FAA issues final rule to increase airliner explosives survivability

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a final rule that will require manufacturers of newly certified commercial aircraft after 28 November to protect passengers and cockpit crew from the effects of explosives or incendiary devices set off in flight. Flight Global’s John Croft writes that the rule, first proposed in January 2007, will apply to aircraft that have a maximum certified takeoff weight of more than 45,359 kg (100,000 lb) or maximum passenger seating capacity greater than sixty people.

Manufacturers will have to ensure not only that cockpit doors can handle small arms fire or fragmentation devices, but from now will be required to protect the flight deck and passenger compartment from smoke, fumes, and noxious gases that could be released by an explosion. Included as well will be the designation of a “least risk bomb location” (LRBL) inside the aircraft, a location where a device, if discovered in flight, could be placed to protect flight critical structures and systems to the maximum possible extent if it were to detonate.Note that existing commercial aircraft of the same size and passenger carrying capacity must also have an LRBL designated by 28 November 2009, according to the rule.

The new rule will require manufacturers to develop redundant safety of flight systems that are physically separated or designed to allow for continued safe flight and landing in the aftermath of an explosion, says the FAA. Cabin interiors will have to be designed to make it “more difficult to conceal weapons, explosives or other such objects and easier to find such objects by a simple search.” Croft writes that FAA expects the rule to cost $1.4 billion through 2061, made up of certification and manufacturing costs as well as the additional fuel burn due to the extra weight of the upgrades. The total benefit of the rule over the same time period is $2.7 billion, according to the agency.