[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11634-11637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05321]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 23
[Docket No. FAA-2018-0200; Special Conditions No. 23-287-SC]
Special Conditions: Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., HA-420
Airplane; Single-Place Side-Facing Lavatory Seat Dynamic Test
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Honda Aircraft
Company, Inc., HA-420 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or
unusual design feature associated with a single-place side-facing seat
in the lavatory that can be used as a passenger seat during taxi,
takeoff, and landing. 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 special conditions are effective March 16, 2018, and are
applicable March 7, 2018.
We must receive your comments by April 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2018-0200
using any of the following methods:
Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery of Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in
[[Page 11635]]
Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without
change, to http://regulations.gov, including any personal information
the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket
website, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all comments
received into any FAA docket, including the name of the individual
sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association,
business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can
be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140
of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Stegeman, Federal Aviation
Administration, AIR-691, Policy & Innovation Division, Small Airplane
Standards Branch, Aircraft Certification Service, 901 Locust, Kansas
City, Missouri 64106; telephone (816) 329-4140; facsimile (816) 329-
4090.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice and
opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable because these
procedures would significantly delay issuance of the approval design
and thus delivery of the affected airplanes.
Comments Invited
We invite interested people to take part in this rulemaking by
sending 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 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 based on the comments we receive.
Background
On January 6, 2017, Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. applied for a
change to Type Certificate (TC) No. A00018AT for the installation of a
single-place side-facing belted lavatory seat in the HA-420 airplane.
The HA-420, currently approved under TC No. A00018AT, is a 7-seat,
lightweight business jet with a 43,000-foot service ceiling and a
maximum takeoff weight of 9,963 pounds. The airplane is powered by two
GE-Honda Aero Engines (GHAE) HF-120 turbofan engines.
The airplane will be equipped with a ``belted'' lavatory seat cover
that a passenger can be seated in during taxi, takeoff, and landing.
Therefore, compliance with the provisions of 14 CFR 23.562 and 23.785--
in addition to the certification basis as established in TC No.
A00018AT--and any additional requirements the FAA determines, are
applicable. In this case, the approval of a side-facing seat to these
provisions is considered novel or unusual; therefore, special
conditions are required.
14 CFR part 23, amendment 23-36,\2\ effective September 14, 1988,
revised the emergency landing conditions that must be considered in the
design of the airplane. Specifically, it revised the static load
conditions in Sec. 23.561 and added Sec. 23.562 to require dynamic
testing for all seats approved for occupancy during takeoff and
landing. The intent of amendment 23-36 is to provide an improved level
of safety for occupants on airplanes certificated under part 23 (part
23 airplanes). In part 23 airplanes, most seating is forward or aft
facing; therefore, the pass/fail criteria in amendment 23-36 focuses on
forward- and aft-facing seats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Ref 53 FR 30802, August 15, 1988.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, Honda Aircraft Company,
Inc., must show that the HA-420, as changed, continues to meet the
applicable provisions of the regulations incorporated by reference in
TC No. A00018AT or the applicable regulations in effect on the date of
application for the type certificate. 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 TC No. A00018AT are as follows:
14 CFR part 23, Airworthiness Standards: Normal, Utility,
Acrobatic, and Commuter Airplanes, effective February 1, 1965, as
amended by amendments 23-1, July 29, 1965, through amendment 23-62,
dated December 2, 2011.
14 CFR part 34, Fuel Venting and Exhaust Emission Requirements for
Turbine-Engine-Powered Airplanes, effective September 10, 1990, as
amended by amendments 34-1, dated July 31, 1995 through amendment 34-5,
dated December 31, 2012.
14 CFR part 36, Noise Standards: Aircraft Type Certification and
Airworthiness Certification, effective March 11, 1994, as amended by
amendments 36-1, dated December 1, 1965, through amendment 36-29, dated
March 11, 2013.
Exemption 11123, dated December 16, 2014, Sec. 23.181(b), Dynamic
Stability Compliance with Sec. 23.181(b) during takeoff and landing.
ELOS ACE-15-08, dated June 5, 2015: Use of 1-g Stall Speeds in lieu
of Minimum Speed in the Stall as a Basis for Determining.
ELOS ACE-15-09, dated March 26, 2015: Electronic Display of Engine
Instruments N1, N2, ITT, Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature, Fuel Flow, and
Fuel Quantity on a Garmin G3000 Integrated Flight Deck.
ELOS ACE-15-10, dated March 25, 2015: Storage Battery Design and
Installation Compliance.
ELOS ACE-15-11, dated September 14, 2015: Airspeed Indicator (ASI)
Flap Markings.
ELOS ACE-15-15, dated September 1, 2015: Amendment 23-62
Corrections.
Special Condition No. 23-263-SC, dated March 25, 2015, Dynamic Test
Requirements for Single-Place Side-Facing Seats.
Special Condition No. 23-264-SC, dated March 25, 2015, Electronic
Engine Control System.
Special Condition 23-265-SC, dated June 9, 2015, Fire
Extinguishing. Note: This special condition supersedes the ELOS finding
of ELOS Memo ACE-15-15.
Special Condition No. 23-269-SC, dated Sept 14, 2015, Lithium-Ion
Battery Installation.
Special Condition No. 23-270-SC, dated August 3, 2015: High
Altitude Operations.
Special Condition Notice No. 23-271-SC, dated October 26, 2015,
Cruise Speed Control.
If the Administrator finds the applicable airworthiness regulations
(i.e., 14 CFR part 23, Sec. 23.562) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for the HA-420 because of a novel or
unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the
provisions of 14 CFR 21.16.
