Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation GVII-G500; Airbag Systems on Multiple-Place and Single-Place Side-Facing Seats, 27771-27773 [2017-12617]

Download as PDF 27771 Rules and Regulations Federal Register Vol. 82, No. 116 Monday, June 19, 2017 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510. The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 25 [Docket No. FAA–2017–0240; Special Conditions No. 25–691–SC] Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation GVII–G500; Airbag Systems on Multiple-Place and Single-Place Side-Facing Seats Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments. AGENCY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) GVII–G500 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 airbag systems on multiple-place and singleplace side-facing seats. 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 June 19, 2017. We must receive your comments by August 3, 2017. SUMMARY: Send comments identified by docket number FAA–2017–0240 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 rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with RULES ADDRESSES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:20 Jun 16, 2017 Jkt 241001 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 https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket Web site, 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), as well as at https://DocketsInfo.dot. gov/. 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: Alan Sinclair, FAA, Airframe and Cabin Safety, ANM–115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057–3356; telephone 425–227–2195; facsimile 425–227–1320. The FAA has determined that notice of, and opportunity for prior public comment on, these special conditions is impracticable because the substance of these special conditions has been subject to the public comment process in several prior instances with no substantive comments received. The FAA therefore finds that good cause exists for making these special conditions effective upon publication in the Federal Register. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 Comments Invited We invite 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. We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for comments. We may change these special conditions based on the comments we receive. Background On March 29, 2012, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation applied for a type certificate for their new Model GVII–G500 airplane. The Model GVII– G500 airplane will be a twin-engine, transport-category business jet capable of accommodating up to 19 passengers. The Model GVII–G500 airplane will have a maximum takeoff weight of 76,850 lbs. Type Certification Basis Under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, Gulfstream must show that the Model GVII–G500 airplane meets the applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 25, as amended by Amendments 25–1 through 25–129. If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations (i.e., part 25) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Model GVII–G500 airplane because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 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 or similar novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions would also apply to the other model under § 21.101. In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, Model GVII–G500 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 must issue a finding of regulatory adequacy under § 611 of Public Law 92– 574, the ‘‘Noise Control Act of 1972.’’ E:\FR\FM\19JNR1.SGM 19JNR1 27772 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 116 / Monday, June 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance with § 11.38, and they become part of the type certification basis under § 21.17(a)(2). Novel or Unusual Design Feature The Model GVII–G500 airplane will incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature: Airbag systems on multiple-place and single-place side-facing seats. Discussion Side facing seats are considered a novel design for transport-category airplanes that include 14 CFR part 25, Amendment 25–64, in their certification bases, because this feature was not anticipated when those airworthiness standards were issued. Therefore, the existing regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate safety standards for occupants of side-facing seats. For the Model GVII–G500 airplane, FAA Special Conditions No. 25–618–SC, ‘‘Technical Criteria for Approving SideFacing Seats,’’ proposed special conditions to address the certification of single- and multiple-place side-facing seats. Those proposed special conditions include condition 2(e), which requires the axial rotation of the upper leg (femur) to be limited to 35 degrees in either direction from the nominal seat position. To accommodate that requirement, Gulfstream has developed a new airbag system that will be installed close to the floor, and which is designed to limit the axial rotation of the occupant’s upper legs. 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. rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with RULES Applicability As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the Gulfstream Model GVII–G500 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, these special conditions would apply to that model as well. Conclusion This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features on one model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability. The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the notice and comment period in several prior instances and has been derived without substantive change from those VerDate Sep<11>2014 12:20 Jun 16, 2017 Jkt 241001 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 impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon publication in the Federal Register. The FAA is requesting comments to allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment described above. List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25 Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows: Authority: 49 U.S.C. 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 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVII– G500 airplanes. In addition to the requirements of §§ 25.562 and 25.785, and Special Conditions No. 25–495–SC, the following special conditions are part of the type certification basis for the Gulfstream Model GVII–G500 airplane with leg-flail airbags installed on sidefacing seats. 1. For seats with a leg-flail airbag system, the system must deploy and provide protection under crash conditions where it is necessary to prevent serious injury. The means of protection must take into consideration a range of stature from a 2-year-old child to a 95th-percentile male. At some buttock popliteal length and effective seat-bottom depth, the lower legs will not be able to form a 90-degree angle relative to the upper leg; at this point, the lower leg flail would not occur. The leg-flail airbag system must provide a consistent approach to prevention of leg flail throughout that range of occupants whose lower legs can form a 90-degree angle relative to the upper legs when seated upright in the seat. Items that need to be considered include, but are not limited to, the range of occupants’ popliteal height, the range of occupants’ buttock popliteal length, the design of the seat effective height above the floor, and the effective depth of the seatbottom cushion. 2. The leg-flail airbag system must provide adequate protection for each occupant regardless of the number of PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 occupants of the seat assembly, considering that unoccupied seats may have an active leg-flail airbag system. 3. The leg-flail airbag system must not be susceptible to inadvertent deployment as a result of wear and tear, or inertial loads resulting from in-flight or ground maneuvers (including gusts and hard landings), and other operating and environmental conditions (vibrations, moisture, etc.) likely to occur in service. 4. Deployment of the leg-flail airbag system must not introduce injury mechanisms to the seated occupant, nor result in injuries that could impede rapid egress. 5. Inadvertent deployment of the legflail airbag system, during the most critical part of the flight, must either meet the requirement of § 25.1309(b), or not cause a hazard to the airplane or its occupants. 6. The leg-flail airbag system must not impede rapid egress of occupants from the airplane 10 seconds after airbag deployment. 