Two US senators are proposing legislation to require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to rewrite aircraft evacuation standards to do a better job of taking real-life conditions into account.
Current rules say airlines must be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds but do not set seat size requirements. The FAA uses tests to determine if shrinking seat sizes and seat pitch on airplanes are safe.
Senators Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin argue the FAA simulation tests do not include real-life conditions and are proposing the Emergency Vacating of Aircraft Cabin (EVAC) Act.
“It appalled me that it’s not a realistic test. They are using groups of able-bodied people, The current standards are not realistic and if we’re going to test than we need to have realistic parameters,” said Duckworth, who is a double amputee, noting that FAA tests have just 60 passengers.
In 2018, Congress directed FAA to issue regulations establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats necessary for the safety of passengers within a year but it has not done so.
The FAA released an aircraft cabin evacuation study in March said Thursday it is reviewing 26,000 public comments it received to determine whether current seat size and spacing affect passenger evacuation.
Two airline trade groups say the FAA should not write regulations setting minimum seating dimensions, arguing the agency has thoroughly studied seat sizes and concluded that current passenger dimensions and configurations are safe.
Last month, six other Democratic senators urged the FAA to bar airlines from further shrinking airplane seats. In September, a US appeals court heard arguments from a flyer advocacy group urging it to order the FAA to set minimum seat dimensions on passenger airplanes.
