801 Added a smoke emissions test, to part V of Appendix F to minimize the possibility that emergency egress will be hampered by smoke obscuration.
Required materials which had to comply with part IV of Appendix F (heat release) to also comply with part V of Appendix F (smoke density).
Amendment 25-67 (effective 7/24/89), Distances Between Emergency Exits This amendment established a new standard to limit the distance between emergency exits on transport category airplanes. This amendment:
Added a new requirement that airplanes with more than one exit on each side of the fuselage may not have adjacent passenger emergency exits more than 60 feet apart (§ 25.807).
Revised the certification procedures in part 21 for new aircraft, preventing the issuance of a standard airworthiness certificate for transport category airplanes which do not meet the new 60- foot requirement (§ 21.183).
Revised the special retroactive requirements to require that each applicant for a supplemental type certificate meet the new 60-foot rule requirements (§ 25.2).
Amendment 25-70 (effective 11/27/89), Independent Power Source for Public Address System in Transport Category Airplanes This amendment was promulgated to ensure the availability of the public address (PA) system during emergency conditions. This amendment:
Added new requirements for the accessibility of required PA systems (§ 25.1411).
Required an independent PA system power source to ensure functionality during emergency conditions (§ 25.1423).
Amendment 25-72 (effective 8/20/1990), Special Review; Transport Category Airplane Airworthiness Standards This amendment was promulgated to update part 25 for clarity and accuracy, and to ensure the airworthiness standards were appropriate for the smaller transport airplane common to regional air carrier operations. This amendment made editorial changes to many of the regulations pertaining to crashworthiness. However, the intent of the crashworthiness requirements remained basically unchanged. Refer to Appendix 10 for a summary of how the different sections were redesignated as a result of Amendment 25-72.
Amendment 25-74 (effective 6/16/91), Improved Cabin Fire Protection This amendment was promulgated to improve cabin fire protection capabilities by:
Requiring smoke detectors in each lavatory (§ 25.854).
Requiring lavatory trash receptacles to be equipped with automatically activated fire extinguishers (§ 25.854).
802 Increasing the number of required fire extinguishers for airplanes with more than 200 passengers (§ 25.851).
Specifying a number of fire extinguishers be required to contain Halon 1211 as the extinguishing agent (§ 25.851).
Requiring one hand fire extinguisher to be installed in, or readily accessible to each galley (§ 25.851).
Amendment 25-76 (effective 6/3/92), Improved Access to Type III Exits This amendment revised the emergency exit access regulations (§ 25.813) to require improved access to Type III exits (typically smaller over-wing exits) in transport category airplanes with 60 or more passenger seats. These changes were the results of tests that were conducted at the FAA’s Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) and were promulgated with the intent to improve the ability of occupants to evacuate an airplane under emergency conditions.
Amendment 25-79 (effective 9/27/93), Miscellaneous Changes to Emergency Evacuation Demonstration Procedures, Exit Handle Illumination Requirements, and Public Address Systems These amendments were promulgated to enhance the provisions for egress of occupants of transport category airplanes under emergency conditions. This amendment:
Modified the procedures for conducting emergency evacuation demonstrations. This included a requirement that the flightcrew take no active role in the demonstration, and a change to the age/sex distribution requirement for demonstration participants.
Standardized the illumination requirements for the handles of the various types of passenger emergency exits.
Added a requirement to prevent the inadvertent disabling of the PA system because of an unstowed microphone.
Amendment 25-82 (effective 6/21/94), Emergency Locator Transmitters This rule was promulgated to improve the reliability and performance of emergency locator transmitters (ELTs). The rule requires that newly installed ELTs on U.S. registered aircraft be of an improved design that meets the requirements of a revised Technical Standard Order (TSO) or later TSOs issued for ELTs (§ 25.1415).
Amendment 25-83 (effective 3/6/1995), Improved Flammability Standards This rule was promulgated to clarify the standards propagated in 1986 concerning the flammability of components used in the cabins of certain transport category airplanes. The clarifications were necessary to preclude certain costly, unintended changes to airplane interiors.
The resulting changes re-organized § 25.853, and made minor refinements in the test apparatus and procedures within Appendix F, Part IV, regarding rate-of-heat-release testing.
803 Amendment 25-87 (effective 7/5/96), Standards for High Altitude Operations This rule was promulgated to specify airplane and equipment airworthiness standards for airplane to be operated up to an altitude of 51,000 feet. This rule change affected the structural requirements for high altitude aircraft and the corresponding system changes to ensure survivability following a rapid decompression at high altitudes. From a crashworthiness perspective, the regulation requires the installation of pressure demand type crew oxygen masks for aircraft where the flightcrew may be exposed to cabin pressure altitude in excess of 34,000 feet (§ 25.1447).