7. The leg-flail airbag system must be protected from lightning and highintensity radiated fields (HIRF). The threats to the airplane specified in existing regulations regarding lightning (§ 25.1316) and HIRF (§ 25.1317) are incorporated by reference for the purpose of measuring lightning and HIRF protection. 8. The leg-flail airbag system must function properly after loss of normal airplane electrical power, and after a transverse separation of the fuselage at the most critical location. A separation at the location of the leg-flail airbag system does not have to be considered. 9. The leg-flail airbag system must not release hazardous quantities of gas or particulate matter into the cabin. 10. The leg-flail airbag system installation must be protected from the effects of fire such that no hazard to occupants will result. 11. A means must be available to verify the integrity of the leg-flail airbag system’s activation system prior to each flight, or the leg-flail airbag system’s activation system must reliably operate between inspection intervals. The FAA considers that the loss of the leg-flail airbag system’s deployment function alone (i.e., independent of the conditional event that requires the legflail airbag system’s deployment) is a major-failure condition. 12. The airbag inflatable material may not have an average burn rate of greater than 2.5 inches per minute when tested using the horizontal flammability test defined in part 25, appendix F, part I, paragraph (b)(5). E:\FR\FM\19JNR1.SGM 19JNR1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 116 / Monday, June 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 13. The leg-flail airbag system, once deployed, must not adversely affect the emergency-lighting system (i.e., must not block floor-proximity lights to the extent that the lights no longer meet their intended function). Issued in Renton, Washington, on June 8, 2017. Michael Kaszycki, Assistant Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. [FR Doc. 2017–12617 Filed 6–16–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–13–P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 110 [Docket Number USCG–2015–0729] RIN 1625–AA01 Port of Miami Anchorage Area; Atlantic Ocean, Miami Beach, FL Coast Guard, DHS. Final rule. AGENCY: ACTION: rmajette on DSKBCKNHB2PROD with RULES I. Table of Abbreviations CFR Code of Federal Regulations DHS Department of Homeland Security FR Federal Register NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking § Section U.S.C. United States Code 12:20 Jun 16, 2017 On December 1, 2015, the Coast Guard published a notice of study that indicated we were evaluating amending the Miami Anchorage, based on the location of coral reefs off the coast of Florida. The Coast Guard received four comments in response to the notice of study during the period that ended on February 1, 2016. In coordination with several interested parties, the Coast Guard published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on May 10, 2016 (81 FR 28788). Four additional comments were received in response to the NPRM. The comment period for the NPRM closed on July 11, 2016. Through continued cooperation and research with stakeholders, the Coast Guard amended the original locations and requirements stated in the NPRM, and published these changes in a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM), on February 22, 2017 (82 FR 11329). We received five written submissions on the SNPRM during the comment period that ended on March 24, 2017. We did not receive any oral comments. III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule The Coast Guard is dividing its Miami anchorage ground into two separate anchorage areas. This action is necessary to reduce potential damage to threatened coral posed by anchoring vessels. The area for vessels to anchor will be reduced by approximately 3 square nautical miles, but this rule still leaves vessels with approximately 1.5 square miles of anchorage areas. DATES: This rule is effective from July 19, 2017. ADDRESSES: To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to https:// www.regulations.gov, type USCG–2015– 0729 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ box and click ‘‘SEARCH.’’ Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with this rule. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, call or email Mr. Paul Lehmann, Coast Guard Seventh District Prevention Waterways Management Division, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (305) 415–6796, email Paul.D.Lehmann@uscg.mil. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 II. Background Information and Regulatory History Jkt 241001 The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under authority in 33 U.S.C. 471. The Seventh District Commander has determined that the new locations of the anchorage provide both a safe anchorage ground for vessels, as well as provide for protection of the coral reef and uphold the environmental protection mission of the Coast Guard. IV. Discussion of Comments, Changes, and the Rule On December 1, 2015, the Coast Guard published a notice of study that indicated we were evaluating amending the Miami Anchorage to divide the anchorage into two smaller anchorage areas. The proposed amendment was designed in coordination with a variety of local stakeholders, including the South East Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI). Comment provided by these stakeholders, academic research, and environmental reports have raised concerns with the Coast Guard about the potential for damage to the Florida Reef in the Miami Anchorage. Examples of the body of work that influenced the Coast Guard in proposing this amendment may be found in the docket. In response to the notice of study, the Coast Guard received four comments. These comments were addressed in an NPRM published on May 10, 2016. In response to the NPRM, we received four additional comments. Two of the PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 27773 comments, one by the local non-profit Miami Waterkeeper and the other by a private citizen, supported our planned modification of the Miami Anchorage. The third and fourth comments were submitted by the Biscayne Bay Pilots Association. The Biscayne Bay Pilots Association (pilots) submitted a comment, through Becky Hope of the Port of Miami, on May 17, 2016. This comment requested the Coast Guard evaluate changes in the proposed anchorage, including shifting the outer anchorage west and shifting the southern boundary of the outer anchorage north. In response to these comments, the Coast Guard met with the Pilots to discuss the requests and the basis at which we arrived at the current anchorage configuration. During the meeting the Coast Guard agreed to shift the western boundary of the outer anchorage approximately 300 feet to the west to provide more room for large anchoring vessels. This change does not have any effect on coral or hard bottom as the sea floor in that area is sand. On June 11, 2016, the Pilots submitted a follow up comment to the public docket expressing concern that the outer anchorage would expose vessels to increased current and waves and, they claim, could increase the chance a vessel would drag anchor. In order to properly assess environmental conditions and risk of an anchor drag, the Coast Guard consulted with the National Weather Service and Maersk training center. The National Weather Service conducted a study, analyzing the previous year’s current in the vicinity of the anchorage. The Weather Service found that the average current in the area of the outer anchorage over the previous year was approximately 1.2 knots, with currents ranging plus or minus half a knot from the mean current seventy percent of the time. This information was provided to the Maersk training center in Svendborg, Denmark. Subject matter experts at the training school indicated that the conditions posed no significant hazard and that captains would have the training and experience to set an anchor in the deeper waters of the outer anchorage. Due to the additional changes requested by the various parties involved, we published a Supplemental Notice to Proposed Rulemaking on February 22, 2017. The Coast Guard received five comments in response to this SNPRM. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection supports this project as a means to reduce coral reef and hardbottom impacts. The additional comments were in support of the rule, citing the desire to protect natural resources while acknowledging E:\FR\FM\19JNR1.SGM 19JNR1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 116 (Monday, June 19, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27771-27773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12617]



