FAA completes work on seat rule

Airline Industry Information, Oct 18, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed a project on the seat requirements for passenger aircraft.

The FAA has reportedly taken 17 years to complete work on the new rule. The regulation will require passenger aircraft to have stronger seats, which are designed to increase the survival probability of passengers and flight attendants. The rule will affect aircraft constructed after October 2009, and states that seats will have to be able to take 16 times the force of gravity, compared to the standard of 9 times the force of gravity required since 1952. The rule will also require floors and the tracks on which the seats are mounted to be able to take the same force, Reuters reported.

When the rule was proposed in 2002 the FAA apparently envisioned aircraft having to be retrofitted with the stronger seats, however the new rule does not have this requirement. In fact many of the aircraft now in service already have seats that conform to the requirements of the rule.

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