[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35-37]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31120]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM422; Special Conditions No. 25-398-SC]


Special Conditions: Airbus Model A318-112 Airplane (S/N 3886); 
Certification of a Cooktop

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA issues these special conditions for the Airbus Model 
A318-112. This airplane, as modified by Bizjet, a Lufthansa Technik 
Company, will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to 
the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for 
transport-category airplanes. The modification consists of installing 
an electrically heated surface, called a cooktop. 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.

DATES: The effective date of these special conditions is December 23, 
2009.
    We must receive your comments by February 18, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You must mail two copies of your comments to: Federal 
Aviation Administration, Transport Airplane Directorate, Attn: Rules 
Docket (ANM-113), Docket No. NM422, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 
Washington 98057-3356. You may deliver two copies to the Transport 
Airplane Directorate at the above address. You must mark your comments: 
Docket No. NM422. You can inspect comments in the Rules Docket 
weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Jacquet, FAA, Airframe and Cabin 
Safety Branch, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; 
telephone (425) 227-2676; facsimile (425) 227-1100; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice and 
opportunity for prior public comment for these special conditions is 
impracticable because this procedure would significantly delay 
certification and delivery of the affected aircraft. In addition, the 
substance of these special conditions has been subject to the public 
comment process in several prior instances with no substantive comments 
received. We therefore find that good cause exists for making these 
special conditions effective upon issuance.

Comments Invited

    We invite interested persons to take part in this rulemaking by 
sending written comments. 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 
about these special conditions. You may inspect the docket 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 by 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 based on the comments we receive.
    If you want us to let you know we received your comments on these 
special conditions, include with your comments a self-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 December 5, 2008, Bizjet International (Bizjet) applied for a 
supplemental type certificate for the Airbus Model A318-112 airplane, 
serial number 3886. The Airbus Model A318-112 airplane is a large, 
transport-category airplane powered by two CFM56-5B9/P engines, with a 
basic maximum takeoff weight of 130,071 pounds. The modified Airbus 
Model A318-112 airplane, serial number 3886, operates with a two-pilot 
crew, up to four flight attendants, and can hold up to 19 passengers.
    The modification consists of installing an electrically heated 
surface, called a cooktop. Cooktops introduce high heat, smoke, and the 
possibility of fire into the passenger-cabin environment. These 
potential hazards to the airplane and its occupants must be 
satisfactorily addressed. Because existing airworthiness regulations do 
not contain safety standards addressing cooktops, we issue these 
special conditions.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.101, Bizjet must show that the Airbus 318-112, as changed, 
continues to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations 
incorporated by reference in Type Certificate No. A28NM, or the 
applicable regulations in effect on the date of application for the 
change. The regulations incorporated by reference in the type 
certificate are commonly referred to as the ``original type 
certification basis.'' The regulations incorporated by reference in 
A28NM are 14 CFR part 25, as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 25-56, 
with reversions to earlier amendments, voluntary compliance to later 
amendments, special conditions, equivalent-safety findings, and

[[Page 36]]

exemptions listed in the type-certificate data sheet.
    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 Model A318-112 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 Model A318-112 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.
    The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, 
under Sec.  11.38, and they become part of the type certification basis 
under Sec.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    As noted earlier, the modification of the Airbus Model A318-112 
airplane, serial number 3886, will incorporate a cooktop in the 
passenger cabin. Cooktops introduce high heat, smoke, and the 
possibility of fire into the passenger cabin environment. The current 
airworthiness standards of part 25 do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards to protect the airplane and its occupants 
from these potential hazards. The applicant's proposed system is 
considered to be a novel or unusual design feature.

Discussion

    Currently, ovens are the prevailing means of heating food on 
airplanes. Ovens are characterized by an enclosure that contains both 
the heat source and the food being heated. The hazards presented by 
ovens are thus inherently limited, and are well understood through 
years of service experience. Cooktops, on the other hand, are 
characterized by exposed heat sources and the presence of relatively 
unrestrained hot cookware and heated food. These may represent 
unprecedented hazards to both occupants and the airplane.
    Cooktops could have serious implications for passenger and airplane 
safety if appropriate requirements are not established for their 
installation and use. These special conditions apply to cooktops with 
electrically powered burners. Use of an open flame is beyond the scope 
of these special conditions and would require separate rulemaking 
action. The requirements identified in these special conditions are in 
addition to those considerations identified in Advisory Circular (AC) 
25-10, ``Guidance for Installation of Miscellaneous Non-required 
Electrical Equipment,'' and those in AC 25-17, ``Transport Airplane 
Cabin Interiors Crashworthiness Handbook.'' The intent of these special 
conditions is to provide a level of safety consistent with that on 
similar airplanes without cooktops.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Model A318-112 airplane, serial number 3886, modified by Bizjet. Should 
Bizjet apply at a later date for a supplemental type certificate to 
modify any other model included on Type Certificate No. A28NM, to 
incorporate 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 one model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability and 
affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for approval of these 
features on the airplane.
    Under standard practice, the effective date of final special 
conditions would be 30 days after the date of publication in the 
Federal Register. However, because the certification date for the 
subject modification to the Model A318-112 is imminent, the FAA finds 
that good cause exists to make these special conditions effective upon 
issuance.