Amendment 25-88 (effective 12/9/96), Type and Number of Passenger Emergency Exits This amendment was promulgated in order to update the requirements for passenger emergency exits, and assist means. These changes allow more flexibility in the design of emergency exits and are reflective of improvements in escape slide technology. This amendment:
Identifies two new types of passenger emergency exits (Types B and C) in transport category airplanes (§ 25.807).
Provides more consistent standards with respect to the passenger seating allowed for each exit type and combination of exit types (§ 25.807).
Requires escape slides to be erected in less time, thereby enabling more rapid egress of passengers under emergency conditions (§ 25.810).
Inadvertently removed the 60-foot limitation between adjacent passenger emergency exits and the requirements for flight crew emergency exits.
Amendment 25-93 (effective 3/19/98), Revised Standards for Cargo or Baggage Compartments This amendment upgraded the fire safety standards for cargo or baggage compartments in certain transport category airplanes. The amendment eliminated Class D compartments as an option for future type certification in order to increase protection from possible in-flight fires (§ 25.855).
These upgraded requirements were the result of several in-flight fires in class D compartments, including the Valujet Airlines DC-9 that crashed in the Florida Everglades. Compartments that were no longer allowed to be designated as Class D must meet the standards for Class C or Class E compartments, as applicable.
Amendment 25-94 (effective 3/25/98), Technical Amendments and Other Miscellaneous Corrections This amendment corrected a number of errors in the safety standards for transport category airplanes. This amendment:
Revised § 25.807 to reintroduce the 60-foot maximum distance between exits, and requirements for flight deck emergency exits. Both requirements were inadvertently omitted from Amendment 25-88.
Made minor typographical corrections to cross references contained in Appendix F, Part II.
804 Amendment 25-99 (effective 6/10/03), Type Certification Procedures for Changed Products This rule change is not specific to crashworthiness issues; it does however, revise the special retroactive requirements of § 25.2 as part of the Changed Product Rule.
Amendment 25-106 (effective 6/15/01), Flight Deck Door Security Considerations This amendment was promulgated in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It introduced a new § 25.795, which requires means to protect the flightdeck from unauthorized intrusion, and protection from small arms fire or fragmentation devices.
Amendment 25-110 (effective 7/21/03), Lower Deck Service Compartments This amendment was promulgated to require two-way voice communication systems between lower deck service compartments and the flightdeck remain available following loss of the normal electrical power generating system. It also clarifies the requirements for seats installed in the lower deck service compartment.
Amendment 25-111 (effective 9/02/03), Thermal / Acoustic Insulation This amendment promulgated upgraded flammability standards for thermal and acoustic insulation materials used in transport category airplanes. These standards are intended to enhance safety by reducing the incidence and severity of cabin fires, particularly those in inaccessible areas where thermal and acoustic insulation materials are installed, and providing additional time for evacuation by delaying the entry of post-crash fires into the cabin.
805 APPENDIX 8
FIRE CONTAINMENT TEST METHODS
l. To demonstrate fire-containment capabilities by test of or similarity to approved containers, carts, or compartments used to store combustible material for showing compliance to the fire containment requirements of § 25.853.
2. PURPOSE.
To demonstrate that food service carts, waste material or refuse carts and compartments with waste containers used to receive combustible materials such as food service refuse, paper towels, napkins, paper cups, etc., and subject to accidental ignition, will contain a fire. Carts not usable as waste containers need not be tested.
3. TEST REQUIREMENTS.
a. The waste compartment, cart, or waste container used for test should be equivalent to a production unit with regard to material and design, as shown by the test and production drawings provided.
b. The waste compartment, cart, or waste container should be tested in the same environment as would occur on the airplane. This includes a complete production enclosure or a simulated configuration that totally duplicates the in-service application, including as a minimum, seals, chutes, ducts, sealant, doors, lids, drain lines, vent lines, compartments with or without containers, and environmental conditions. Tests for waste compartments which contain overboard drains that are vented by differential pressure should be tested with the maximum possible airflow simulated. Tests for chilled carts that receive conditioned air from a chiller unit should also be connected to simulated ducts and have the same air flow through the cart that would occur when in use on the airplane.
c. Chilled carts should be tested to demonstrate containment representative of two use conditions:
(1) Stowed in the galley unit and connected to the ducts that distribute the conditioned air and with the design air flow rates being used, and (Refer to paragraph 3.b.).
(2) Removed from the galley, which would represent the unstowed (disconnected) use condition.
d. The following information is requested for tests to be witnessed by FAA personnel or its representatives:
(1) Identification and location(s) of unit(s) where conformity inspection(s) and test(s) are to be conducted.