========================================================================
Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 116 / Monday, June 19, 2017 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 27771]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0240; Special Conditions No. 25-691-SC]


Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation GVII-G500; 
Airbag Systems on Multiple-Place and Single-Place Side-Facing Seats

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream 
Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) GVII-G500 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 airbag systems on multiple-
place and single-place side-facing seats. 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 June 19, 2017. We must 
receive your comments by August 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2017-0240 
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: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the 
docket Web site, 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), as well as at https://DocketsInfo.dot.gov/ gov/.
    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: Alan Sinclair, FAA, Airframe and Cabin 
Safety, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone 
425-227-2195; facsimile 425-227-1320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice of, and 
opportunity for prior public comment on, these special conditions is 
impracticable because the substance of these special conditions has 
been subject to the public comment process in several prior instances 
with no substantive comments received. The FAA therefore finds that 
good cause exists for making these special conditions effective upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

Comments Invited

    We invite 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.
    We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for 
comments. We may change these special conditions based on the comments 
we receive.

Background

    On March 29, 2012, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation applied for a 
type certificate for their new Model GVII-G500 airplane. The Model 
GVII-G500 airplane will be a twin-engine, transport-category business 
jet capable of accommodating up to 19 passengers. The Model GVII-G500 
airplane will have a maximum takeoff weight of 76,850 lbs.

Type Certification Basis

    Under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 
Gulfstream must show that the Model GVII-G500 airplane meets the 
applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 25, as amended by Amendments 25-1 
through 25-129.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (i.e., part 25) do not contain adequate or appropriate 
safety standards for the Model GVII-G500 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 or similar 
novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions would also 
apply to the other model under Sec.  21.101.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, Model GVII-G500 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 must issue a 
finding of regulatory adequacy under Sec.  611 of Public Law 92-574, 
the ``Noise Control Act of 1972.''

[[Page 27772]]

    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.  21.17(a)(2).

Novel or Unusual Design Feature

    The Model GVII-G500 airplane will incorporate the following novel 
or unusual design feature:
    Airbag systems on multiple-place and single-place side-facing 
seats.

