Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 Series Airplanes; Installation of Large Non-Structural Glass in the Passenger Compartment, 5763-5765 [2024-01739]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA–2023–2438; Special
Conditions No. 25–848–SC]
Special Conditions: Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII–
G700 and GVIII–G800 Series Airplanes;
Installation of Large Non-Structural
Glass in the Passenger Compartment
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request
for comment.
AGENCY:
These special conditions are
issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace
Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVIII–
G700 and GVIII–G800 series airplanes.
These airplanes 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 large,
non-structural glass items in the
passenger cabin. 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 January 30, 2024. Send
comments on or before March 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified
by Docket No. FAA–2023–2438 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
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SUMMARY:
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16:02 Jan 29, 2024
Jkt 262001
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:
Myra Kuck, Cabin Safety, routing
symbol AIR–624, Technical Policy
Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service, Federal
Aviation Administration, 3960
Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, CA 90712;
telephone and fax 405–666–1059; email
Myra.J.Kuck@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
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
14 CFR 138(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 title 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
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5763
public docket for these special
conditions.
Background
On December 31, 2019, Gulfstream
applied for an amendment to Type
Certificate No. T00015AT to include the
new Model GVIII–G700 and GVIII–G800
series airplanes. These airplanes, which
are derivatives of the Model GVI
currently approved under Type
Certificate No. T00015AT, are twinengine, transport-category airplanes,
with maximum seating for 19
passengers, and a maximum take-off
weight of 107,600 pounds (GVIII–G700)
and 105,600 pounds (GVIII–G800).
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of title 14, Code
of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.101,
Gulfstream must show that the Model
GVIII–G700 and GVIII–G800 series
airplanes meet the applicable provisions
of the regulations listed in Type
Certificate No. T00015AT, 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 GVIII–G700
and GVIII–G800 series airplanes 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 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 § 21.101.
In addition to the applicable
airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Gulfstream Model
GVIII–G700 and GVIII–G800 series
airplanes 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
§ 21.101.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The Gulfstream Model GVIII–G700
and GVIII–G800 airplanes will
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
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incorporate the following novel or
unusual design feature:
Installation of large, non-structural
glass items in the passenger cabin.
Possible installations of large nonstructural glass items include, but are
not limited to, the following items:
• Glass partitions
• Glass floor installations
• Glass attached to the ceiling
• Glass parts integrated in the stairway
• Wall or Door mounted mirrors and
glass panels
• Mirrors as part of a door blow out
panel
• Glass plate installed in a doorframe
• Washstand with glass-panel
• Mirrored bulkheads
• Partial partitions with transparent
glass decorative features
The installation of these glass items in
the passenger compartment, which can
be occupied during taxi, take-off, and
landing (TT&L), is a novel or unusual
design feature with respect to the
installed material. The applicable
airworthiness regulations do not contain
adequate or appropriate safety standards
for these design features.
Discussion
The use of glass results in trade-offs
between the one unique characteristic of
glass, its capability for undistorted or
controlled light transmittance, or
transparency, and the negative aspects
of the material. Glass, in its basic form
as annealed, untreated sheet, plate or
float glass, when compared to metals, is
extremely notch-sensitive, has a low
fracture resistance, has a low modulus
of elasticity and can be highly variable
in its properties. While reasonably
strong, it is nonetheless not a desirable
material for traditional airplane
applications because it is heavy (about
the same density as aluminum), and
when it fails, it breaks into extremely
sharp fragments that have the potential
for injury and have been known to be
lethal. Thus, the use of glass
traditionally was limited to
windshields, and instrument or display
transparencies. The regulations in 14
CFR 25.775 only address, and likewise
only recognize, the unique use of glass
in windshield or window applications
where no other material will serve. This
regulation does address the adverse
properties of glass, but pilots
occasionally are injured from shattered
glass windshields.
The FAA divides other uses of glass
in the passenger cabin into four groups.
These groups were created to address
the practical and functional uses of
glass. The four groups are as follows:
1. The first group is glass items
installed in rooms or areas in the cabin
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16:02 Jan 29, 2024
Jkt 262001
that are not occupied during taxi,
takeoff, and landing (TT&L), and a
person does not have to enter or pass
through the room or area to get to any
emergency exit.
