Notice2022-16565
Request for Comments in Minimum Seat Dimensions Necessary for Safety of Air Passengers (Emergency Evacuation)
Primary source
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Published
August 3, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
In 2018, Congress directed the FAA to, after notice and comment, issue such rules for minimum dimensions for passenger seats that are necessary for passenger safety. The FAA conducted simulated emergency evacuations, the results of which are in a publicly-available report. The FAA seeks public comment on the minimum seat dimensions that are necessary for passenger safety.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47494-47495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16565]
[[Page 47494]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2022-1001]
Request for Comments in Minimum Seat Dimensions Necessary for
Safety of Air Passengers (Emergency Evacuation)
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In 2018, Congress directed the FAA to, after notice and
comment, issue such rules for minimum dimensions for passenger seats
that are necessary for passenger safety. The FAA conducted simulated
emergency evacuations, the results of which are in a publicly-available
report. The FAA seeks public comment on the minimum seat dimensions
that are necessary for passenger safety.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2022-1001
using any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and
follow the online instructions for sending your comments
electronically.
<bullet> Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
<bullet> Facsimile: Fax comments to Docket Operations at (202) 493-
2251.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the
commenter provides, to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, as described in the system
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
<a href="http://www.dot.gov/privacy">www.dot.gov/privacy</a>.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> at any time. Follow the online instructions for
accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this action,
contact Mary Schooley, Aviation Safety, Federal Aviation
Administration, 2200 S. 216th St, Des Moines, WA 98198, telephone: 206-
231-3499, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5819110a752b3d392c752b28393b31363f753b3735353d362c2b183e3939763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="57161e057a243236237a242736343e39307a34383a3a323923241731363679303821">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 577 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-
254, ``the Act'') directed the FAA to issue, after notice and comment,
such rules as necessary for the safety of passengers with regard to the
minimum dimensions, including seat pitch, width, and length, of
passenger seats on aircraft operated by air carriers in interstate air
transportation or intrastate air transportation. Section 577 recognizes
the FAA's statutory mission of safety in air commerce. 49 U.S.C. 44701.
To gather data in furtherance of the agency's implementation of Section
577 of the Act, the FAA conducted simulated emergency evacuations at
the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) and produced a
report.
Additionally, Section 337 of the Act directed the FAA to review,
with stakeholders, the evacuation certification of transport-category
aircraft used in air transportation, and report the results of the
review to Congress. In support of the agency's compliance with Section
337 of the Act, the FAA chartered the Emergency Evacuation Standards
Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to gather the stakeholders needed
to perform the required review of evacuation issues. The ARC submitted
a report to the FAA.\1\ The FAA, in a report to Congress, submitted the
ARC report along with the CAMI report on March 31, 2022.\2\ These
reports are available in the docket.
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\1\ <a href="http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/media/Emergency%20Evac%20Standards%20ARC%20final%20report%20final%20">www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/media/Emergency%20Evac%20Standards%20ARC%20final%20report%20final%20</a>(5-26-
2020).pdf.
\2\ <a href="http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2020s/media/Effects_of_Airplane_Cabin_Interiors_on_Egress_I.pdf">www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2020s/media/Effects_of_Airplane_Cabin_Interiors_on_Egress_I.pdf</a>.
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II. Request for Comments
In furtherance of the agency's implementation of Section 577 of the
Act, the FAA invites public comments to assist the agency in
determining what minimum dimensions (including pitch, width, and
length) of passenger seats may be necessary for safety, including in
particular airplane evacuation. The FAA has assessed what safety issues
could be associated with seat dimensions and concluded that additional
data regarding evacuations could be valuable.
The FAA invites comments on minimum seat dimensions necessary for
passenger safety, especially during airplane evacuation, as the FAA
examines whether new regulatory standards are necessary, in order to
ensure such safety and comply with Section 577 of the Act. The FAA
encourages commenters to review the CAMI report, and other materials in
the docket, prior to commenting.
Comments should address whether, considering the existing
regulatory requirements,\3\ one or more of the following seat
dimensions \4\ have or demonstrably could adversely affect the safety
of air passengers by delaying the group egress time \5\ of an emergency
evacuation:
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\3\ Under the relevant general performance standard provided by
14 CFR 25.803(a), transport category airplanes must have means to
allow rapid evacuation under various conditions, including in the
event of a fire. In Sec. 25.803(c), the FAA mandates that the
maximum seating capacity of the airplane can be evacuated to the
ground under simulated emergency conditions within 90 seconds.
However, the FAA established the 90-second requirement as a uniform,
repeatable standard under specific conditions, not a standard that
the FAA expects to be met in every actual emergency evacuation. In
addition, 14 CFR 25.561(d) and 25.562(c)(8) require that seats
having experienced static and dynamic emergency landing loads do not
deform to the extent that they would impede rapid evacuation.
\4\ For purposes of this request for comments, seat pitch is the
distance between a fixed point on an airplane seat to the same fixed
point on the seat directly in front of or behind that seat. Seat
width is the distance between the armrests' inner faces directly
above the bottom seat cushion. Seat length is the distance between
the top aft edge of the bottom seat cushion to the top front edge.
Also, CAMI discusses the terms it used for its study on pp. 21-22 of
its report.
\5\ For purposes of this request for comments, the group egress
time is the time from when the aircraft comes to a rest after a
crash or incident, to when the last passenger exits the aircraft.
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a. Seat width;
b. Seat pitch;
c. Seat length; and
d. Other seat dimensions.
Further, commenters are asked to provide information regarding the
minimum seat dimensions necessary to ensure safety during airplane
evacuation of a broad range of passengers, including those who were not
included in the CAMI study including children, people over 60, and
individuals with disabilities.
The FAA emphasizes that comments that include technical data and
information will be the most helpful. The FAA is not requesting
comments regarding matters unrelated to the agency's determination
under section 577, such as how the dimensions of passenger seats might
relate to passenger comfort or convenience.
[[Page 47495]]
Issued under authority provided by Public Law 115-254, 49 U.S.C.
106(f), 44701(a), and 44703 in Washington, DC, on July 20, 2022.
Jodi L. Baker,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. 2022-16565 Filed 8-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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