Rule2024-10611
Special Conditions: H4 Aerospace (UK) Ltd., Boeing Model 757-200 Airplane, Non-Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery System Installations
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Published
May 15, 2024
Effective
May 15, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
These special conditions are issued for non-rechargeable lithium batteries and battery systems on Boeing Model 757-200 airplanes, as modified by H4 Aerospace (UK) Ltd (H4). Non-rechargeable lithium batteries are a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42341-42343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10611]
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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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 2024 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 42341]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2023-2134; Special Conditions No. 25-845-SC]
Special Conditions: H4 Aerospace (UK) Ltd., Boeing Model 757-200
Airplane, Non-Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery System
Installations
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for non-rechargeable
lithium batteries and battery systems on Boeing Model 757-200
airplanes, as modified by H4 Aerospace (UK) Ltd (H4). Non-rechargeable
lithium batteries are a novel or unusual design feature when compared
to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards
for transport category airplanes. 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 H4 on May 15, 2024. Send comments on
or before July 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2023-2134 using
any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and
follow the online instructions for sending your comments
electronically.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
<bullet> Docket: Background documents or comments received may be
read at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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: Nazih Khaouly, Electrical Systems
Unit, AIR-626A, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 2200
South 216th Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198; telephone (206) 231-
3160; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f9b798839091d7b29198968c9580b99f9898d79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ec0eff4e7e6a0c5e6efe1fbe2f7cee8efefa0e9e1f8">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 proposed 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 proposed 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 February 26, 2020, H4 applied for a supplemental type
certificate to install, on the Boeing 757-200 airplane, HR Smith
emergency locator transmitter (ELT) 500-32-2Y-H that contain a non-
rechargeable lithium battery and battery system. The Boeing Model 757-
200 airplane currently approved under Type Certificate No A2NM, are
twin-engine transport category airplanes with a maximum seating of
capacity of 295 passengers and has a maximum takeoff weight of 255,000
pounds.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR) 21.101, H4 must show that the Boeing Model 757-200 airplane, as
changed, continues to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations
listed in Type Certificate No. A2NM or the applicable regulations in
[[Page 42342]]
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 Boeing Model 757-200 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 applicant apply for a supplemental type
certificate to modify any other model included on the same type
certificate 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 Boeing Model 757-200 airplane must comply with the
exhaust-emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34, and the noise-
certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36.
Novel or Unusual Design Feature
The Boeing Model 757-200, MSN 25140 and MSN 24473 airplanes will
incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature:
The installation of an HR Smith emergency locator transmitter (ELT)
500-32-2Y-H containing a non-rechargeable lithium battery and battery
system.
Discussion
The FAA derived the current regulations governing installation of
batteries in transport category airplanes from Civil Air Regulations
(CAR) 4b.625(d) as part of the recodification of CAR 4b that
established 14 CFR part 25 in February 1965. This recodification
basically reworded the CAR 4b battery requirements, which are currently
in Sec. 25.1353(b)(1) through (4). Non-rechargeable lithium batteries
are novel and unusual with respect to the state of technology
considered when these requirements were codified. Non-rechargeable
lithium batteries introduce higher energy levels into airplane systems
through new chemical compositions in various battery cell sizes and
construction. Interconnection of these cells in battery packs introduce
failure modes that require unique design considerations, such as
provisions for thermal management.
In January 2013, two independent events involving rechargeable
lithium batteries revealed unanticipated failure modes. A National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation to the FAA,
dated May 22, 2014, which is available at <a href="http://www.ntsb.gov">www.ntsb.gov</a>, filename A-14-
032-036.pdf, describes these events.
On July 12, 2013, an event involving a non-rechargeable lithium
battery in an emergency-locator transmitter installation demonstrated
unanticipated failure modes. The United Kingdom's Air Accidents
Investigation Branch Bulletin S5/2013 \1\ describes this event. These
events involving rechargeable and non-rechargeable lithium batteries
prompted the FAA to initiate a broad evaluation of these energy-storage
technologies.
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\1\ See S5-2013_ET-AOP.pdf, available in the docket for these
special conditions.
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On April 22, 2016, the FAA published special conditions no. 25-612-
SC, in the Federal Register (81 FR 23573), applicable to Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation for the Model GVI airplane. Those were the first
special conditions the FAA issued for non-rechargeable lithium battery
installations. In that document, the FAA explained its decision to make
those special conditions effective on April 22, 2017, one year after
publication in the Federal Register. In those special conditions, the
FAA stated its intention to apply non-rechargeable lithium battery
special conditions to design changes on other airplane makes and models
applied for after this same date.
Some known uses of rechargeable and non-rechargeable lithium
batteries on airplanes include:
<bullet> Flight deck and avionics systems such as displays, global
positioning systems, cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders,
underwater locator beacons, navigation computers, integrated avionics
computers, satellite network and communication systems, communication
management units, and remote-monitor electronic line-replaceable units;
<bullet> Cabin safety, entertainment, and communications equipment,
including emergency locator transmitters, life rafts, escape slides,
seatbelt air bags, cabin management systems, Ethernet switches, routers
and media servers, wireless systems, internet and in-flight
entertainment systems, satellite televisions, remotes, and handsets;
<bullet> Systems in cargo areas including door controls, sensors,
video surveillance equipment, and security systems.
