CA BIN S A F ET Y
045
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
JUNE 2019
A s the Boeing 737 MAX remains grounded and
its manufacturer works to persuade the
regulatory certification authorities of its safety
and the suitability of changes to its flight control software,
there has been intense scrutiny of how aircraft – and their
interiors – are certified for the safety of passengers and
crew. There are demands for transparency and
standardization to ensure the safety of all passengers.
Yet regulators were tight-lipped with the media before
the questions raised by the B737 MAX’s grounding, and
matters have not improved. There is, however, movement
around emergency evacuation concerns, partly created by
the enlarging seats and structures in business class, and
the reductions in seat pitch in economy.
Following a series of impeded slide evacuations in
recent incidents, whether caused by malfunctioning
hardware or passengers not leaving
belongings behind, there is concern about
the deployment, adequacy and suitability
of these crucial pieces of emergency
evacuation equipment. There is also
concern about the evacuation certification
requirements, and whether they are
optimal for increasingly dense economy
class cabin configurations.
With a growing number of passengers
with disabilities and reduced mobility
flying, spokespeople for groups
representing these travellers are
highlighting that their safety and
accessibility needs are not being met
by the certification procedures.
These passengers, and others, are
no longer content to simply trust in the
system when it comes to certification and
safety. Aviation must acknowledge that
it operates in – and has in many ways
created – a context where the security
theatre at airports is a matter of frequent
ridicule, where safety videos are now
marketing tools eliciting groans on the
aircraft, and where passengers jammed
into seats of tight pitch and width are not
well disposed to give aviation the benefit
of the doubt.
AN AUDIT OF THE FAA’S
STANDARDS AND
PRACTICES
Last year, the United States Department
of Transportations’ Office of the
Inspector General (OIG) announced
an audit of the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) emergency
evacuation standard-setting and
certification activities, which
presently require “that the aircraft
can be fully evacuated in 90 seconds
or less. To obtain FAA certification
for a specific aircraft type,
manufacturers must conduct an actual
demonstration of an emergency
evacuation or a combination of tests and
analyses, including computer simulations,
that yield equivalent results.”
In a letter from Matthew Hampton,
the assistant inspector general for aviation
audits, to the FAA’s director for audit and
evaluation, the OIG highlighted that
“stakeholders have raised concerns about
the validity of the assumptions that drive
REGULATORS ARE CERTIFYING
SUITES SUCH AS EMIRATES’
Certification for
passengers with mobility
issues or disabilities
The importance of the passenger
experience for people with disabilities,
those with reduced mobility and
wheelchair users is growing in profile,
thanks to a growing focus on accessibility
informed by disability rights groups.
One such group is the UK-based Flying
Disabled, whose founder Chris Wood is
a member of the UK CAA Access to Air
Travel Advisory Group and Heathrow
Access Advisory Group, who reiterates
pitch concerns raised by the US DOT’s
Office of the Inspector General.
“For wheelchair users, seat pitch on
aircraft, whatever the distance, is always
difficult to access,” Wood says. “The
tighter it is, the harder it is to achieve
comfort. Passenger height and weight is
also a factor. A lifting armrest is a huge
help,” Wood adds, noting that these are
not fitted on all aircraft.
Wood also raises issues about the
outsourced service providers that
facilitate and handle disabled passengers
from the cabin door to the aisle chair and
then their seat. “There is a constant battle
to keep any level of dignity,” he says.
Wheelchair user John Morris, founder
of WheelchairTravel.org, explains that the
“ease of transfers into reduced-legroom
seats largely depends on the method
of transfer and the passenger’s level of
ability to assist. Reductions in space make
transferring more difficult, increasing the
likelihood that a passenger could be hurt
while transferring into a restrictive space.”
“Doored suites and herringbone designs
just offer more challenges,”
Flying Disabled’s Wood notes.
Morris concurs, “My readers have
expressed concern over any premium seat
that does not allow unimpeded lateral
transfer. Immovable barriers positioned
between the seat surface and aisle chair
reduce accessibility. Even with the door
opened or fully retracted, its housing may
still impose barriers to the safe transfer of
passengers with disabilities. The movable
aisle armrest – mandated by the US –
was never intended to be inside a wall or
blocked by an additional barrier.”
With standards work delayed, it may
fall directly to the industry itself to create
accessible cabins.
B777 FIRST CLASS
USING SPECIAL
CONDITIONS
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
/WheelchairTravel.org