[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52392-52393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21060]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 25, 27, 29, 91, 121, 125, and 135

[Docket No.: FAA-2019-0491; Notice No. 19-09A]
RIN 2120-AK34


Interior Parts and Components Fire Protection for Transport 
Category Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was 
published in the Federal Register on July 3, 2019. In the NPRM, the FAA 
proposed to amend certain airworthiness regulations for fire protection 
of interior compartments on transport category airplanes. The proposal 
would convert those flammability regulations from detailed, 
prescriptive requirements into simpler, performance-based standards. 
The proposal would divide these standards into two categories: those 
designed to protect the airplane and its occupants from the hazards of 
in-flight fires, and those designed to protect the airplane and its 
occupants from the hazards caused by post-crash fires. In addition, the 
proposal would remove test methods from the regulations and allow 
applicants, in certain cases, to demonstrate compliance either without 
conducting tests or by providing independent substantiation of the 
flammability characteristics of a proposed material. The proposal 
includes conforming changes to various FAA regulations. The proposal is 
necessary to eliminate unnecessary testing, increase standardization, 
and improve safety. The FAA is extending the closing date of the 
comment period to allow commenters time to adequately analyze the 
proposal and prepare responses.

DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published on July 3, 2019 (84 FR 
31747), and scheduled to close on October 1, 2019, is extended until 
December 2, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2019-0491 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking 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 or Courier: Take comments to 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.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at (202) 493-2251.
    Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 
from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts 
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    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: Jeff Gardlin, AIR-600, Policy and 
Innovation Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; 
telephone (206) 231-3146; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this 
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency 
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, 
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in 
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion 
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and 
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain 
duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written 
comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should 
submit only one time.
    Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in 
the following paragraph, and other information as described in title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 11.35, the FAA will file in 
the docket all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing 
each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this 
proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will 
consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date for 
comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period 
has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or 
delay. The agency may change this proposal in light of the comments it 
receives.

Confidential Business Information

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt

[[Page 52393]]

from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM 
contain commercial or financial information that is customarily treated 
as private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or 
responsive to this NPRM, you should clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing 
CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will treat such marked submissions as 
confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public 
docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Jeff 
Gardlin at the address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section. Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically 
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this 
rulemaking.
    If submitting information on a disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of 
the disk or CD ROM, and identify electronically within the disk or CD 
ROM the specific information that is proprietary or confidential.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the 
internet by--
    1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
    2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies; or
    3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
    Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence 
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9677. 
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this 
rulemaking.
    All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, 
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from 
the internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item 
(1) above.

Background

    On July 3, 2019, the FAA published the NPRM entitled ``Interior 
Parts and Components Fire Protection for Transport Category 
Airplanes,'' Notice No. 19-09, in the Federal Register (84 FR 31747). 
Commenters were instructed to provide comments on or before October 1, 
2019. Since publication, 11 commenters \1\ have requested an extension 
of the comment period, citing the magnitude of changes and 
restructuring of existing flammability regulations. Two commenters 
requested an additional 90 days, 6 commenters an additional 120 days, 
and 3 others an additional 180 days. The commenters stated a longer 
timeframe is necessary to properly assess and coordinate the potential 
impact to design, materials, certification implementation, and to 
develop constructive feedback. In addition, the commenters stated that 
certain test methods being developed by the FAA are not yet fully 
developed or validated.
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    \1\ The commenters are Airbus SAS, The Boeing Company, 
Bombardier Aviation, Embraer S.A., F.List GmbH (F/List), General 
Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Gulfstream Aerospace 
Corporation, International Coordinating Council of Aerospace 
Industries Associations--Cabin Safety Working Group, Nitto ATP 
Finals, Safran Cabin Inc., and SEKISUI Polymer Innovations, LLC.
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    The FAA agrees with the petitioners' request for an extension of 
the comment period. The FAA recognizes that, given the scope of 
proposed changes is extensive and the subject complex, an extension of 
the comment period would help commenters craft complete and thoughtful 
responses. Although the minimum requested extension was 90 days, which 
is the length of the original comment period, such an extension would 
delay any action of the final rule until 2020. A 60-day extension (in 
this case 62 days to avoid a weekend) would be consistent with similar 
actions in the past and would allow the FAA to begin dispositioning 
comments in 2019. Therefore, the FAA agrees to extend the comment 
period an additional 62 days. With this extension, the comment period 
will now close on December 2, 2019. This will provide the public with a 
total of 152 days to conduct its review. The FAA does not anticipate 
any further extension of the comment period for this rulemaking.

Extension of Comment Period

    In accordance with 14 CFR 11.47(c), the FAA has reviewed the 
petitions for extension of the comment period for Notice No. 19-09. The 
petitioners have shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and 
good cause for an extension of the comment period. The FAA has 
determined that an extension of the comment period for an additional 62 
days to December 2, 2019, is in the public interest. Accordingly, in 
accordance with Sec.  11.47 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 
the comment period for Notice No. 19-09 is extended until December 2, 
2019.

    Issued under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 
44701(a), and 44703 in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2019.
Forest Rawls III,
Acting Deputy Executive Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2019-21060 Filed 10-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P