Special Conditions: Boeing Model 737-7BC Airplane; Certification of Cooktops

These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 737- 700 airplane modified by Piedmont Hawthorne-Associated Air Center. This modified 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. The modification incorporates the installation of an electrically heated surface, called a cooktop. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for addressing the potential hazards that may be introduced by cooktops. 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.