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 Special Conditions

    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 Airbus Model A318-112 airplane, 
serial number 3886, modified by Bizjet.
    Cooktop installations with electrically powered burners must comply 
with the following criteria:
    1. Means, such as conspicuous burner-on indicators, physical 
barriers, or handholds, must be installed to minimize the potential for 
inadvertent personnel contact with hot surfaces of both the cooktop and 
cookware. Conditions of turbulence must be considered.
    2. Sufficient design means must be included to restrain cookware 
while in place on the cooktop, as well as representative contents, 
e.g., soup, sauces, etc., from the effects of flight loads and 
turbulence. Restraints must be provided to preclude hazardous movement 
of cookware and contents. These restraints must accommodate any 
cookware that is identified for use with the cooktop. Restraints must 
be designed to be easily utilized and effective in service. The 
cookware restraint system should also be designed so that it will not 
be easily disabled, thus rendering it unusable. Placarding must be 
installed which prohibits the use of cookware that cannot be 
accommodated by the restraint system.
    3. Placarding must be installed which prohibits the use of cooktops 
(i.e., power on any burner) during taxi, takeoff, and landing.
    4. Means must be provided to address the possibility of a fire 
occurring on or in the immediate vicinity of the cooktop. Two 
acceptable means of complying with this requirement are as follows:
    a. Placarding must be installed that prohibits any burner from 
being powered when the cooktop is unattended, which would prohibit a 
single person from cooking on the cooktop and intermittently serving 
food to passengers while any burner is powered; and a fire detector 
must be installed in the vicinity of the cooktop, and which provides an 
audible warning in the passenger cabin; and a fire extinguisher of 
appropriate size and extinguishing agent must be installed in the 
immediate vicinity of the cooktop. Access to the extinguisher must not 
be blocked by a fire on or around the cooktop. One of the fire 
extinguishers required by Sec.  25.851 may be used to satisfy this 
requirement. If this is not possible, then the extinguisher in the 
galley area would be additional, or,
    b. An automatic, thermally activated, fire-suppression system must 
be installed to extinguish a fire at the cooktop and immediately 
adjacent surfaces. The agent used in the system must be an approved, 
total-flooding agent suitable for use in an occupied area. The fire-
suppression system must have a manual override. The automatic 
activation of the fire-suppression system must also automatically shut 
off power to the cooktop.
    5. The surfaces of the galley surrounding the cooktop, which would 
be exposed to a fire on the cooktop surface or in cookware on the 
cooktop, must be constructed of materials that comply with the 
flammability requirements of Part III of Appendix F of part 25. This 
requirement is in addition to the flammability

[[Page 37]]

requirements typically required of the materials in these galley 
surfaces. During the selection of these materials, consideration must 
also be given to ensure that the flammability characteristics of the 
materials will not be adversely affected by the use of cleaning agents 
and utensils used to remove cooking stains.
    6. The cooktop must be ventilated with a system independent of the 
airplane cabin and cargo ventilation system. Procedures and time 
intervals must be established to inspect and clean or replace the 
ventilation system to prevent a fire hazard from the accumulation of 
flammable oils and be included in the instructions for continued 
airworthiness. The ventilation system ducting must be protected by a 
flame arrestor. [Note: The applicant may find additional useful 
information in the Society of Automotive Engineers, Aerospace 
Recommended Practice 85, Rev. E, article titled, ``Air Conditioning 
Systems for Subsonic Airplanes,'' August 1, 1991.]
    7. Means must be provided to contain spilled foods or fluids in a 
manner that prevents the creation of a slipping hazard to occupants, 
and that will not lead to the loss of structural strength due to 
corrosion.
    8. Cooktop installations must provide adequate space for the user 
to immediately escape a hazardous cooktop condition.
    9. A means to shut off power to the cooktop must be provided at the 
galley containing the cooktop and in the cockpit. If additional 
switches are introduced in the cockpit, revisions to smoke or fire 
emergency procedures of the AFM will be required.
    10. A deployable cover must be readily available to cover the 
cooktop. The cooktop must be in stowed position during taxi, takeoff, 
and landing operation. When the cooktop is in the stowed position, the 
power must be automatically shut off.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on December 23, 2009.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. E9-31120 Filed 12-31-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P