[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 675-676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-122]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM297; Special Conditions No. 25-279-SC]


Special Conditions: Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon; Side-Facing 
Single-Occupant 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 Raytheon Model 
4000 Horizon airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual 
design feature 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 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 December 22, 
2004. Send your comments on or before February 22, 2005.

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. NM297, 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. NM297. 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: John A. Shelden, FAA, Airframe/Cabin 
Safety Branch, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 
Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98055-
4056; telephone (425) 227-2785, facsimile (425) 227-1232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions 
has been subject to the notice and comment period in several prior 
instances and has been derived without substantive change from those 
previously issued. 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. We are requesting comments to 
allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been 
submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment.

Comments Invited

    We invite 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 7:30 a.m. and 4 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 in light of the comments we receive.
    If you want the FAA to acknowledge receipt of your comments on 
these 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 August 1, 1996, Raytheon Aircraft Company, 9709 E. Central, 
Wichita, KS 67201, applied for a type certificate for their new Model 
4000 Horizon airplane and reapplied on May 31, 2001. The Model 4000 
Horizon is a twin-engine, pressurized executive jet airplane with 
standard seating provisions for 10 passenger/crew and allowance for 
baggage and optional equipment. This airplane will have a maximum 
takeoff weight of 36,000 pounds and will have two aft-mounted Pratt & 
Whitney PW 308A engines.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, the Raytheon Aircraft Company 
must show that the Model 4000 Horizon airplane meets the applicable 
provisions of part 25, effective February 1, 1965, as amended by 
amendment 25-1 through amendment 25-101.
    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 Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon 
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 Raytheon Model 4000

[[Page 676]]

Horizon must comply with the fuel vent and exhaust emission 
requirements of part 34, effective September 10, 1990, as amended by 
any amendment in effect on the date of certification, and the noise 
certification requirements of part 36, effective December 1, 1969, as 
amended by any amendment in effect on the date of certification, 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 Sec.  11.19, are issued in 
accordance with Sec.  11.38 and become part of the type certification 
basis in accordance with Sec.  21.17.
    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 under the provisions of Sec.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Raytheon Model 4000 offers interior arrangements, which include 
single-occupant side-facing seat installations. One arrangement 
includes an aft LH toilet installation, which will be approved for 
occupancy during taxi, takeoff, and landing. The belted toilet seat is 
a single-occupant side-facing seating system located directly behind 
the LH aft pocket door partition. It consists of a toilet assembly, 
toilet cabinet, forward partition, contact pad, and restraint system 
(lap belt).
    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 occupied during takeoff 
and landing. Side-facing seats, however, 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 established. 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 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 
Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon. Should Raytheon 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, the 
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 the Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon 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 Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon 
airplane.
    In addition to the airworthiness standards of Sec. Sec.  25.562 and 
25.785, the minimum acceptable standards for dynamic certification of 
Raytheon Model 4000 Horizon single-occupant side-facing seats are as 
follows:

Additional 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 in 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.

Additional 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 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 vertical test per Sec.  25.562(b)(1) with a Hybrid II 
ATD with existing pass/fail criteria.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on December 22, 2004.
Kevin Mullin,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-122 Filed 1-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P