2. The second group is glass
integrated into a functional device
operation of which is dependent upon
the characteristics of glass, such as
instrument or indicator protective
transparencies, or monitor screens such
as liquid crystal displays, or plasma
displays. This group may be installed in
any area in the cabin regardless of
occupancy during TT&L. Acceptable
means of compliance for these items
may depend on the size and specific
location of the device containing the
glass.
3. The third group is small glass items
installed in occupied rooms or areas
during TT&L, or rooms or areas that a
person does not have to enter or pass
through to get to any emergency exit.
The FAA defines a small glass item as
less than 8.8 lbs (4kg) in mass.
4. The fourth group is large glass
items, the subject of these special
conditions, installed in occupied rooms
or areas during TT&L, or rooms or areas
that a person must enter or pass through
to get to an emergency exit. A large glass
item is defined as 8.8 lbs (4kg) and
greater in mass. Groups of glass items
that collectively weigh 4kg or more
would also be included. The mass is
based on the amount of glass that
becomes hazardous in high inertial
loads.
The glass items in groups one, two,
and three are restricted to applications
where the potential for injury is either
highly localized (such as flightinstrument faces) or the location is such
that injury due to failure of the glass is
unlikely, for example mirrors in
lavatories, because these installations
necessitate the use of glass. These glass
items typically are addressed in a
‘‘Method of Compliance’’ issue paper for
each project based on existing part 25
regulations, or in established policy.
These issue papers identify specific
tests that could include abuse loading
and ball-impact testing. In addition,
these items are subject to the inertia
loads contained in § 25.561 and
maximum positive-differential pressure
for items like video monitors to meet
§ 25.789.
The items in group four are much
larger and heavier than have been
previously approved and raise
additional safety concerns. These large,
heavy glass panels, primarily installed
as architectural features, were not
envisioned in the regulations. The
unique aspects of glass, with the
potential to become highly injurious or
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
lethal objects during emergency landing,
minor crash conditions, or in-flight,
warrant a unique approach to
certification that addresses the
characteristics of glass that prevented its
use in the past. These special conditions
were developed to ensure that airplanes
with large glass features in passenger
cabins provide the same level of safety
as airplanes using traditional,
lightweight materials. The FAA
reiterates this intention in the text of the
special conditions by qualifying their
use for group four glass items.
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 GVIII–G700 and
GVIII–G800 series airplanes. Should
Gulfstream apply at a later date for a
change to the type certificate to include
another 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 apply to the other
model as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only a certain
novel or unusual design feature on
Gulfstream Model GVIII–G700 and
GVIII–G800 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, and 44704.
The Special Conditions
D 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 Model
GVIII–G700 and GVIII–G800 series
airplanes.
For large glass items (a single item, or
a collective group of glass items, that
weigh 4 kg or more in mass) installed
in passenger-occupied rooms or areas
during taxi, takeoff, and landing, or
installed in rooms or areas that
occupants must enter or pass through to
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
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access any emergency exit, the glass
installations on the Gulfstream Model
GVIII–G700 and GVIII–G800 series
airplanes must meet the following
conditions:
1. Material Fragmentation—The glass
used must be tempered or otherwise
treated to ensure that when fractured, it
breaks into small pieces with relatively
dull edges. The glass component
installation must retain all glass
fragments to minimize the danger from
flying glass shards or pieces. The
applicant must demonstrate this by
impact and puncture testing and testing
to failure.
2. Strength—The glass component
must be strong enough to meet the load
requirements for all flight and landing
loads including any of the applicable
emergency landing conditions in
subparts C & D of 14 CFR part 25. In
addition, glass components that are
located such that they are not protected
from contact with cabin occupants must
not fail due to abusive loading, such as
impact from occupants stumbling into,
leaning against, sitting on, or performing
other intentional or unintentional
forceful contact. The effect of design
details such as geometric discontinuities
or surface finish e.g., embossing,
etching, etc., must be assessed.
3. Retention—The glass component,
as installed in the airplane, must not
come free of its restraint, or mounting
system in the event of an emergency
landing. Both the directional loading
and rebound conditions must be
assessed. The effect of design details
such as geometric discontinuities or
surface finish e.g., embossing, etching,
etc., must be assessed.
4. Instructions for Continued
Airworthiness—The instructions for
continued airworthiness must reflect the
fastening method used and must ensure
the reliability of the methods used (e.g.,
life limit of adhesives, or clamp
connection). Inspection methods and
intervals must be defined based upon
adhesion data from the manufacturer of
the adhesive or actual adhesion test
data, if necessary.
