[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 51695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16094]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 149 / Friday, August 4, 2023 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 51695]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No.: FAA-2023-1442]


Accepted Means of Compliance; Airworthiness Standards: Transport 
Category Airplanes

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

ACTION: Notification of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document announces SAE International (SAE) aerospace 
standard (AS) for use as a means of compliance to the applicable 
airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The FAA 
accepts SAE Designation AS6960 ``Performance Standards for Seat 
Furnishings'', section 3.2.3 as a means of compliance with regard to 
the design of seat furnishings.

DATES: Effective August 4, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Jacquet, Cabin Safety Section, 
AIR-624, Technical Policy Branch, Policy & Standards Division, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198, 
telephone 206-231-3208, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the provisions of the National Technology Transfer and 
Advancement Act of 1995 \1\ and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Circular A-119, ``Federal Participation in the Development and Use of 
Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment 
Activities,'' effective January 27, 2016, the FAA participates in the 
development of consensus standards and uses consensus standards as a 
means of carrying out its policy objectives where appropriate. The FAA 
has been working with industry and other stakeholders through the SAE 
Aircraft Seat Committee to develop consensus standards for seat 
furnishings to prevent hazards, such as object entrapment.
    This document is the result of a safety recommendation, 
precipitated by an event where a passenger cell phone was crushed in 
the mechanism of a first class cabin seat on a British Airways Boeing 
747 airplane that caused smoke and fire. A pilot declared an emergency 
landing due to the fire. The crew used four Bromochlorodifluoromethane 
(BCF) and two water fire extinguishers to extinguish the cell phone 
fire.
    The FAA investigators found that the first and business class 
electrical power seats could jam a cell phone or tablet within its 
mechanism and crush its lithium battery to cause a fire. In the 2017 
safety recommendation, the British Airways maintenance department said 
they saw at least one cell phone per day get jammed in electrically 
operated seats. Also noted in the safety recommendation, American 
Airlines maintenance department reported receiving five calls per day 
to retrieve lost cell phones in seats at John F. Kennedy International 
Airport alone. According to the FAA website lithium battery incidents 
continue to be reported and are ongoing. (https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/resources/lithium_batteries/incidents)
    The FAA determined that seat designs that allow small objects 
(e.g., cell phones, keys, wallets) to migrate to a location that 
prevents the return of critical seat features to their taxi, takeoff, 
and landing position, or be crushed to cause a potential fire hazard, 
is non-compliant with Sec. Sec.  25.601 and 25.1301(a)(4). Section 
25.601 states, in part, ``The airplane may not have design features or 
details that experience has shown to be hazardous or unreliable.'' In 
addition, Sec.  25.1301(a)(4) states, ``Each item of installed 
equipment must function properly when installed.'' The FAA accepts SAE 
Designation AS6960 ``Performance Standards for Seat Furnishings'', 
section 3.2.3 as a means of compliance for Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations (14 CFR) 25.601 and 25.1301(a)(4) with regard to the design 
of seat furnishings.

Means of Compliance Accepted

    The FAA accepts SAE AS6960, ``Performance Standards for Seat 
Furnishings'', section 3.2.3 as an acceptable means of compliance with 
Sec. Sec.  25.601 and 25.1301(a)(4) for preventing hazards, such as 
stated herein, from object entrapment in seat furnishings. The FAA is 
notifying the public by publishing the acceptance of this consensus 
standard in the Federal Register.
    The means of compliance accepted by this document is one means, but 
not the only means, of complying with Sec. Sec.  25.601 and 
25.1301(a)(4) with regard to design of seat furnishings. Applicants who 
desire to use means of compliance reflected by other revisions to SAE 
standards not previously accepted may seek guidance and possible 
acceptance from the FAA for the use of those means of compliance on a 
case-by-case basis. Applicants may also propose alternative means of 
compliance for FAA review and possible acceptance.

Availability

    SAE AS6960, ``Performance Standards for Seat Furnishings in 
Transport Category Aircraft'' is available for purchase at https://www.sae.org/standards or by contacting SAE at telephone number (877) 
606-7323 or through email at https://store.sae.org. To inquire about 
consensus standard content, contact Nicole Mattern, Aircraft Seat 
Committee, (724) 772-4039 at [email protected].

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri.
Mary Schooley,
Acting Manager, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, 
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-16094 Filed 8-3-23; 8:45 am]
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