. 25-03-03-SC for the 
Cessna Model 680 Sovereign airplane was published in the Federal 
Register on May 15, 2003 (68 FR 26237). No comments were received.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Cessna Model 680 Sovereign airplane. Should Cessna Aircraft Company 
apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate to include 
another model incorporating 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 the Cessna Model 680 Sovereign airplane. 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.


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 the Cessna Aircraft Company Model 680 
Sovereign airplane.
    The minimum acceptable standards of injury criteria and testing 
requirements for dynamic certification of the Model 680 side-facing 
single-occupant seats are as follows:
    (a) Existing Criteria. As referenced by Sec.  25.785(b), all injury 
protection criteria of Sec. Sec.  25.562(c)(1) through (c)(6) 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.
    (b) Body-to-wall/furnishing contact. The seat must be installed aft 
of a structure such as an interior wall or

[[Page 53674]]

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 
recommended, but not 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.
    (c) Thoracic Trauma. Testing with a Side Impact Dummy (SID), as 
defined by 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F, or its equivalent, must be 
conducted and TTI injury criteria acquired with the SID must be less 
than 85, as defined in 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F. SID TTI 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.
    (d) 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
    (f) 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.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on September 3, 2003.
Ali Bahrami,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 03-23293 Filed 9-11-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P