[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12678-12680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05198]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2025-5235; Special Conditions No. 25-885-SC]
Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model G300
Airplane; Therapeutic Oxygen System
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
[[Page 12679]]
ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream
Aerospace LP (Gulfstream) Model G300 airplane. This 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 the installation of a
therapeutic oxygen distribution system that provides a shared source of
oxygen between the flightcrew and passengers. 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 Gulfstream on March 17, 2026. Send
comments on or before May 1, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2025-5235 using
any of the following methods:
Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to 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.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
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: Robert Hettman, Mechanical Systems,
AIR-623, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 2200
South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone 206-231-3171; 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 title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations (14 CFR) 11.38(b), that new comments are unlikely, and
notice and comment prior to this publication are unnecessary.
Privacy
Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received without change to
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 the individual listed in the For Further
Information Contact section above. Comments the FAA receives, which are
not specifically designated as CBI, will be placed in the public docket
for these special conditions.
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 January 23, 2025, Gulfstream applied for an amendment to Type
Certificate No. A61NM to include the new Model G300 airplane. The
Gulfstream Model G300 airplane, which is a derivative of the Model G280
currently approved under Type Certificate No. A61NM, is a twin-engine,
transport-category airplane. It has a maximum seating capacity of 19
passengers and two crew, with a maximum takeoff weight of 39,600
pounds.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, Gulfstream must show that
the Model G300 airplane meets the applicable provisions of the
regulations listed in Type Certificate No. A61NM, 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 Gulfstream Model G300 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 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 Gulfstream Model G300 airplane must comply with the
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 14 CFR 11.38, and they become part of the type
certification basis under Sec. 21.101.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The Gulfstream Model G300 airplane will incorporate the following
novel or unusual design feature:
An oxygen distribution system that provides a shared source of
oxygen
[[Page 12680]]
between the flightcrew and passengers to provide supplemental and
therapeutic oxygen.
Discussion
No specific regulations address the design and installation of
required passenger or crew oxygen systems that share a supply source
with an optional oxygen system used specifically for therapeutic
applications. Therapeutic oxygen systems have been previously
certified, and were generally considered an extension of the passenger
oxygen system for the purpose of defining the applicable regulations.
As a result, existing requirements, such as Sec. Sec. 25.1309,
25.1441(b) and (c), 25.1451, and 25.1453, in the Gulfstream G300
airplanes' certification basis applicable to this Amended TC project,
provide some design standards appropriate for oxygen system
installations. In addition, Sec. 25.1445 includes standards for oxygen
distribution systems when oxygen is supplied to flightcrew and
passengers. If a common source of supply is used, Sec. 25.1445(a)(2)
requires a means to separately reserve the minimum supply required by
the flightcrew.
Section 25.1445 is intended to protect the flightcrew by ensuring
that an adequate supply of oxygen is available to complete a descent
and landing following a loss of cabin pressure. When the regulation was
written, the only passenger oxygen system designs were supplemental
oxygen systems intended to protect passengers from hypoxia in the event
of a decompression. Existing passenger oxygen systems did not include
design features that would allow the flightcrew to control oxygen to
passengers during flight. There are no similar requirements in Sec.
25.1445 when oxygen is supplied from the same source to passengers for
use during a decompression, and for discretionary or first-aid use any
time during the flight. In the design, the crew, passenger, and
therapeutic oxygen systems use the same source of oxygen. These special
conditions contain additional design requirements for the equipment
involved in this dual therapeutic oxygen plus supplemental gaseous
oxygen installation.
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 are applicable to the
Gulfstream Model G300 airplane. Should Gulfstream apply at a later date
for a change to the type certificate to include another model
incorporating 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 apply to that model as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature
on one model of airplane. 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), 40113, 44701, 44702, and 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 Gulfstream Aerospace LP Model G300
airplanes.
The distribution system for the passenger therapeutic oxygen system
must be designed and installed to meet requirements as follows:
(1) When oxygen is supplied to passengers for both supplemental and
therapeutic purposes, the distribution system must be designed for
either--
(a) A source of supplemental oxygen for protection following a loss
of cabin pressure, and a separate source for therapeutic purposes; or
(b) A common source of supply with means to separately reserve the
minimum supply required by the passengers for supplemental use
following a loss of cabin pressure.
Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 12, 2026.
Jorge R. Castillo,
Manager, Technical Policy Branch, AIR-620, Policy and Standards
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-05198 Filed 3-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P