CA BIN S A F ET Y
FAA evacuation standards – and industry tests
and simulations for certifying new aircraft –
given that the standards have not been
significantly updated since 1990. Significant
changes in the industry and consumer
behaviour have occurred since 1990. For
example, the number of aircraft seats and
passengers have increased, but the size of
seats and the distance between them –
known as seat pitch – has decreased.
Additionally, passengers’ reliance on
carry-on luggage has increased.”
Indeed, the images from any number
of cell phone-filmed videos of emergency
evacuations with passengers clutching
everything from backpacks to duty free
suggest that work is needed, at the very least
to reassure stakeholders that the standards set
and certification carried out by the regulators are
fit for purpose.
Referring to the Chicago O’Hare runway
evacuation of American Airlines flight 383 on 28
October, 2016 as just one example, the OIG will audit
the FAA and “examine FAA’s evacuation standards
and whether passengers can safely evacuate aircraft in
emergencies within the required 90 seconds given these
changes in the airline industry and consumer behaviour.”
The aviation industry does not need to persuade
just itself: it must persuade a flying public, political
representatives elected from and answerable to that
046 aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
JUNE 2019
DIMINISHED
CONFIDENCE IN
THE FAA’S SEAT
CERTIFICATION?
public, and the media. The OIG flagged
this political persuasion requirement
given requests from senior US politicians,
namely the Ranking Member of the
House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure and the
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on
Aviation, for investigation of the FAA’s
standards and practices.
The industry must consider whether
it has brought this increased regulatory
attention on itself, with the OIG citing “the
potential for additional reductions in seat
pitch and increasing the number of seats
in commercial airliners” as driving factors
for the audit.
IN THE FAST-DEVELOPING
PREMIUM CLASS MARKET,
AD HOC STANDARDS MAY
FAIL TO PERSUADE
As seat makers surge to meet the demand
for increased privacy in business and first
The way in which aviation safety
authorities around the world grounded
the B737 MAX could have potential
knock-on effects on aircraft interiors
certification, in addition to the effects of
a reduction in the MAX’s production rate,
and potential cancellation of MAX orders.
In essence, the fundamental question
is: with many of the world’s seats and
cabins certified by the FAA, will national
and supranational regulators like EASA,
CAAC and CASA apply the same levels of
professional scepticism to the interiors
industry as they do with aeronautics?
With few seat makers, suppliers and
OEMs keen to go on the record about
interiors certification, understanding the
likelihood of a review of the way that
seating is certified is complex.
But the impact could be
enormous, potentially even
greater than the change
in requirements from
9g to 16g, HIC,
or neck injury elements.
The effective vote of no
confidence in the FAA – and
how it certified the B737 MAX
– by the way in which other regulators
grounded the aircraft means it is no
longer unthinkable that another regulator
may demand its own certification tests.
The Office of the Inspector General at
the US DoT is also involved with the B737
MAX, with a recent audit announcement
stating, “Our audit objective will be to
determine and evaluate FAA’s overall
process for certifying the B737 MAX. In
addition, we will identify and undertake
future areas of work related to FAA’s
actions in response to the crashes.”
Indeed, the fact that politicians are
getting more involved should concern
the industry. The success of lobby groups
such as Flyers Rights, and their increasing
traction with politicians and the media
should also raise concerns. It may be time
for the industry to engage a wider variety
of participants and interested parties in
safety certification, and to increase the
transparency of these processes.
Visit our website
for cabin safety
insights from
Asiana Flight 214
MANY SEAT CONCEPTS AIM TO
INCREASE CABIN CAPACITY. FOR
EXAMPLE, SAFRAN’S HD31 FEATURES AN
UNCONVENTIONAL LAYOUT THAT CAN
ACHIEVE HIGH DENSITY AT A 31IN PITCH
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com