Lecture 7 - Occupant Safety

Why Occupant Safety?

▪ Ensuring the design is Safe, Airworthy

▪ Ensuring the safety of the occupant
▪ Giving the occupant the best chance of:
➢ surviving an accident or incident
➢ escaping an aircraft

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UAL Flight 266
B-727 accident
Salt Lake City, UT
November 11, 1965

▪During an attempted landing, the main landing gear sheared off, the
aircraft caught fire and slid 2,800 feet on the nose gear and the
bottom of the fuselage, stopping 150 feet off of the runway
▪85 passengers, 6 Crew
• 43 fatalities
• All 6 crewmembers survived

▪As a result of the United accident, cabin safety, fire protection and
occupant evacuation regulatory improvements were introduced
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Air Canada flight 797
June 2, 1983
▪In flight fire originating
in vicinity of Aft Lavatory
(exact origin unknown)

▪Crew delayed initiation of emergency descent and landing

▪41 Passengers, 5 Crew
• 23 fatalities
• All 5 crewmembers survived

▪FAA subsequently mandated that aircraft lavatories be equipped with

smoke detectors and automatic fire extinguishers
▪Within five years, all jetliners were retrofitted with fire-blocking layers on
seat cushions and floor lighting to lead passengers to exits in dense smoke.
Planes built after 1988 have more flame-resistant interior materials.
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Kelso Charter
Challenger
Teterboro, N.J.
Feb. 2, 2005

▪Rejected takeoff from runway 6

▪Aircraft Crossed road, ran off end of runway,
across a busy street and into a building
▪4 serious injuries, 10 minor injuries:
• Two pilots were seriously injured, as were two occupants in the vehicle.
• The cabin aide, eight passengers, and one person in the building
received minor injuries.

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C-GZLZ
TSBC Report A98Q0114
July 1998

▪Flight instructor and student on local training flight

▪Flight instructor asked the student to recover from
routine training maneuver (spin)… was unable
▪Flight instructor continued trying to regain control, but the aircraft
struck the surface of Lac Saint-François
▪The student pilot sustained serious injuries but managed to
evacuate the sinking aircraft through the right, rear window.
▪Student tried to pull out the unconscious flight instructor, but
without success…
▪The flight instructor did not evacuate the aircraft and
died in the accident
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Challenger 604 test aircraft S/N
5991 October 10, 2000

▪test aircraft lifted off the runway, …

caught a wingtip on the ground,
cartwheeled ... before stopping on a road.
▪Fire broke out immediately, but
firefighters were on the scene within
roughly two minutes

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Commercial Considerations

▪ Minimize number of design changes / rework

required late in the game
▪ Minimize costs
(due to required design changes late in the game)
▪ Minimize risk for certification

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Continuing Airworthiness

Water Ingress (extract from customer report)

This afternoon xxxx departed for a trip and after departure when slat/flap movement began the following EICAS messages
appeared:

Slat-flap Half Speed, The crew also had the following indications:
Flight Spoilers Fail Right HASOV valve closed,
Shaker #1 Fail - this was intermittent, The Right HASOV breaker kept tripping,
Shaker #2 Fail - this was intermittent, No Temperature indications on Right Pack (gone),
No Temperature Indications on Cockpit Temperature Control (amber dashes),
Stall Protect Fail - this was
intermittent, No Temperature Indication on Selected Temperature (amber dashes),
ADC #2 Degraded, The right Hot Air Shut off Valve closed,
Right Trim Air Valve Closed,
ADC 1-2-3 Degraded,
Center Trim Air Valve Closed,
Left Pack Fault,
Left Trim Air Valve - Magenta,
Right Bleed Fault, The Right Pack showed boxed (invalid data),
Trim Air Fail, The #2 FS was amber boxed,
Right Pack Auto Fail. There only hot air coming in the cockpit,
Even though the Right Pack showed failed the outlet line showed a green flow
tube.

…water in the lower equipment bay. The forward lavatory under carpet pressure
sensitive mat failed, the cold water handle was partially open allowing the sink to overfill
and go thru the floor board onto the equipment in the lower bay…

▪Possible Hazard to the aircraft and occupants?

