The Federal Aviation Administration is planning to test aircraft evacuations with live volunteers in November. It wants to test that after airlines spent decades adding smaller seats and more of them to their planes, whether American passengers can safely leave airplanes in an emergency.
The authority to establish minimum airplane seat dimensions was given to the FAA in a funding bill which was passed last year. The FAA said it needs to conduct tests to determine if current seats and configurations call for any changes. Further, the growing demand for seats installed with IFEC (In-flight Entertainment & Connectivity) systems is primarily driving the market growth as per a report by Value Market Research. However, the shortage of profitable airlines in emerging economies is likely to hinder the market growth.
The lawmakers at a House hearing are worried whether the seats are too small for average American travelers, who are getting heavier.
Last week, at a House panel hearing, Deputy FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said, “Americans are getting bigger so seat size is important but it’s got to be looked at in the context of safety.”
The FAA’s tests will be conducted over 12 days at its Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in Oklahoma City. It will include 720 volunteers who will be asked to leave an aircraft cabin simulator under stressful conditions like lights off and with some of the exits blocked. It will also test for travelers flying with small children on their laps, animals, and passengers with disabilities.
Elwell told lawmakers that last year, the aircraft evacuation test regulators was conducted with people in Europe with a variant of the Airbus A350 plane. But Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., insisted that tests should not occur only with Europeans, it should also occur with Americans and passengers with disabilities should also be included.
Cabin crews are challenged to evacuate passengers from aircraft within 90 seconds.
Naira Shekhawat has been into Content Writing just after completing her Graduation in English Literature. Her love for words has won her many accolades in her respective jobs ever since. Naira covers business sections for VMR News. She is a traveller by heart and loves writing on food blogs as a freelancer.