[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46110-46112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15657]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM314; Notice No. 25-05-09-SC]


Special Conditions: Airbus Model A380-800 Airplane; Stairways 
Between Decks

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed special conditions.

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SUMMARY: This notice proposes special conditions for the Airbus A380-
800 airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features 
when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the 
airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. Many of these 
novel or unusual design features are associated with the complex 
systems and the configuration of the airplane, including its full-
length double deck. For these design features, the applicable 
airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety 
standards regarding stairways between decks. 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. NM314, 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. NM314. 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 
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

[[Page 46111]]

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

    The A380 incorporates seating on two full-length passenger decks, 
each of which has the capacity of a typical wide body airplane. Two 
staircases--one located in the front of the cabin and one located in 
the rear--allow for the movement of persons between decks. With large 
seating capacities on the main deck and the upper deck of the A380-800 
airplane, the staircases need to be able to support movement between 
decks in an inflight emergency. In addition, although compliance with 
the evacuation demonstration requirements of Sec.  25.803 does not 
depend on the use of stairs, there must be a way for passengers on one 
deck to move to the other deck during an emergency evacuation. This 
need must be addressed in the certification of the airplane.
    The regulations governing the certification of the A380 do not 
adequately address a passenger airplane with two separate full-length 
decks for passengers. The Boeing 747 and Lockheed L-1011 airplanes were 
certificated with limited seating capacity on two separate decks, and 
special conditions were issued to certificate those arrangements. When 
the seating capacity of the upper deck of the Boeing 747 exceeded 24 
passengers, the FAA issued Special Conditions 25-61-NW-1 for a maximum 
seat capacity of 32 passengers on the upper deck for take-off and 
landing. A second set of Special Conditions, 25-71-NW-3, was issued to 
cover airplanes with a maximum seating capacity of 45 passengers on the 
upper deck for take-off and landing. That second set of Special 
Conditions was later modified to address airplanes with a maximum 
seating capacity of 110 passengers on the upper deck. These previously 
issued special conditions provided a starting point for the development 
of special conditions for the A380-800 airplane.
    In the case of both the L1011 and the 747, the special conditions 
were based on the requirements and associated level of safety in place 
at the time of application for type certificate. The requirements and 
the level of safety have improved significantly since that time, and 
these special conditions reflect those improvements.
    The FAA is proposing--in addition to the requirements of Sec. Sec.  
25.803 and 25.811 through 25.813--special conditions to address the 
movement of passengers between the two full-length decks on the Model 
A380. These special conditions provide additional requirements for the 
stairways to ensure the safe passage of occupants between decks during 
moderate turbulence, an inflight emergency, or an emergency evacuation.

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.
    In addition to the requirements of Sec. Sec.  25.803 and 25.811 
through 25.813, the following special conditions apply:
    a. At least one stairway between decks must meet the following 
requirements:
    The stairway accommodates the carriage of an incapacitated person 
from one deck to the other. The crew member procedures for such 
carriage must be established.
    b. At least two stairways between decks must meet the following 
requirements:
    The stairways must be designed such that evacuees can achieve an 
adequate rate for going down or going up under probable emergency 
conditions, including a condition in which a person falls or is 
incapacitated while on a stairway. One of these two stairways must be 
the stairway specified in paragraph a. above.
    c. Each stairway between decks must meet the following 
requirements:
    1. It must have an entrance, exit, and gradient characteristics 
that--with the assistance of a crew member--would allow the passengers 
of one deck to merge with passengers of the other deck during an 
evacuation and exit the airplane. These entrance, exit, and gradient 
characteristics must occur with the airplane in level attitude and in 
each attitude resulting from the collapse of any one or more legs of 
the landing gear. These requirements must be demonstrated by tests and/
or analysis.
    2. The stairway must have a handrail on at least one side in order 
to allow people to steady themselves during foreseeable conditions, 
including but not limited to the condition of gear collapse on the 
ground and moderate turbulence in flight. The handrails must be 
constructed, so that there will be no obstruction on them which will 
cause the user to release his/her grip on the handrail or will hinder 
the continuous movement of the hands along the handrail. Handrails must 
be terminated in a manner which will not obstruct pedestrian travel or 
create a hazard. Adequacy of the design must be demonstrated by using 
persons representative of the 5% female and the 95% male.
    3. The stairway must be designed and located to minimize damage to 
it during an emergency landing or ditching.
    4. The stairway must have a wall or the equivalent on each side to 
minimize

[[Page 46112]]

the risk of falling and to facilitate use of the stairway under 
conditions of abnormal airplane attitude.
    5. Treads and landings must be designed and demonstrated to be free 
of hazard. The landing area at each deck level must be demonstrated to 
be adequate in terms of flow rate for the maximum number of people that 
will be using the stair in an emergency. Treads and risers must be 
designed to ensure an easy and safe use of the stairway.
    6. General emergency illumination must be provided so that--when 
measured along the centerlines of each tread and landing--the 
illumination is not less than 0.05 foot-candle.
    7. In normal operation, the general illumination level must not be 
less than 0.05 foot-candles. The assessment must be done under day 
light and dark of night conditions.
    8. Both stairway ends must be indicated by an exit sign visible to 
passengers when in the stairway. This exit sign must meet the 
requirements of Sec.  25.812(b)(1)(ii).
    9. A floor proximity path marking system which meets the 
requirements of Sec.  25.812(e) must be available to guide passengers 
in the stairway to the stairway ends. It must not direct the occupants 
of the cabin to the stair entrance.
    10. The public address system must be audible in the stairway 
during all flight phases.
    11. ``No smoking'' and ``return to seat'' signs must be installed 
and must be visible in the stairway both going up and down and at the 
stairway entrances.
    d. Cabin crew procedures and positions must be established to 
control the use of the stairs on the ground and in flight under both 
normal and emergency situations. This may require that cabin crew 
members have specific dedicated duties for the control of the stairs 
during emergency and precautionary evacuations.
    e. It should not be hazardous for crew members or passengers who 
are returning to their seats to use the stairways during moderate 
turbulence.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 19, 2005.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15657 Filed 8-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P