[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46108-46110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15656]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM313; Notice No. 25-05-08-SC]


Special Conditions: Airbus Model A380-800 Airplane; Fire 
Protection

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed special conditions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice proposes special conditions for the Airbus A380-
800 airplane, which has novel and unusual design features, such as a 
full-length double deck passenger cabin and distributed electrical 
equipment bays. For these design features, the applicable airworthiness 
regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards 
regarding fire protection. 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. Additional special conditions 
will be issued for other novel or unusual design features of the Airbus 
Model A380-800 airplane.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 23, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal may be mailed in duplicate to: 
Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Airplane Directorate, 
Attention: Rules Docket (ANM-113), Docket No. NM313, 1601 Lind Avenue 
SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056; or delivered in duplicate to the 
Transport Airplane Directorate at the above address. All comments must 
be marked: Docket No. NM313. 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: Holly Thorson, FAA, International 
Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056; telephone 
(425) 227-1357; facsimile (425) 227-1149.

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 proposed 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 notice 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 the 
proposed special conditions in light of the comments we receive.
    If you want the FAA to acknowledge receipt of your comments on this 
proposal, 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

    Airbus applied for FAA certification/validation of the 
provisionally-designated Model A3XX-100 in its letter AI/L 810.0223/98, 
dated August 12, 1998, to the FAA. Application for certification by the 
Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) of Europe had been made on January 16, 
1998, reference AI/L 810.0019/98. In its letter to the FAA, Airbus 
requested an extension to the 5-year period for type certification in 
accordance with 14 CFR 21.17(c). The request was for an extension to a 
7-year period, using the date of the initial application letter to the 
JAA as the reference date. The reason given by Airbus for the request 
for extension is related to the technical challenges, complexity, and 
the number of new and novel features on the airplane. On November 12, 
1998, the Manager, Aircraft Engineering Division, AIR-100, granted 
Airbus' request for the 7-year period, based on the date of application 
to the JAA.
    In its letter AI/LE-A 828.0040/99 Issue 3, dated July 20, 2001, 
Airbus stated that its target date for type certification of the Model 
A380-800 has been moved from May 2005, to January 2006, to match the 
delivery date of the first production airplane. In accordance with 14 
CFR 21.17(d)(2), Airbus chose a new application date of April 20, 1999, 
and requested that the 7-year certification period which had already

[[Page 46109]]

been approved be continued. The part 25 certification basis for the 
Model A380-800 airplane was adjusted to reflect the new application 
date.
    The Model A380-800 airplane will be an all-new, four-engine jet 
transport airplane with a full double-deck, two-aisle cabin. The 
maximum takeoff weight will be 1.235 million pounds with a typical 
three-class layout of 555 passengers.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, Airbus must show that the 
Model A380-800 airplane meets the applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 
25, as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-98. If the Administrator 
finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain 
adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Airbus A380-800 
airplane because of novel or unusual design features, special 
conditions are prescribed under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.16.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the Airbus Model A380-800 airplane 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. In addition, the 
FAA must issue a finding of regulatory adequacy pursuant to section 611 
of Public Law 93-574, the ``Noise Control Act of 1972.''
    Special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, are issued in 
accordance with 14 CFR 11.38 and become part of the type certification 
basis in accordance with 14 CFR 21.17(a)(2), Amendment 21-69, effective 
September 16, 1991.
    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, or should any other model already included on 
the same type certificate be modified to incorporate the same novel or 
unusual design features, the special conditions would also apply to the 
other model under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101(a)(1), Amendment 21-
69, effective September 16, 1991.

