[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60059-60061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21451]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0651; Special Conditions No. 25-799-SC]


Special Conditions: Airbus Model A321neo XLR Airplane; Flight-
Control Surface Awareness and Mode Annunciation

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 Airbus Model 
A321neo XLR airplanes. The airplane will have a novel or unusual design 
feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the 
airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design 
feature is a fly-by-wire system requiring flight-control surface-
position awareness and flight-control system mode-change alerting to 
the flight crew. 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.

[[Page 60060]]


DATES: This action is effective on Airbus on October 4, 2022. Send 
comments on or before November 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2021-0651 using 
any of the following methods:
     Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to https://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: 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 post all comments received without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information you provide. 
The FAA will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal 
contact received about these special conditions.
    Confidential Business Information: 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 from 
public disclosure. If your comments responsive to these special 
conditions contain commercial or financial information that is 
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and 
that is relevant or responsive to these special conditions, it is 
important that you 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 the indicated comments will not be placed in the public 
docket of these special conditions. Send submissions containing CBI to 
Troy Brown, Performance and Environment Section, AIR-625, Technical 
Innovation Policy Branch, Policy and Innovation Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 1801 S Airport 
Rd., Wichita, KS 67209-2190; telephone and fax 405-666-1050; email 
[email protected]. Comments the FAA receives, which are not 
specifically designated as CBI, will be placed in the public docket for 
these special conditions.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
https://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: Troy Brown, Performance and 
Environment Section, AIR-625, Technical Innovation Policy Branch, 
Policy and Innovation Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 1801 S Airport Rd., Wichita, KS 67209-2190; 
telephone and fax 405-666-1050; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions 
has been published in the Federal Register for public comment in 
several prior instances with no substantive comments received. 
Therefore, the FAA finds, pursuant to Sec.  11.38(b), that new comments 
are unlikely, and notice and comment prior to this publication are 
unnecessary.

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 16, 2019, Airbus applied for an amendment to Type 
Certificate No. A28NM to include the new Model A321neo XLR airplanes. 
These airplanes are twin-engine, transport-category airplanes with 
seating for 244 passengers and a maximum takeoff weight of 222,000 
pounds.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, Airbus must show that the 
Model A321neo XLR airplanes meet the applicable provisions of the 
regulations listed in Type Certificate No. A28NM, 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 Airbus Model A321neo XLR airplanes 
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 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, 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 Airbus Model A321neo XLR airplanes 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 Sec.  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 Airbus Model A321neo XLR airplanes will incorporate the 
following novel or unusual design feature:
    A fly-by-wire system requiring flight-control surface-position 
awareness and flight-control system mode-change alerting to the flight 
crew.

Discussion

    With a response-command type flight-control system and no direct 
coupling from cockpit controller to control surface, the pilot is not 
aware of actual surface position utilized to fulfill the requested 
demand. Some unusual flight conditions, arising from atmospheric 
conditions, or airplane or engine failures, may result in full or 
nearly full surface deflection. Unless the flight crew is made aware of 
excessive deflection or impending control-surface limiting, piloted or 
auto-flight system control of the airplane might be inadvertently 
continued in such a manner as to cause loss of control or other unsafe 
stability or performance characteristics.
    These special conditions also address flight-control-system mode 
annunciation. Suitable mode

[[Page 60061]]

annunciation must be provided to the flightcrew for events that 
significantly change the operating mode of the system but do not merit 
the classic ``failure warning.''
    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.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions apply to Airbus Model 
A321neo XLR airplanes. Should Airbus apply later for a change to the 
type certificate to include another model incorporating the same novel 
or unusual design feature, the special conditions would apply to that 
model as well.

Conclusion

    This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature 
on one model series of airplanes. It is not a rule of general 
applicability.

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

    [ssquf] 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 Airbus Model A321neo XLR airplanes.
    In addition to the requirements of Sec.  25.143, the following 
special condition applies:
    1. The flight-control system must indicate to the flight crew when 
the primary control means is near the limit of control authority.
    In addition to the requirements of Sec. Sec.  25.671 and 25.672, 
the following special condition applies:
    2. If the flight-control system has multiple modes of operation, 
the system must alert the flight crew when the airplane enters any mode 
that significantly changes or degrades the normal handling or 
operational characteristics of the airplane.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 28, 2022.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Innovation Policy Branch, Policy and Innovation 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-21451 Filed 10-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P