(Continued Safe Flight and Landing)
▪Liability? 9
Top 5 Design Considerations

▪ Loose Equipment

▪ Decompression

▪ Egress - Aisle Clearance

▪ Flammability

▪ Seat Installation and HIC (Head Impact Criteria)

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Loose Equipment

Term has been misused !

▪ Definition:
• Item that is not permanently installed and for which a compliance finding has
NOT been made (E.g. Throw Cushions, Umbrellas, China, Crystal, Flatware,
etc…)

▪ Wrong use:
• Item that cannot be certified and is therefore put in a box and given to the
customer

▪ Note:
• Items that are not certifiable CANNOT be installed in the aircraft or be
provided as part of the certified configuration.. PERIOD

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 Decompression - §25.365

▪ A pressurized aircraft is inflated like a balloon to make the

cabin hospitable without the use of breathing apparatus

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 Decompression - §25.365

▪ If there is a failure in the fuselage (hole, etc…):

• air will escape rapidly and explosively, and;
• large masses of air will flow rapidly through the cabin

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 Decompression - §25.365

▪ Decompression can result from many

events including Birdstrike

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 Decompression - §25.365

▪ Notable decompression events:

• National Airlines Flight 27, DC-10,
Albuquerque, New Mexico,
November 3, 1973
(Engine fan assembly disintegration)
• Japan Airlines Flight 123, Boeing 747,
Gunma Prefecture Japan,
August 12, 1985
(Incorrect Repair of Pressure Bulkhead)
• Turk Hava Flight TK981, DC-10, Paris
March 3, 1974
(Cargo door latch mechanism failure)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NWW77HnGTc
Decompression - §25.365
– Provisions to address
▪ Bulkheads, partitions & floors must be designed NOT to collapse
▪ Design objective is for cabin partitions to withstand 0.5 psi dP
(ex: 20” X 70” door should be designed to withstand 700 lbf)
▪ Means to relieve pressure:
• Decompression panels
• Grills
• Louvers
• Decompression Hinges
▪ Parts must be designed so as NOT to come loose and possibly
injure passengers
• Must be held by lanyards, hinges, etc...

▪ Moveable seats cannot obstruct decompression provisions

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Egress - Aisle Clearance - §25.815
▪ Minimum aisle width is measured
perpendicular to the aisle pathway and,
with aircraft in (Taxi, Takeoff and Landing, ie. TTL)
configuration

▪ Must be determined without compression of seat fabric

or cushions

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Egress - Aisle Clearance - §25.815
▪ Authorities will only accept aisle width measurements which meet those set
out in the regulations.
▪ Violations must be avoided at all costs, even if only by a fraction of an inch.

Passenger seating Minimum passenger aisle

width (inches)
capacity Less than 25 25 inches
inches from floor and more
from
floor

10 or less *12 15
11 through 19 12 20
20 or more 15 20

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Emergency Evacuation §25.803

[(a) Each crew and passenger area must have emergency means to
allow rapid evacuation in crash landings, with the landing gear
extended as well as with the landing gear retracted, considering the
possibility of the airplane being on fire.
(b) [Reserved.]
(c) For airplanes having a seating capacity of more than 44
passengers, it must be shown that the maximum seating capacity,
including the number of crewmembers required by the operating
rules for which certification is requested, can be evacuated from the
airplane to the ground under simulated emergency conditions within
90 seconds. Compliance with this requirement must be shown by
actual demonstration using the test criteria outlined in Appendix J of
this part unless the Administrator finds that a combination of analysis
and testing will provide data equivalent to that which would be
obtained by actual demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_8hbsWKoOU

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Flammability - §25.853 (Compartment Interiors)

▪ For each compartment occupied by the crew or passengers, the

following apply:
▪ (a) Materials (including finishes or decorative surfaces applied to
the materials) must meet the applicable test criteria prescribed in
part I of appendix F of this part, or other approved equivalent
methods, regardless of the passenger capacity of the airplane.
▪ (b) [Reserved]
▪ (c) In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) of this
section, seat cushions, except those on flight crewmember seats,
must meet the test requirements of part II of appendix F of this
part, or other equivalent methods, regardless of the passenger
capacity of the airplane
▪ Continues…..

