[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 1, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18108-18110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06339]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0273; Special Conditions No. 25-767-SC]


Special Conditions: Delta Flight Products, Boeing Model No. 757-
200 Series Airplane; Seats With Non-Traditional, Large, Non-Metallic 
Panels

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model No. 
757-200 series airplane. This airplane, as modified by Delta Flight 
Products, will have novel or unusual design features when compared to 
the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for 
transport category airplanes. This design feature includes seats with 
large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels on Boeing 757-200 series 
airplanes. 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: This action is effective on Delta Flight Products on April 1, 
2020. Send comments on or before May 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2020-0273 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 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: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://www.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).
    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 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: John Shelden, Airframe & Cabin Safety 
Section, AIR-675, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198; 
telephone and fax 206-231-3214; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions 
previously has been published in the Federal Register for public 
comment. These special conditions have been derived without substantive 
change from those previously issued. It is unlikely that prior public 
comment would result in a significant change from the substance 
contained herein. Therefore, the FAA has determined that prior public 
notice and comment are unnecessary, and finds that, for the same 
reason, good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites 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.
    The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date for 
comments. The FAA may change these special conditions based on the 
comments received.

Background

    On September 3, 2019, Delta applied for a supplemental type 
certificate for an interior reconfiguration that includes seats 
containing large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels on Boeing 757-
200 series airplanes. The Boeing 757-200

[[Page 18109]]

series airplane is a twin-engine, transport category airplane with 
seating provisions for up to 239 passengers.
    The applicable regulations to airplanes currently approved under 
Type Certificate No. A2NM do not require seats to meet the more-
stringent flammability standards required of large, non-traditional, 
non-metallic panels in the cabin interior. At the time the applicable 
rules were written, seats were designed with a metal frame covered by 
fabric, not with large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels. Seats 
also met the then-recently adopted standards for flammability of seat 
cushions. With the seat design being mostly fabric and metal, their 
contribution to a fire in the cabin had been minimized and was not 
considered a threat. For these reasons, seats did not need to be tested 
to heat-release and smoke-emission requirements.
    Seat designs have now evolved to occasionally include large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels. Taken in total, the surface area of 
these panels is on the same order as the sidewall and overhead-stowage-
bin interior panels. To provide the level of passenger protection 
established by the airworthiness standards, these large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels in the cabin must meet the standards 
of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 25, Appendix F, 
parts IV and V, heat-release and smoke-emission requirements.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.101, Delta Flight Products must show that the Model 757-200 
series airplane, as changed, continues to meet the applicable 
provisions of the regulations listed in Type Certificate No. A2NM or 
the applicable regulations in effect on the date of application for the 
change, except for earlier amendments as agreed upon by the FAA.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (e.g., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for the Boeing Model 757-200 series 
airplane because of a novel or unusual design feature, special 
conditions are prescribed under the provisions of Sec.  21.16.
    Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which 
they are issued. Should the applicant apply for a supplemental type 
certificate to modify any other model included on the same type 
certificate to incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature, 
these special conditions would also apply to the other model under 
Sec.  21.101.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the Boeing Model 757-200 series 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.
    The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in 
accordance with Sec.  11.38, and they become part of the type 
certification basis under Sec.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Boeing 757-200 series airplane will incorporate the following 
novel or unusual design feature:
    This model offers interior arrangements that include passenger 
seats that incorporate large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels in 
lieu of the traditional metal frame covered by fabric. The flammability 
properties of these panels have been shown to significantly affect the 
survivability of cabin occupants in the event of fire. These seats are 
considered a novel design for transport-category airplanes that include 
Amendment 25-61 and Amendment 25-66 in the certification basis, and 
were not considered when those airworthiness standards were 
established.
    The existing regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate 
safety standards for seat designs that incorporate large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels in their designs. To provide a level 
of safety that is equivalent to that afforded to the balance of the 
cabin, additional airworthiness standards, in the form of special 
conditions, are necessary. These special conditions supplement 14 CFR 
25.853. The requirements contained in these special conditions consist 
of applying the identical test conditions, required of all other large 
panels in the cabin, to seats with large, non-traditional, non-metallic 
panels.