Issued in in Kansas City, Missouri, on
January 24, 2024.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and
Standards Division, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–01739 Filed 1–29–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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16:02 Jan 29, 2024
Jkt 262001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA–2023–2442; Special
Conditions No. 25–850–SC]
Special Conditions: Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII–
G700 and GVIII–G800 Series Airplanes;
Limit Pilot Forces for Side-Stick
Controllers
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
These special conditions are
issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace
Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVIII–
G700 and GVIII–G800 series airplanes.
These airplanes 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 side-stick controller
for one-hand operation requiring wrist
motion only, not arms. 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 January 30, 2024. Send
comments on or before March 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified
by Docket No. FAA–2023–2442 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
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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5765
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:
Todd Martin, Airframe Section, AIR–
622, Technical Policy Branch, Aircraft
Certification Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, 2200 South 216th
Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198;
telephone 206–231–3210; email
Todd.Martin@faa.gov.
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 title 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 Todd Martin,
Airframe Section, AIR–622, Technical
Policy Branch, Aircraft Certification
Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, 2200 South 216th
Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198;
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5763-5765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01739]
[[Page 5763]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2023-2438; Special Conditions No. 25-848-SC]
Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII-
G700 and GVIII-G800 Series Airplanes; Installation of Large Non-
Structural Glass in the Passenger Compartment
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800
series airplanes. These airplanes 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 large, non-structural glass items in the
passenger cabin. 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 January 30, 2024. Send
comments on or before March 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2023-2438 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: Myra Kuck, Cabin Safety, routing
symbol AIR-624, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 3960
Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, CA 90712; telephone and fax 405-666-1059;
email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
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 14
CFR 138(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 title 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.
Background
On December 31, 2019, Gulfstream applied for an amendment to Type
Certificate No. T00015AT to include the new Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 series airplanes. These airplanes, which are derivatives of the
Model GVI currently approved under Type Certificate No. T00015AT, are
twin-engine, transport-category airplanes, with maximum seating for 19
passengers, and a maximum take-off weight of 107,600 pounds (GVIII-
G700) and 105,600 pounds (GVIII-G800).
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR) 21.101, Gulfstream must show that the Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 series airplanes meet the applicable provisions of the regulations
listed in Type Certificate No. T00015AT, 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 GVIII-G700 and
GVIII-G800 series 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 Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series
airplanes 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 GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 airplanes will
[[Page 5764]]
incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature:
Installation of large, non-structural glass items in the passenger
cabin. Possible installations of large non-structural glass items
include, but are not limited to, the following items:
Glass partitions
Glass floor installations
Glass attached to the ceiling
Glass parts integrated in the stairway
Wall or Door mounted mirrors and glass panels
Mirrors as part of a door blow out panel
Glass plate installed in a doorframe
Washstand with glass-panel
Mirrored bulkheads
Partial partitions with transparent glass decorative features
The installation of these glass items in the passenger compartment,
which can be occupied during taxi, take-off, and landing (TT&L), is a
novel or unusual design feature with respect to the installed material.
The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for these design features.
Discussion
The use of glass results in trade-offs between the one unique
characteristic of glass, its capability for undistorted or controlled
light transmittance, or transparency, and the negative aspects of the
material. Glass, in its basic form as annealed, untreated sheet, plate
or float glass, when compared to metals, is extremely notch-sensitive,
has a low fracture resistance, has a low modulus of elasticity and can
be highly variable in its properties. While reasonably strong, it is
nonetheless not a desirable material for traditional airplane
applications because it is heavy (about the same density as aluminum),
and when it fails, it breaks into extremely sharp fragments that have
the potential for injury and have been known to be lethal. Thus, the
use of glass traditionally was limited to windshields, and instrument
or display transparencies. The regulations in 14 CFR 25.775 only
address, and likewise only recognize, the unique use of glass in
windshield or window applications where no other material will serve.
This regulation does address the adverse properties of glass, but
pilots occasionally are injured from shattered glass windshields.
The FAA divides other uses of glass in the passenger cabin into
four groups. These groups were created to address the practical and
functional uses of glass. The four groups are as follows:
1. The first group is glass items installed in rooms or areas in
the cabin that are not occupied during taxi, takeoff, and landing
(TT&L), and a person does not have to enter or pass through the room or
area to get to any emergency exit.