Discussion

    Side facing seats are considered a novel design for transport-
category airplanes that include 14 CFR part 25, Amendment 25-64, in 
their certification bases, because this feature was not anticipated 
when those airworthiness standards were issued. Therefore, the existing 
regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate safety standards for 
occupants of side-facing seats. For the Model GVII-G500 airplane, FAA 
Special Conditions No. 25-618-SC, ``Technical Criteria for Approving 
Side-Facing Seats,'' proposed special conditions to address the 
certification of single- and multiple-place side-facing seats. Those 
proposed special conditions include condition 2(e), which requires the 
axial rotation of the upper leg (femur) to be limited to 35 degrees in 
either direction from the nominal seat position. To accommodate that 
requirement, Gulfstream has developed a new airbag system that will be 
installed close to the floor, and which is designed to limit the axial 
rotation of the occupant's upper legs.
    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 GVII-G500 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, these special 
conditions would apply to that model as well.

Conclusion

    This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features 
on one model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability.
    The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the 
notice and comment period in several prior instances and has 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 impracticable, 
and good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon 
publication in the Federal Register. The FAA is requesting comments to 
allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been 
submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment described 
above.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 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 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model 
GVII-G500 airplanes.
    In addition to the requirements of Sec. Sec.  25.562 and 25.785, 
and Special Conditions No. 25-495-SC, the following special conditions 
are part of the type certification basis for the Gulfstream Model GVII-
G500 airplane with leg-flail airbags installed on side-facing seats.
    1. For seats with a leg-flail airbag system, the system must deploy 
and provide protection under crash conditions where it is necessary to 
prevent serious injury. The means of protection must take into 
consideration a range of stature from a 2-year-old child to a 95th-
percentile male. At some buttock popliteal length and effective seat-
bottom depth, the lower legs will not be able to form a 90-degree angle 
relative to the upper leg; at this point, the lower leg flail would not 
occur. The leg-flail airbag system must provide a consistent approach 
to prevention of leg flail throughout that range of occupants whose 
lower legs can form a 90-degree angle relative to the upper legs when 
seated upright in the seat. Items that need to be considered include, 
but are not limited to, the range of occupants' popliteal height, the 
range of occupants' buttock popliteal length, the design of the seat 
effective height above the floor, and the effective depth of the seat-
bottom cushion.
    2. The leg-flail airbag system must provide adequate protection for 
each occupant regardless of the number of occupants of the seat 
assembly, considering that unoccupied seats may have an active leg-
flail airbag system.
    3. The leg-flail airbag system must not be susceptible to 
inadvertent deployment as a result of wear and tear, or inertial loads 
resulting from in-flight or ground maneuvers (including gusts and hard 
landings), and other operating and environmental conditions 
(vibrations, moisture, etc.) likely to occur in service.
    4. Deployment of the leg-flail airbag system must not introduce 
injury mechanisms to the seated occupant, nor result in injuries that 
could impede rapid egress.
    5. Inadvertent deployment of the leg-flail airbag system, during 
the most critical part of the flight, must either meet the requirement 
of Sec.  25.1309(b), or not cause a hazard to the airplane or its 
occupants.
    6. The leg-flail airbag system must not impede rapid egress of 
occupants from the airplane 10 seconds after airbag deployment.
    7. The leg-flail airbag system must be protected from lightning and 
high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF). The threats to the airplane 
specified in existing regulations regarding lightning (Sec.  25.1316) 
and HIRF (Sec.  25.1317) are incorporated by reference for the purpose 
of measuring lightning and HIRF protection.
    8. The leg-flail airbag system must function properly after loss of 
normal airplane electrical power, and after a transverse separation of 
the fuselage at the most critical location. A separation at the 
location of the leg-flail airbag system does not have to be considered.
    9. The leg-flail airbag system must not release hazardous 
quantities of gas or particulate matter into the cabin.
    10. The leg-flail airbag system installation must be protected from 
the effects of fire such that no hazard to occupants will result.
    11. A means must be available to verify the integrity of the leg-
flail airbag system's activation system prior to each flight, or the 
leg-flail airbag system's activation system must reliably operate 
between inspection intervals. The FAA considers that the loss of the 
leg-flail airbag system's deployment function alone (i.e., independent 
of the conditional event that requires the leg-flail airbag system's 
deployment) is a major-failure condition.
    12. The airbag inflatable material may not have an average burn 
rate of greater than 2.5 inches per minute when tested using the 
horizontal flammability test defined in part 25, appendix F, part I, 
paragraph (b)(5).

[[Page 27773]]

    13. The leg-flail airbag system, once deployed, must not adversely 
affect the emergency-lighting system (i.e., must not block floor-
proximity lights to the extent that the lights no longer meet their 
intended function).

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on June 8, 2017.
Michael Kaszycki,
Assistant Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-12617 Filed 6-16-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.