Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Model GVII-G400 Airplane; Installation of a Therapeutic Oxygen System for Medical Use, 92027-92028 [2024-27131]

Agencies

• Federal Aviation Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 92027-92028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27131]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 225 / Thursday, November 21, 2024 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 92027]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2024-2388; Special Conditions No. 25-871-SC]


Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Model GVII-
G400 Airplane; Installation of a Therapeutic Oxygen System for Medical 
Use

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream 
Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVII-G400 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 November 21, 2024. 
Send comments on or before January 6, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2024-2388 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 title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations (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 below. 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, and will consider comments filed late if it is possible to do 
so without incurring delay. The FAA may change these special conditions 
based on the comments received.

Background

    On June 30, 2020, Gulfstream applied for an amendment to Type 
Certificate No. T00021AT to include the new Model GVII-G400 airplane. 
The Gulfstream Model GVII-G400 airplane, which is a derivative of the 
Model GVII-G500 airplane currently approved under Type Certificate No. 
T00021AT, is a twin-engine, transport-category, business jet, with a 
maximum seating for 19 passengers, and a maximum take-off weight of 
73,500 pounds.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.101, Gulfstream must show that the Model

[[Page 92028]]

GVII-G400 airplane meets the applicable provisions of the regulations 
listed in Type Certificate No. T00021AT, 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 GVII-G400 
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 GVII-G400 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 GVII-G400 airplane will incorporate the 
following novel or unusual design feature:
    An oxygen distribution system that provides a shared source of 
oxygen between the flightcrew and passengers to provide supplemental 
and therapeutic oxygen.

Discussion

    There are no specific regulations that 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 14 CFR 
25.1309, 25.1441(b) and (c), 25.1451, and 25.1453, in the Gulfstream 
GVII-G400 airplane's certification basis applicable to this 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 crew 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 flight crew.
    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 
Gulfstream Model GVII-G400 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 the certain novel or unusual design 
feature on the Gulfstream Model GVII-400 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), 106(g), 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 Corporation Model 
GVII-G400 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 Des Moines, Washington, on November 15, 2024.
Paul R. Siegmund,
Acting Manager, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, 
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-27131 Filed 11-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P