The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19,
under Sec. 11.38,
[[Page 11636]]
and they become part of the type certification basis under Sec.
21.101.
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 feature, the FAA would apply these special conditions to
the other model.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The HA-420 will incorporate the following novel or unusual design
feature:
A single-place side-facing lavatory seat intended for taxi,
takeoff, and landing.
Discussion
The seat is to incorporate design features that reduce the
potential for injury in the event of an accident. The seat is
essentially a padded toilet cover. In a severe impact, the occupant
will be restrained by a 2-point seatbelt attached to the sidewall and,
in an accident, bear on an adjacent wall/bulkhead forward of the
occupant. This wall/bulkhead may or may not be padded, depending upon
test results. Due primarily to its close proximity to the occupant, the
wall provides the same function of the upper torso restraint for
forward facing occupants.
The testing should represent features in the cabin that may
influence dynamic test results. Notable details include a
representative bulkhead forward lavatory wall and any objects that may
influence its ability to attenuate load or otherwise affect its
stiffness. This could include cabin furniture or seats forward of the
bulkhead.
Dynamic seat testing also requires seat attachment points be
deflected in pitch and roll in order to demonstrate the seat will
remain attached as the airplane deforms in an accident. In this
installation, pitch and roll are not practicable and not required
because the seat is primarily attached to the sidewall and the seatbelt
and bulkhead primarily restrain the occupant.
In addition to the design features intended to minimize occupant
injury during an accident sequence, the installation will also require
operational procedures that will facilitate egress in the event of an
accident, including leaving the lavatory door locked open during taxi,
takeoff, and landing. The adjacent forward wall/bulkhead interior
structure may have padding that will provide some protection to the
head of the occupant if head injury criteria (HIC) values require it.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
HA-420. Should Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. 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 FAA would apply these
special conditions 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.
The FAA has determined that notice and opportunity for prior public
comment are impracticable because these procedures would significantly
delay issuance of the approval design and thus delivery of the affected
airplanes. The FAA is requesting comments to allow interested persons
to submit views that may not have been submitted in response to the
prior opportunities for comment described above.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 23
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Signs and symbols.
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701-44702; 44704,
Pub. L. 113-53, 127 Stat 584 (49 U.S.C. 44704) note, 14 CFR 21.16
and 21.101(d).
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 Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., HA-420
airplanes.
(1) Single-Place Side-Facing Lavatory Seat Dynamic Test
(a) Existing Criteria. As referenced by Sec. 23.785(b), all injury
protection criteria of Sec. 23.562(c)(l) through (c)(7) apply to the
occupants of the side-facing seat. 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.
(c) Thoracic Trauma. Testing with a Side Impact Dummy (SID), as
defined by 49 CFR part 572, subpart F or its equivalent, must be
performed in order to establish Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) injury
criteria. TTI acquired with the SID must be less than 85, as defined in
49 CFR part 572, subpart F. SID TTI data must be processed as defined
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) part 571.214, section
S11.5 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 S11.5.
(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.
(f) Compression Loads. The compression load measured between the
pelvis and the lumbar spine of the Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD)
may not exceed 1,500 pounds.
(g) Emergency Evacuation. When occupied, the lavatory door must be
latched open for taxi, takeoff and landing and remain latched under the
Sec. 23.561(b) loads. The airplane configuration must meet the
emergency evacuation requirements of its certification basis with the
seat occupied.
(h) Lavatory Placard. A placard specifying that the lavatory door
must be latched (in the open position) for taxi, takeoff, and landing
when the lavatory is occupied must be displayed in an acceptable manner
for Sec. 23.791 compliance.
(i) Test Requirements in Sec. 23.562 dynamic loads. The tests in
Sec. 23.562(a), (b), and (c) must be conducted on the lavatory seat.
Floor deformation is generally required except for a seat that is
cantilevered to the bulkhead.
(j) The following are the agreed upon methods of compliance and
test requirements:
(1) General Test Guidelines
(i) One longitudinal test with the SID ATD or its equivalent, un-
deformed floor, no yaw, and with all lateral structural supports
(armrests/walls) will be accomplished.
[[Page 11637]]
--Pass/fail injury assessments: TTI and pelvic acceleration.
(ii) One longitudinal test with the Hybrid II ATD, deformed floor,
with 10 degrees yaw, and with all lateral structural supports
(armrests/walls) will be accomplished.
--Pass/fail injury assessments: HIC and upper torso restraint load,
restraint system retention, and pelvic acceleration.
(iii) Vertical (15 g's) test is to be conducted with modified
Hybrid II ATDs with existing pass/fail criteria.
(iv) The ATD can be tethered for the floor deformation test.
(v) The seatbelt is not required to have a TSO Authorization but
will need to comply with the TSO-C22g Minimum Performance Standards
(MPS).
(2) Special Notes
(i) The ATD head and torso must remain supported by the forward
divider (wall) during the event. The ATD is not permitted to move
inboard of the divider.
(ii) Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. must determine whether the last
cabin seat will become a partition panel or bulkhead restraint that can
increase ATD inertial loading or otherwise affect the test whether the
last cabin seat is occupied or unoccupied.
(iii) The ATD should be fitted in a manner reflecting the worst
occupant seating. Belts, buckles, and other clothing must remain
restrained for the event duration and not become loose items of mass.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 7, 2018.
Pat Mullen,
Manager, Small Airplane Standards Branch, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-05321 Filed 3-15-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P