2. The second group is glass integrated into a functional device
operation of which is dependent upon the characteristics of glass, such
as instrument or indicator protective transparencies, or monitor
screens such as liquid crystal displays, or plasma displays. This group
may be installed in any area in the cabin regardless of occupancy
during TT&L. Acceptable means of compliance for these items may depend
on the size and specific location of the device containing the glass.
3. The third group is small glass items installed in occupied rooms
or areas during TT&L, or rooms or areas that a person does not have to
enter or pass through to get to any emergency exit. The FAA defines a
small glass item as less than 8.8 lbs (4kg) in mass.
4. The fourth group is large glass items, the subject of these
special conditions, installed in occupied rooms or areas during TT&L,
or rooms or areas that a person must enter or pass through to get to an
emergency exit. A large glass item is defined as 8.8 lbs (4kg) and
greater in mass. Groups of glass items that collectively weigh 4kg or
more would also be included. The mass is based on the amount of glass
that becomes hazardous in high inertial loads.
The glass items in groups one, two, and three are restricted to
applications where the potential for injury is either highly localized
(such as flight-instrument faces) or the location is such that injury
due to failure of the glass is unlikely, for example mirrors in
lavatories, because these installations necessitate the use of glass.
These glass items typically are addressed in a ``Method of Compliance''
issue paper for each project based on existing part 25 regulations, or
in established policy. These issue papers identify specific tests that
could include abuse loading and ball-impact testing. In addition, these
items are subject to the inertia loads contained in Sec. 25.561 and
maximum positive-differential pressure for items like video monitors to
meet Sec. 25.789.
The items in group four are much larger and heavier than have been
previously approved and raise additional safety concerns. These large,
heavy glass panels, primarily installed as architectural features, were
not envisioned in the regulations. The unique aspects of glass, with
the potential to become highly injurious or lethal objects during
emergency landing, minor crash conditions, or in-flight, warrant a
unique approach to certification that addresses the characteristics of
glass that prevented its use in the past. These special conditions were
developed to ensure that airplanes with large glass features in
passenger cabins provide the same level of safety as airplanes using
traditional, lightweight materials. The FAA reiterates this intention
in the text of the special conditions by qualifying their use for group
four glass items.
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 GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series airplanes. Should
Gulfstream apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate
to include another 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 apply to the other model
as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature
on Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 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, and
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 Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and
GVIII-G800 series airplanes.
For large glass items (a single item, or a collective group of
glass items, that weigh 4 kg or more in mass) installed in passenger-
occupied rooms or areas during taxi, takeoff, and landing, or installed
in rooms or areas that occupants must enter or pass through to
[[Page 5765]]
access any emergency exit, the glass installations on the Gulfstream
Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series airplanes must meet the
following conditions:
1. Material Fragmentation--The glass used must be tempered or
otherwise treated to ensure that when fractured, it breaks into small
pieces with relatively dull edges. The glass component installation
must retain all glass fragments to minimize the danger from flying
glass shards or pieces. The applicant must demonstrate this by impact
and puncture testing and testing to failure.
2. Strength--The glass component must be strong enough to meet the
load requirements for all flight and landing loads including any of the
applicable emergency landing conditions in subparts C & D of 14 CFR
part 25. In addition, glass components that are located such that they
are not protected from contact with cabin occupants must not fail due
to abusive loading, such as impact from occupants stumbling into,
leaning against, sitting on, or performing other intentional or
unintentional forceful contact. The effect of design details such as
geometric discontinuities or surface finish e.g., embossing, etching,
etc., must be assessed.
3. Retention--The glass component, as installed in the airplane,
must not come free of its restraint, or mounting system in the event of
an emergency landing. Both the directional loading and rebound
conditions must be assessed. The effect of design details such as
geometric discontinuities or surface finish e.g., embossing, etching,
etc., must be assessed.
4. Instructions for Continued Airworthiness--The instructions for
continued airworthiness must reflect the fastening method used and must
ensure the reliability of the methods used (e.g., life limit of
adhesives, or clamp connection). Inspection methods and intervals must
be defined based upon adhesion data from the manufacturer of the
adhesive or actual adhesion test data, if necessary.
Issued in in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 24, 2024.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-01739 Filed 1-29-24; 8:45 am]
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