(2) Name and telephone number of project engineer at the above location(s).
(3) Approximate date(s) that the unit(s) will be available for inspection.
e. FAA or appointed designee should inspect the cart, waste container, or waste compartment for conformity prior to the test.
f. The following suggested materials may be used for this test:
(1) Material to be ignited in the waste compartment, waste container, or waste cart should consist of the following typical mixture of crumpled combustibles:
(i) Eight paper hand towels-two ply, approximately l0 x 11-inches (40 percent by number).
(ii) Five paper napkins-two ply, approximately 16 x 16-inches (25 percent by number).
(iii) Four paper hot drink cups-8 ounce size (20 percent by number).
(iv) Two paper cold drink cups-3 ounce size (l0 percent by number).
(v) One empty cigarette package (5 percent by number).
The total amount of combustible material in the above proportions should be sufficient to fill the waste container, compartment, or cart to 3/4 full. Any changes to this mixture should be approved by the FAA.
(2) Combustible materials used for meal cart tests should be representative of those regularly used. If the airline for which the cart is intended uses noncombustible dishes, the test should be conducted with combustible dishes. The airline may change or the cart may be used by another airline which uses combustible dishes. Normally this will include:
(i) One cup.
(ii) One salad dish.
(iii) One salad dressing container.
(iv) One entree dish.
(v) One dessert dish.
(vi) Three eating utensils (i.e., knife, fork, spoon).
(vii) One crumpled paper napkin-two ply, approximately l6 x l6-inches.
The total amount of trays, each containing the materials in the above proportions, shall be sufficient to fill the cart. Remove the tray above the one to be ignited to give the fire some air.
Ignite the materials on the second or third tray up from the bottom. Entree or heated carts, if they contained ignition sources, should be tested by igniting an entree dish (the second or third one up from the bottom) or equivalent filled l/2 full of alcohol to simulate a grease fire and remove the tray above the one that is to be ignited. If the entree cart is used as a serving cart or for storage of used materials, the procedures used for standard cart tests should also be followed.
(3) A thermocouple and readout system capable of continuously recording the temperature within the item being tested may be used.
4. TEST PROCEDURES.
4.l WASTE COMPARTMENT AND WASTE CONTAINER.
a. All waste compartments with nonmetallic waste containers should be tested with the containers installed (4.1c and 4.1e through 4.1h) and also with the container removed (4.1d through 4.1h). Alternatively, it may be analyzed which condition (with or without the container) is more critical and only that condition need be tested. Waste compartments with metal waste containers should be tested without the container (4.1d through 4.1h).
b. If the compartment is not tested with the container removed, the outside of the compartment must be conspicuously placarded to require the container be in place.
c. Install the waste container loosely filled with material per 3.f.(1) and close all doors.
Proceed with 4.1e through 4.1h.
d. Loosely fill the waste compartment, without the waste container, with material per 3.f.(1) and close all compartment doors.
e. If a thermocouple is used, install it through the waste compartment lid or other suitable opening such that the thermocouple bead is located l.5 to 2.0-inches above the surface of the waste material.
f. Ignite the waste material in the container or compartment by inserting a crumpled lighted paper towel through the waste compartment lid or chute. Ensure development of an adequate fire by allowing approximately 50 percent of the waste material surface area to ignite prior to closing the lid. It is best to light the back surface first and work forward. The flame coverage is deceiving; be absolutely confident at least 50 percent of the surface is ignited.
g. The temperature indicated by the thermocouple will increase after ignition and then start to drop as the flame subsides. When the thermocouple indicates a temperature below l50°F., or does not reignite when the door is opened, the test is complete. Open the compartment door, remove the waste container if used, and inspect the container, cart, and/or compartment for damage.
h. It is recommended that the applicant takes photographs prior to and after test, records thermocouple temperatures, if used, and record all observations during the test. The photographs, temperatures, and observations should be included in the test report.
4.2 CARTS.
a. All tests are to be conducted in an open area equivalent to an aircraft cabin environment or connected to the conditioned air ducts in the galley unit (Refer to 4.2g).
b. Load carts with materials as listed in 3.f.(1) for waste carts and 3.f.(2) for meal, entree (heated) or air chilled carts.
c. If used, install the thermocouple through the waste access door or other suitable opening such that the thermocouple bead is located l.5 to 2.0-inches above the surface of the top tray.
d. Meal Carts. For meal cart tests, ignite two crumpled paper napkins and place adjacent to other combustible items on the lower tray. Remove the tray above for the test. Allow a good flame front to develop by allowing approximately 50 percent of the surface area of the napkin to ignite. Insert tray and close all cart doors.
e. Waste Carts. For waste carts, use the procedure called out in Section 4.l.
f. Entree (Heated) Carts. For entree or heated carts, ignite a pan of alcohol the size of an entree dish, and insert into the cart on the lower shelf (Refer to 3.f.(2)). Remove the tray above for the test.
g. Air-Chilled Carts.
