[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48142-48143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15853]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 21 and 25

[Docket No. FAA-2023-1383]


Draft Policy Statement Regarding Classification of Type Design 
Changes That Would Materially Alter Safety Critical Information as 
Major Type Design Changes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notification of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: A draft policy statement would state that proposed type design 
changes that would materially alter safety critical information have 
the potential to affect airworthiness, and therefore do not qualify as 
minor design changes.

DATES: Comments on the draft policy statement must be received on or 
before August 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send comments with the subject line, ``Classification of 
Type Design Changes That Would Materially Alter Safety Critical 
Information as Major Type Design Changes'' identified by docket number 
FAA-2023-1383, using the following method:
     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.

[[Page 48143]]

     Hand Delivery of 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 addition to the final policy statement, the FAA will 
post all comments it receives, without change, to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information the commenter 
provides. 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 https://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue McCormick, Product Policy 
Management: Systems Standards Section, AIR-63A, Organization and 
Systems Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service, by email at [email protected], or by phone 
at (206) 231-3242.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    Section 105(a) of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and 
Accountability Act, Public Law 116-260 (the Act), defines five 
categories of ``safety critical information'' and instructs the FAA to 
take a variety of actions related to the submittal of such information 
by applicants for, or holders of, type certificates for transport 
category airplanes. These five categories of information all relate to 
the airplane's airworthiness characteristics. A proposed design change 
that would have an appreciable effect on an airworthiness 
characteristic of a product must be evaluated as a major, rather than 
minor, change. 14 CFR 21.93, 21.95, and 21.97. Therefore, the FAA plans 
to issue a policy statement stating that a proposed design change to a 
transport category airplane that would materially alter safety critical 
information would have an appreciable affect on the airplane's 
airworthiness, and therefore would not qualify as a minor change. A 
draft of the policy statement may be examined in the docket and at 
https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites the public to submit comments on the draft policy 
statement, as specified in the ADDRESSES section of this notification. 
Commenters should include the subject line, ``Classification of Type 
Design Changes That Would Materially Alter Safety Critical Information 
as Major Type Design Changes'' and the docket number on all comments 
submitted to the FAA. The most helpful comments will reference a 
specific recommendation, explain the reason for any recommended change, 
and include supporting information. The FAA will consider all comments 
received on or before the closing date, before issuing the final policy 
statement. The FAA will also consider late-filed comments if it is 
possible to do so without incurring expense or delay.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Brian Cable,
Manager, Organization and Systems Policy Branch, Policy and Standards 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-15853 Filed 7-25-23; 8:45 am]
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