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Flammability
▪ Seat cushions must be fire-blocked §25.853(c)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=velFypJ_Ilo

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 Flammability

▪ Sound and Thermal Insulation

§25.856 (from Swissair 111)

▪ Baggage Compartments
§25.855

▪ Wiring & Electrical Components

§25.869

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Dynamic Seat Testing
The Regulation
▪ § 25.562 Emergency landing dynamic conditions.
▪ (a) The seat and restraint system in the airplane must be designed as
prescribed in this section to protect each occupant during an emergency
landing condition when -
▪ (1) Proper use is made of seats, safety belts, and shoulder harnesses
provided for in the design; and
▪ (2) The occupant is exposed to loads resulting from the conditions
prescribed in this section.
▪ (b) Each seat type design approved for crew or passenger occupancy
during takeoff and landing must successfully complete dynamic tests or
be demonstrated by rational analysis based on dynamic tests of a similar
type seat, in accordance with each of the following emergency landing
conditions. The tests must be conducted with an occupant simulated by a
170-pound anthropomorphic test dummy, as defined by 49 CFR Part 572,
Subpart B, or its equivalent, sitting in the normal upright position.
▪ Continues …..
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▪ Intent is to evaluate seats, restraints, and related interior
systems to demonstrate
• their structural strength and;
• their ability to provide improved occupant protection from serious
injuries in a survivable crash (must be able to evacuate aircraft)

▪ Certification requires seat dynamic tests and demonstration

that specific structural, injury, and egress criteria are
satisfied

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 DYNAMIC TESTS CAN ASSESS

▪ Structural adequacy of seat/restraint system attachments

▪ Structural deformation
▪ Restraint system behavior and loads
▪ Potential for occupant injury
• Femur loads
• Thoracic Trauma (Side facing seats)
• HIC
• Identify and define the
Occupant Movement Envelope (OME)

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HIC - HEAD IMPACT CRITERIA - §25.562

▪ Each occupant must be protected from serious head injury.

▪ Where head contact with seats or other structure can occur, protection
must be provided so that the head impact does not exceed a Head Injury
Criterion (HIC) of 1,000 units. The level of HIC is defined by the equation:

Where:
t1 is the initial integration time,
t2 is the final integration time, and
a(t) is the total acceleration vs. time curve for the head strike, and where
(t) is in seconds, and (a) is in units of gravity (g).

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 Additional Minimum Requirements

▪ Seat when tested shall not leave hazardous projections that

could contribute to occupant injury or significantly impede
rapid evacuation

▪ Adjustable features should not deploy under test

conditions and contribute to serious occupant injury or
significantly impede rapid egress
(E.g. Meal Trays, In-Arm monitors, etc…)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oItpmkBT2Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MJEjTujMd0&t=58s

Dynamic Tests

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Certification (the paperwork)
FAA NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (NPRM)

§Part 0, Section 000 (a) 1(c)

Section I - No person or persons may try, or attempt to try or make, or make attempt to try
to comprehend or understand any or all, in whole or in part of the herein mentioned
Aviation Regulations, except as authorized by the Administrator or an agent appointed by,
or inspected by, the Administrator.

Section II - If a person or applicant becomes aware of, or realizes,or detects, or discovers,

or finds that he or she, or they, are or have been beginning to understand the Aviation
Regulations, they must immediately, within three (3) days notify, in writing, the
Administrator.

Section III - Upon receipt of the above-mentioned notice of impending comprehension, the
Administrator shall immediately rewrite the Aviation Regulations in such a manner as to
eliminate any further comprehension hazards.

Section IV - The Administrator may, at his or her discretion, require the offending person
or applicant to attend remedial instruction in Aviation Regulations until such time that the
person or applicant is too confused to be capable of understanding anything.

Remember, we're not happy, until you're not happy.

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QUESTIONS ?

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