Some known potential hazards and failure modes associated with non-
rechargeable lithium batteries are:
<bullet> Internal failures: In general, these batteries are
significantly more susceptible to internal failures that can result in
self-sustaining increases in temperature and pressure (i.e., thermal
runaway) than their nickel-cadmium or lead-acid counterparts. The
metallic lithium can ignite, resulting in a self-sustaining fire or
explosion.
<bullet> Fast or imbalanced discharging: Fast discharging or an
imbalanced discharge of one cell of a multi-cell battery may create an
overheating condition that results in an uncontrollable venting
condition, which in turn leads to a thermal event or an explosion.
<bullet> Flammability: Unlike nickel-cadmium and lead-acid
batteries, lithium batteries use higher energy and current in an
electrochemical system that can be configured to maximize energy
storage of lithium. They also use liquid electrolytes that can be
extremely flammable. The electrolyte, as well as the electrodes, can
serve as a source of fuel for an external fire if the battery casing is
breached. For the purpose of these special conditions, a battery and
the battery system are referred to as a battery. A battery system
consists of the battery and any protective, monitoring, and alerting
circuitry or hardware inside or outside of the battery. It also
includes vents (where necessary) and packaging.
Special condition no. 1 of these special conditions requires that
each individual cell within a non-rechargeable lithium battery be
designed to maintain safe temperatures and pressures. Special condition
no. 2 addresses these same issues but for the entire battery. Special
condition no. 2 requires the battery be designed to prevent propagation
of a thermal event, such as self-sustained, uncontrollable increases in
temperature or pressure from one cell to adjacent cells.
Special condition nos. 1 and 2 are intended to ensure that the non-
rechargeable lithium battery and its cells are designed to eliminate
the potential for uncontrollable failures. However, a certain number of
failures will occur due to various factors beyond the control of the
battery designer. Therefore, other special conditions are intended to
protect the airplane and its occupants if failure occurs.
Special conditions 3, 7, and 8 are self-explanatory.
Special condition no. 4 makes it clear that the flammable-fluid
fire-protection requirements of Sec. 25.863 apply to non-rechargeable
lithium battery installations. Section 25.863 is applicable to areas of
the airplane that could be exposed to flammable-fluid leakage from
airplane systems. Non-rechargeable lithium batteries contain an
electrolyte that is a flammable fluid.
[[Page 42343]]
Special condition no. 5 requires that each non-rechargeable lithium
battery installation not damage surrounding structure or adjacent
systems, equipment, or electrical wiring from corrosive fluids or gases
that may escape in such a way as to cause a major or more severe
failure condition.
While special condition no. 5 addresses corrosive fluids and gases,
special condition no. 6 addresses heat. Special condition no. 6
requires that each non-rechargeable lithium battery installation have
provisions to prevent any hazardous effect on airplane structure or
systems caused by the maximum amount of heat the battery installation
can generate due to any failure of it or its individual cells. The
means of meeting special conditions nos. 5 and 6 may be the same, but
the requirements are independent and address different hazards.
These special conditions apply to all non-rechargeable lithium
battery installations in lieu of Sec. 25.1353(b)(1) through (4) at
Amendment 25-123 on Boeing Model 757-200 airplanes, as modified by H4
and described in this application. Sections 25.1353(b)(1) through (4)
at Amendment 25-123 remain in effect for other battery installations.
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
Boeing Model 757-200 airplanes. Should H4 apply at a later date for a
supplemental type certificate to modify any other model included on
Type Certificate No. FAA STC ST00102IB 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 and
affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for approval of these
features on the airplane.
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 Boeing Model 757-200 airplanes, as
modified by H4 Aerospace (UK) Ltd.
In lieu of Sec. 25.1353(b)(1) through (4) at amendment 25-123, or
Sec. 25.1353(c)(1) through (4) at earlier amendments, each non-
rechargeable lithium battery installation must:
1. Be designed to maintain safe cell temperatures and pressures
under all foreseeable operating conditions to prevent fire and
explosion.
2. Be designed to prevent the occurrence of self-sustaining,
uncontrollable increases in temperature or pressure.
3. Not emit explosive or toxic gases, either in normal operation or
as a result of its failure, that may accumulate in hazardous quantities
within the airplane.
4. Meet the requirements of Sec. 25.863.
5. Not damage surrounding structure or adjacent systems, equipment,
or electrical wiring from corrosive fluids or gases that may escape in
such a way as to cause a major or more severe failure condition.
6. Have provisions to prevent any hazardous effect on airplane
structure or systems caused by the maximum amount of heat it can
generate due to any failure of it or its individual cells.
7. Have a failure sensing and warning system to alert the
flightcrew if its failure affects safe operation of the airplane.
8. Have a means for the flight crew or maintenance personnel to
determine the battery charge state if the battery's function is
required for safe operation of the airplane.
Note: A battery system consists of the battery, and any
protective monitoring, and alerting circuitry or hardware inside or
outside of the battery. It also includes vents (where necessary) and
packaging. For the purpose of these special conditions, a battery
and the battery system are referred to as a battery.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 7, 2024.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Innovation Policy Branch, Policy and Innovation
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-10611 Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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