Cargo Fire Containment In An Occupied Passenger Cabin

Proposed Special Condition on “Cargo Fire Containment in an occupied Passenger Cabin”

Applicable to Learjet 45

Introductory note:

The following Special Condition has been classified as an important Special Condition and as

such shall be subject to public consultation, in accordance with EASA Management Board

decision 12/2007 dated 11 September 2007, Article 3 (2.) of which states:

"2. Deviations from the applicable airworthiness codes, environmental protection certification

specifications and/or acceptable means of compliance with Part 21, as well as important special

conditions and equivalent safety findings, shall be submitted to the panel of experts and be

subject to a public consultation of at least 3 weeks, except if they have been previously agreed

and published in the Official Publication of the Agency. The final decision shall be published in

the Official Publication of the Agency."

Statement of Issue

The current Change is proposed to remove five (5) passenger seats and to install two (2)

baggage pallets by using the existing seat tracks. The modified aircraft will be used to carry

cargo for disaster relief situations. Such operations are greatly facilitated by the ability to also

carry passengers on the same aircraft.

Each pallet will be attached to the seat-tracks on both sides of the cabin. Both pallets will form a

combined cargo/baggage area.

The current and proposed cabin layouts are shown below.

Configuration prior to modification

Configuration post modification

The cargo items to be carried are specific to the intended disaster relief operations, and this

change is restricted by a content limitation.

The cargo items are to be placed in several separate boxes known as Fire Containment Boxes

(FCB). Each pile of boxes is secured on a pallet and covered by a Fire Containment Cover

(FCC).

Only specific production controlled FCBs are allowed by the Change.

The fire protection is achieved by “fire containment” method. This fire containment is afforded by

the two layers of containment:

(a) Fire Containment Boxes (FCB)

(b) Fire Containment Covers (FCC)

The EASA airworthiness standards for this installation in the Learjet 45 cabin has been

determined as CS 25 Amendment 4, issued 27 December 2007.

The installation of cargo in the same compartment as passengers, and the use of fire

containment covers in the cabin, are unusual design features that are not sufficiently addressed

in any CS 25 amendment. After due consideration, with the humanitarian nature of the intended

operations in mind, and in accordance with 21.A.16B, the Agency has concluded that the

carriage of cargo in the same compartment

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