(1) The air chilled carts should have all openings, gaskets, seals, and connectors representative of the production carts installed or simulated.
(2) Air chilled carts should be loaded with the items as listed in 3.f.(2).
(3) Air chilled carts should be tested under two conditions as follows:
(i) Stowed within galley.
809 (A) If used, install the thermocouple through the access door or other suitable opening such that the thermocouple lead is located l.5 to 2.0-inches above the surface of the top tray.
(B) Ignite two crumpled paper napkins and place adjacent to the other combustible items on the lower tray. Remove the tray above for the test. Allow a good flame front to develop by allowing approximately 50 percent of the surface area of the napkin to ignite.
Insert the tray and close all cart doors.
(C) Place the cart into the galley structure so that it is connected or attached to the chilled air distribution ducts with the designed airflow volume. Circulate air through the cart at the designated airflow rate.
(ii) Unstowed Carts.
(A) Remove the cart from the chilled air distribution duct.
(B) Use the procedure listed in items 4.2g.(3)(i)(A) and 4.2g.(3)(i)(B).
h. The temperature indicated by the thermocouple will increase after ignition and then start to drop as the flame subsides. When the thermocouple indicates a temperature below 150 °F, or does not reignite when the door is opened, the test is complete. Open the compartment door, remove the waste container if used, and inspect the container, cart, and/or compartment for damage.
i. Take photographs prior to and after testing, record thermocouple temperatures, if used, and record all observations during the test. The photographs, temperatures, and observations should be included in the test report.
5. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA.
a. Compliance with the fire containment requirements of § 25.853 requires that the waste compartment/container or cart, as applicable, "must be at least fire resistant" (meet the 45 degree burn test contained in paragraph 621.b(2) of this AC or, alternatively as later promulgated by Amendment 25-32 in § 25.855(a-1)) and be able to contain the fires described in Section 4.
b. Damage to the waste compartment/container is acceptable provided the waste compartment does not burn through or ignite surrounding materials or no flame issues from waste compartment or cart.
c. Damage to carts and contents are acceptable provided the container portion of the cart does not burn through.
6. FIRE CONTAINMENT BY SIMILARITY REPORT. A unit that is similar in construction, materials, and volume to a unit previously approved by the FAA may be approved without a fire containment test, with a similarity report that satisfactorily demonstrates the similarity.
6.1 PURPOSE. The similarity report should state the purpose, which is to show by similarity to previously approved units, that waste containers, waste compartments, and carts containing combustible materials contain a fire in compliance with this document and the fire containment requirements of § 25.853. The report should also include:
a. Identification by part and drawing number of items to be approved by similarity to previously approved items.
b. Identification of airplane(s) in which the item will be installed as well as the airplane and airline customer for which the original test was conducted. A copy of the original test report should also be attached or referenced.
c. Identify the fire containment requirements of § 25.853 for which compliance will be demonstrated by similarity.
6.2 DESCRIPTION OF SIMILARITY SPECIMEN. Drawing numbers, photographs, etc., for items to be approved by similarity, and previously approved unit to which they are being compared should be provided.
6.3 SIMILARITY REQUIREMENTS.
a. Configuration should be adequately defined by production drawings or equivalent sketches and layouts.
b. Construction or fabrication of the subject unit should be similar to previously approved unit as shown by drawing or sketches with part numbers.
c. Ventilation or air leakage paths (length or area) should be equal to or less than previously approved unit. Air gap dimensions between waste compartment access or chute doors and sill should be shown on sketches or drawings.
d. Compartment volume should be equal to or less than previously approved unit, and tabulated for both units. Include dimensions and volume comparisons of the unit tested and of the unit to be approved by similarity.
e. A statement should be made in the report verifying that the design permits no waste material to fall out of the stowage or waste compartments as installed in the airplane.
6.4 CONCLUSION.
a. A statement should be made in the report verifying that the design confines a fire within the waste compartment and does not present a hazard to personnel or other compartments.
b. A statement should be made in the report that the galley or lavatory waste container and compartments are qualified to the fire containment requirements of § 25.853 based on the attached comparison analysis that shows these units to have equivalent fire containment capabilities of the previously approved test unit documented in the referenced report.
7. PARAGRAPH (e) and (f). Refer to AC 20-42C, dated 3/7/84, “Hand Fire Extinguishers for Use in Aircraft,” for guidance on acceptable fire extinguishers.