2026-05281

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: • the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document • the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to • the agency docket number / agency internal file number • the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration • 14 CFR Part 33 • [Docket No. FAA-2025-2409; Special Conditions No. 33-031-SC] AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final special conditions. SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the ZeroAvia, Inc. (Zero Avia) Model ZA601 electric engines. These engines will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for aircraft engines. This design feature is an electrical system that will power a mechanical rotating shaft to provide propulsion for airplanes which will be certified separately from the engine. 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: Effective March 18, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Bouyer, Engine and Propulsion Section, AIR-625, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 1200 District Ave. Burlington, MA 01803; telephone (781) 238-7755; email Mark.Bouyer@faa.gov. ( printed page 12918) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On May 3, 2024, ZeroAvia, applied for a type certificate for its Model ZA601 electric engine. The electric engine consists of an electric motor, stator, inverters/controllers and will operate with low and high-voltage electrical systems. The ZeroAvia ZA601 electric engine will be used in airplanes certificated under 14 CFR part 23 in the normal category, level 3 and higher. On January 6, 2026, the FAA issued the Notice of Proposed Special Conditions for the ZeroAvia electric engine, which was published in the Federal Register on January 8, 2026 (91 FR 633). The FAA inadvertently listed “level 4 and higher” in the Background Section. The FAA has corrected the Final Special Conditions to list “level 3 and higher” for the ZeroAvia ZA601 electric engine that will be used under 14 CFR part 23, in the normal category. Type Certification Basis Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, ZeroAvia must show that the Model ZA601 electrical engines meet the applicable provisions of part 33, as amended by amendments 33-1 through 33-36, in effect on the date of application for a type certificate. If the FAA finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations ( e.g.,14 CFR part 33) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the ZeroAvia Model ZA601 engine because of a novel or unusual design feature, the FAA prescribes special conditions 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, these special conditions would also apply to the other model under § 21.101. In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, the ZeroAvia Model ZA601 engine must comply with the noise-certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36…

Fonte: Federal Register (federalregister.gov). Texto original em inglês. Conteúdo sanitizado por segurança.