[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47494-47495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and 
follow the online instructions for sending your comments 
electronically.
     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.
     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.
     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 www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
www.regulations.gov 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: [email protected].

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\ www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/media/Emergency%20Evac%20Standards%20ARC%20final%20report%20final%20(5-26-
2020).pdf.
    \2\ www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2020s/media/Effects_of_Airplane_Cabin_Interiors_on_Egress_I.pdf.
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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]
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