Discussion of Novel or Unusual Design Features

    With its configuration, the Model A380-800 airplane has a novel and 
unusual design relative to those which have been previously 
certificated under 14 CFR part 25. These novel design features include 
a full-length double deck passenger cabin and electrical equipment bays 
that are distributed throughout the airplane in various locations, 
including one electrical equipment bay located above the flight deck.
    While current regulations (Sec.  25.857) require that cargo 
compartments have a means to exclude hazardous quantities of smoke or 
extinguishing agent from penetrating into the occupied areas of the 
airplane, there is no requirement that addresses penetration of 
hazardous quantities of smoke or extinguishing agent from one airplane 
deck to another deck or between two decks via a connecting stairway.
    Similarly, no current regulation requires the detection of smoke or 
fire in an electrical equipment bay. Typically, the electrical 
equipment bay on transport airplanes is located beneath the flight deck 
next to the forward cargo compartment. The number and location of the 
electrical equipment bays on the A380 is novel and may contribute to an 
increased risk of smoke affecting passengers and crew.
    Therefore, the FAA is proposing a special condition that includes 
requirements to prevent propagation of smoke or extinguishing agents 
between or throughout cabins and to provide smoke or fire detection for 
electrical equipment bays.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Airbus A380-800 airplane. Should Airbus apply at a later date for a 
change to the type certificate to include another model incorporating 
the same novel or unusual design features, these special conditions 
would apply to that model as well under the provisions of Sec.  
21.101(a)(1), Amendment 21-69, effective September 16, 1991.

Conclusion

    This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features 
of the Airbus A380-800 airplane. It is not a rule of general 
applicability, and it affects only the applicant which 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.
    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, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes the 
following special conditions as part of the type certification basis 
for the Airbus A380-800 airplane.
    a. Requirements to prevent propagation of smoke or extinguishing 
agents between or throughout main deck and upper deck passenger cabins:
    1. To prevent such propagation, the following must be demonstrated:
    (a) Means to prevent hazardous quantities of smoke or extinguishing 
agent originating from the electrical equipment bays on either deck 
from incapacitating passengers and crew on the same deck, and
    (b) Means to prevent hazardous quantities of smoke or extinguishing 
agent originating from one deck from propagating to the other deck via 
vents and stairways.
    2. A ``small quantity'' of smoke may enter an occupied area only 
under the following conditions:
    (a) The smoke enters occupied areas during system transients \1\ 
from below deck sources. No sustained smoke penetration beyond that 
from environmental control system transients is permitted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Transient airflow conditions may cause air pressure 
differences between compartments, before the ventilation and 
pressurization system is reconfigured. Additional transients occur 
during changes to system configurations such as pack shut-down, fan 
shut-down, or changes in cabin altitude; transition in bleed source 
change, such as from intermediate stage to high stage bleed air; and 
cabin pressurization ``fly-through'' during descent may reduce air 
conditioning inflow. Similarly, in the event of a fire, a small 
quantity of smoke that penetrates into an occupied area before the 
ventilation system is reconfigured would be acceptable under certain 
conditions described within this special condition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Penetration of the small quantity of smoke is a dynamic event, 
involving either dissipation or mobility. Dissipation is rapid dilution 
of the smoke by ventilation air, and mobility is rapid movement of the 
smoke into and out of the occupied area. In no case, should there be 
formation of a light haze indicative of stagnant airflow, as this would 
indicate that the ventilation system is failing to meet the 
requirements of Sec.  25.831(b).
    (c) The smoke from a smoke source below the deck must not rise 
above armrest height.
    (d) The smoke from a source on the same deck or above the deck must 
dissipate rapidly via dilution with fresh air and be evacuated from the 
airplane. A procedure must be included in the Airplane Flight Manual to 
evacuate smoke from the occupied areas of the airplane. In order to 
demonstrate that the quantity of smoke is small, a flight test must be 
conducted which simulates

[[Page 46110]]

the emergency procedures used in the event of a fire during flight, 
including the use of Vmo/Mmo descent profiles and 
a simulated landing, if such conditions are specified in the emergency 
procedure.
    b. Requirement for fire detection in electrical equipment bays:
    A smoke or fire detection system that complies with 14 CFR 
25.858(c) and (d) must be provided for each electrical equipment bay. 
Each system must provide a visual indication to the flight deck within 
one minute after the start of a fire in an electrical equipment bay. 
Airplane tests must be conducted to show compliance with this 
requirement, and the performance of the smoke or fire detection system 
must be shown, in accordance with Advisory Circular 25-9A or by other 
means acceptable to the FAA.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 18, 2005.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15656 Filed 8-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P