Discussion

    In the early 1980s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
conducted extensive research on the effects of post-crash flammability 
in the passenger cabin. As a result of this research and service 
experience, the FAA adopted new standards for interior surfaces 
associated with larger surface-area parts. Specifically, the rules 
require measurement of heat release and smoke emission (part 25, 
Appendix F, parts IV and V) for the affected parts. Heat release has 
been shown to have a direct correlation to post-crash fire-survival 
time. The materials that comply with the standards (e.g., Sec.  25.853, 
``Compartment Interiors,'' as amended by Amendments 25-61 and 25-66) 
were found to extend survival time by approximately two minutes over 
materials that do not comply.
    At the time Amendment 25-61 was written, the potential application 
of the requirement to seats was explored. The seat frame itself was not 
a concern because it was primarily made of aluminum and incorporated 
only small amounts of non-metallic materials (for example, a food-tray 
table and armrest closeout). The FAA determined that the overall effect 
on survivability was negligible, whether or not these panels met the 
heat-release and smoke-emission requirements. The requirements 
therefore did not address seats, and the preambles to both Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) 85-10 and the final rule (Amendment 25-61) 
specifically note that they were excluded ``. . . because the recently 
adopted standards for flammability of seat cushions will greatly 
inhibit involvement of the seats'' in their post-crash fire.
    In the late 1990s, when it became clear that seat designs were 
evolving to include large non-metallic panels with surface area that 
would impact survivability during a cabin-fire event compared to 
partitions or galleys, the FAA issued Policy Memorandum 97-112-39. This 
memo noted that large surface-area panels must comply with heat-release 
and smoke-emission requirements, even if they were attached to a seat. 
If the FAA had not issued such policy, seat designs would have been an 
exception to the airworthiness standards, which could result in an 
unacceptable decrease in survivability during a cabin fire event.
    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.

Definition of ``Large, Non-Traditional, Non-Metallic Panel''

    A large, non-traditional, non-metallic panel, in this case, is 
defined as a panel with exposed-surface areas greater than 1.5 square 
feet installed per seat place. The panel may consist of either a single 
component or multiple components in a concentrated area. Examples of 
non-traditional areas include, but are not limited to, seat backs, 
bottoms and leg/foot rests, kick panels, back shells, and associated 
furniture. Examples of traditional, exempted areas include, but are not 
limited to, arm caps, armrest close-outs, and items such as end-bays

[[Page 18110]]

and center consoles, food trays, video monitors, and shrouds.

Clarification of ``Exposed''

    ``Exposed'' is considered to include those panels directly exposed 
to the passenger cabin in the traditional sense, plus those panels 
enveloped, such as by a dress cover. Traditional fabrics or leathers 
currently used on seats are excluded from the special conditions. These 
materials must still comply with Sec.  25.853(a) and (c) if used as a 
covering for a seat cushion, or Sec.  25.853(a) if installed elsewhere 
on the seat. Large, non-metallic panels covered with traditional 
fabrics or leathers will be tested without their coverings or covering 
attachments.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Boeing Model 757-200 series airplane. Should Delta Flight Products 
apply at a later date for a supplemental type certificate to modify any 
other model included on Type Certificate No. A2NM 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 series of airplanes. 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.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

Authority Citation

    The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 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 Boeing Model 757-200 series airplanes, 
as modified by Delta Flight Products.
    1. Compliance with 14 CFR part 25, Appendix F, parts IV and V, heat 
release and smoke emission, is required for seats that incorporate 
large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels that may either be a single 
component or multiple components in a concentrated area in their 
design.
    2. The applicant may designate up to and including 1.5 square feet 
of non-traditional, non-metallic panel material per seat place that 
does not have to comply with No. 1. A triple seat assembly may have a 
total of 4.5 square feet excluded on any portion of the assembly (e.g., 
outboard seat place 1 sq. ft., middle 1 sq. ft., and inboard 2.5 sq. 
ft.).
    3. Seats need not meet the test requirements of part 25 Appendix F, 
parts IV and V when installed in compartments that are not otherwise 
required to meet these requirements. Examples include:
    a. Airplanes with passenger capacities of 19 or fewer.
    b. Airplanes that do not have smoke emission and heat release in 
their certification basis and do not need to comply with the 
requirements of 14 CFR 121.312.
    c. Airplanes exempted from heat-release and smoke-emission 
requirements.

    Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on March 12, 2020.
James E. Wilborn,
Acting Manager, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-06339 Filed 3-31-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P