title-14-part-29-sec29-811

617

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT

§ 29.811

ground after collapse of one or more
legs or part of the landing gear.

(4) It must have the capability, in 25-

knot winds directed from the most
critical angle, to deploy and, with the
assistance of only one person, to re-
main usable after full deployment to
evacuate occupants safely to the
ground.

(5) Each slide installation must be

qualified by five consecutive deploy-
ment and inflation tests conducted (per
exit) without failure, and at least three
tests of each such five-test series must
be conducted using a single representa-
tive sample of the device. The sample
devices must be deployed and inflated
by the system’s primary means after
being subjected to the inertia forces
specified in § 29.561(b). If any part of the
system fails or does not function prop-
erly during the required tests, the
cause of the failure or malfunction
must be corrected by positive means
and after that, the full series of five
consecutive deployment and inflation
tests must be conducted without fail-
ure.

(h) For rotorcraft having 30 or fewer

passenger seats and having an exit
threshold more than 6 feet above the
ground, a rope or other assist means
may be used in place of the slide speci-
fied in paragraph (f) of this section,
provided an evacuation demonstration
is accomplished as prescribed in
§ 29.803(d) or (e).

(i) If a rope, with its attachment, is

used for compliance with paragraph (f),
(g), or (h) of this section, it must—

(1) Withstand a 400-pound static load;

and

(2) Attach to the fuselage structure

at or above the top of the emergency
exit opening, or at another approved
location if the stowed rope would re-
duce the pilot’s view in flight.

[Amdt. 29–3, 33 FR 968, Jan. 26, 1968, as
amended by Amdt. 29–29, 54 FR 47321, Nov. 13,
1989; Amdt. 27–26, 55 FR 8004, Mar. 6, 1990]

§ 29.811

Emergency exit marking.

(a) Each passenger emergency exit,

its means of access, and its means of
opening must be conspicuously marked
for the guidance of occupants using the
exits in daylight or in the dark. Such
markings must be designed to remain
visible for rotorcraft equipped for

overwater flights if the rotorcraft is
capsized and the cabin is submerged.

(b) The identity and location of each

passenger emergency exit must be rec-
ognizable from a distance equal to the
width of the cabin.

emergency exit must be indicated by a
sign visible to occupants approaching
along the main passenger aisle. There
must be a locating sign—

(1) Next to or above the aisle near

each floor emergency exit, except that
one sign may serve two exits if both ex-
ists can be seen readily from that sign;
and

(2) On each bulkhead or divider that

prevents fore and aft vision along the
passenger cabin, to indicate emergency
exits beyond and obscured by it, except
that if this is not possible the sign may
be placed at another appropriate loca-
tion.

(d) Each passenger emergency exit

marking and each locating sign must
have white letters 1 inch high on a red
background 2 inches high, be self or
electrically illuminated, and have a
minimum luminescence (brightness) of
at least 160 microlamberts. The colors
may be reversed if this will increase
the emergency illumination of the pas-
senger compartment.

(e) The location of each passenger

emergency exit operating handle and
instructions for opening must be
shown—

(1) For each emergency exit, by a

marking on or near the exit that is
readable from a distance of 30 inches;
and

(2) For each Type I or Type II emer-

gency exit with a locking mechanism
released by rotary motion of the han-
dle, by—

(i) A red arrow, with a shaft at least

three-fourths inch wide and a head
twice the width of the shaft, extending
along at least 70 degrees of arc at a ra-
dius approximately equal to three-
fourths of the handle length; and

(ii) The word ‘‘open’’ in red letters 1

inch high, placed horizontally near the
head of the arrow.

(f) Each emergency exit, and its

means of opening, must be marked on
the outside of the rotorcraft. In addi-
tion, the following apply:

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618

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)

§ 29.812

(1) There must be a 2-inch colored

band outlining each passenger emer-
gency exit, except small rotorcraft
with a maximum weight of 12,500
pounds or less may have a 2-inch col-
ored band outlining each exit release
lever or device of passenger emergency
exits which are normally used doors.

(2) Each outside marking, including

the band, must have color contrast to
be readily distinguishable from the sur-
rounding fuselage surface. The contrast
must be such that, if the reflectance of
the darker color is 15 percent or less,
the reflectance of the lighter color
must be at least 45 percent. ‘‘Reflec-
tance’’ is the ratio of the luminous flux
reflected by a body to the luminous
flux it receives. When the reflectance
of the darker color is greater than 15
percent, at least a 30 percent difference
between its reflectance and the reflec-
tance of the lighter color must be pro-
vided.

(g) Exits marked as such, though in

excess of the required number of exits,
must meet the requirements for emer-
gency exits of the particular type.
Emergency exits need only be marked
with the word ‘‘Exit.’’

[Amdt. 29–3, 33 FR 968, Jan. 26, 1968, as
amended by Amdt. 29–24, 49 FR 44438, Nov. 6,
1984; Amdt. 27–26, 55 FR 8004, Mar. 6, 1990;
Amdt. 29–31, 55 FR 38967, Sept. 21, 1990]

§ 29.812

Emergency lighting.

For transport Category A rotorcraft,

the following apply:

(a) A source of light with its power

supply independent of the main light-
ing system must be installed to—

(1) Illuminate each passenger emer-

gency exit marking and locating sign;
and

(2) Provide enough general lighting

in the passenger cabin so that the aver-
age illumination, when measured at 40-
inch intervals at seat armrest height
on the center line of the main pas-
senger aisle, is at least 0.05 foot-candle.

(b) Exterior emergency lighting must

be provided at each emergency exit.
The illumination may not be less than
0.05 foot-candle (measured normal to
the direction of incident light) for min-
imum width on the ground surface,
with landing gear extended, equal to
the width of the emergency exit where
an evacuee is likely to make first con-

tact with the ground outside the cabin.
The exterior emergency lighting may
be provided by either interior or exte-
rior sources with light intensity meas-
urements made with the emergency
exits open.

(a) or (b) of this section must be oper-
able manually from the cockpit station
and from a point in the passenger com-
partment that is readily accessible.
The cockpit control device must have
an ‘‘on,’’ ‘‘off,’’ and ‘‘armed’’ position
so that when turned on at the cockpit
or passenger compartment station or
when armed at the cockpit station, the
emergency lights will either illuminate
or remain illuminated upon interrup-
tion of the rotorcraft’s normal electric
power.

(d) Any means required to assist the

occupants in descending to the ground
must be illuminated so that the erect-
ed assist means is visible from the
rotorcraft.

(1) The assist means must be pro-

vided with an illumination of not less
than 0.03 foot-candle (measured normal
to the direction of the incident light)
at the ground end of the erected assist
means where an evacuee using the es-
tablished escape route would normally
make first contact with the ground,
with the rotorcraft in each of the atti-
tudes corresponding to the collapse of
one or more legs of the landing gear.

(2) If the emergency lighting sub-

system illuminating the assist means
is independent of the rotorcraft’s main
emergency lighting system, it—

(i) Must automatically be activated

when the assist means is erected;

(ii) Must provide the illumination re-

quired by paragraph (d)(1); and

(iii) May not be adversely affected by

stowage.

(e) The energy supply to each emer-

gency lighting unit must provide the
required level of illumination for at
least 10 minutes at the critical ambient
conditions after an emergency landing.

(f) If storage batteries are used as the

energy supply for the emergency light-
ing system, they may be recharged
from the rotorcraft’s main electrical
power system provided the charging