Review/Assessment of Transport Category Airplane Ditching Standards/Requirements

183 Pages·2015·1.43 MB·English

DOT/FAA/TC-14/8 Review and Assessment of
Federal Aviation Administration Transport Category Airplane
William J. Hughes Technical Center
Aviation Research Division Ditching Standards and
Atlantic City International Airport
New Jersey 08405
Requirements
May 2015
Final Report
This document is available to the U.S. public
through the National Technical Information
Services (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161.
This document is also available from the
Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes
Technical Center at actlibrary.tc.faa.gov.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
NOTICE

This research was commissioned by Transport Canada by means of the
Memorandum of Cooperation regarding Civil Aviation Research and
Development between the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom
and the Department of Transport of Canada. This activity has been
carried out in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the
UK Civil Aviation Authority under the auspices of the International Cabin
Safety Research Technical Group whose goal is to enhance the
effectiveness and timeliness of cabin safety research.

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S.
Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange.
The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.
Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are
considered essential to the objective of this report. This document does
not constitute FAA certification policy. Consult your local FAA aircraft
certification office as to its use.

This report is available at the Federal Aviation Administration William J.
Hughes Technical Center’s Full-Text Technical Reports page:
actlibrary.tc.faa.gov in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF).
Technical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
DOT/FAA/TC-14/8

4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORT CATEGORY AIRPLANE May 2015
DITCHING STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS

6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.
R.G.W. Cherry & Associates Limited
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
R.G.W. Cherry & Associates
33 Star Street 11. Contract or Grant No.
Ware, Herts, SG12 7AA United Kingdom
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Transport Airplane Directorate, ANM-115
Renton, WA 98057 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
ANM-115
15. Supplementary Notes
16. Abstract
Recent accident experience has raised questions as to whether the design and operational standards of large transport category
airplanes, pertinent to water related accidents, might be improved to enhance occupant survival.
This study has been commissioned by Transport Canada and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (henceforth referred to as the
Airworthiness Authorities) to carry out a detailed review of accident data and existing research applicable to water related
accidents, to determine the need for changes to the relevant regulatory standards, taking into account the cost to industry and the
likely benefits to occupant safety.
The study includes ditching and inadvertent water impact accidents involving western built airplanes certified for 20 or more
passenger seats (and their cargo variants), that occurred over the period 1967 to 2009. In the context of this study, the term
ditching includes planned and unplanned ditchings in which the flight crew knowingly makes a controlled emergency landing in
water. Inadvertent water impact accidents are those that might occur during an overrun or undershoot, where the airplane alights
on water. The study excludes non-survivable water impacts and accidents involving hijacked airplanes.
17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement
Ditching, Inadvertent water impact accidents, Water related This document is available to the U.S. public through the
accident, Exit, Non-survivable impact accident. National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield,
Virginia 22161. This document is also available from the
Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical
Center at actlibrary.tc.faa.gov.

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 183

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY x
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. TERMINOLOGY 1
3. SCOPE 2
4. ACCIDENT DATA ACQUISITION & LITERATURE SEARCH 2
4.1 Water Related Accident Database 3
4.2 Accident Data 3
4.3 Existing Research 7
4.4 Existing Regulatory Material 7
5. TRENDS IN WATER RELATED ACCIDENTS 7
5.1 General 7
5.2 Water Related Accident Rates 7
5.3 Occupants Involved in Water Related Accidents 8
5.4 Fatalities in Water Related Accidents 9
5.4.1 Fatalities in Ditching Accidents 9
5.4.2 Fatalities in Inadvertent Water Impact Accidents 10
5.4.3 Fatalities in All Water Related Accidents 11
6. ACCIDENT ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY 11
6.1 Identification of Safety Issues and Topics 11
6.2 Detailed Analysis of Safety Topics 13
7. SUMMARY OF SAFETY ISSUE ANALYSES 13
7.1 Airplane Configuration and Ditching Parameters 13
7.1.1 Discussion 14
7.1.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 14
7.2 Pilot Workload 15
7.2.1 Discussion 15
7.2.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 16
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7.3 Emergency Checklist Content 16

7.3.1 Discussion 16
7.3.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 17

7.4 Pilot Training 18

7.4.1 Discussion 18
7.4.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 19

7.5 Equipage 19

7.5.1 Discussion 19
7.5.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 24

7.6 Passenger Safety Information 24

7.6.1 Discussion 25
7.6.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 25

7.7 Life Vests 25

7.7.1 Discussion 26
7.7.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 27

7.8 Exits and Exit Routes 27

7.8.1 Discussion 27
7.8.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 28

7.9 Life Rafts/Slide Rafts 28

7.9.1 Discussion 29
7.9.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 30

7.10 Ditching Lifelines 30

7.10.1 Discussion 30
7.10.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 31

7.11 Flotation Seat Cushions 31

7.11.1 Discussion 31
7.11.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 31

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7.12 Airport Water Rescue Capability 32

7.12.1 Discussion 32
7.12.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 32

8. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 32
9. LIFE VEST EQUIPPING – PRELIMINARY BENEFIT - COST ASSESSMENT 33
9.1 General 33
9.2 Preliminary Cost Assessment 34

9.2.1 General Assumptions 34
9.2.2 Scope 35
9.2.3 Life Vest Installation Cost 35
9.2.4 Overhaul Costs 35
9.2.5 Cost of Fuel due to Weight Increase 36
9.2.6 Total Cost per Life Vest 37
9.2.7 Cost of Equipping Non-EOW Fleet with Life Vests 38

9.3 Preliminary Benefit Assessment 39

9.3.1 Scope 39
9.3.2 Identification of Water Related Accidents 40
9.3.3 Assessment of Lives Lost due to Non-Fitment of Life Vests 40
9.3.4 Number of Lives to be Saved 42

9.4 Conclusions for Preliminary Benefit - Cost Assessment 42

10. DISTANCE FROM SHORELINE IN WATER RELATED ACCIDENTS 43
11. REFERENCES 45
APPENDICES

A—PARAMETERS WITHIN THE WATER RELATED ACCIDENT DATABASE

B—AIRPLANE CONFIGURATION AND DITCHING PARAMETERS
(ANALYSIS)
C—PILOT WORKLOAD (ANALYSIS)
D—EMERGENCY CHECKLIST CONTENT (ANALYSIS)
E—PILOT TRAINING (ANALYSIS)
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F—EQUIPAGE (ANALYSIS)
G—PASSENGER SAFETY INFORMATION (ANALYSIS)
H—LIFE VESTS (ANALYSIS)
I—EXITS AND EXIT ROUTES (ANALYSIS)
J—LIFE RAFT/SLIDE RAFT (ANALYSIS)
K—DITCHING LIFELINES (ANALYSIS)
L—FLOTATION SEAT CUSHIONS (ANALYSIS)
M—AIRPORT WATER RESCUE CAPABILITY (ANALYSIS)

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 Trends in Water Related Accident Rates 8
2 Trends for the Number of Occupants Involved in Water Related Accidents 9
3 Ditching Accident Fatalities 10
4 Cumulative Probability Distribution of Distance from Shoreline 44
5 Water Related Accident Occurrences by Phase of Flight 45

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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Number of Water Related Accidents Identified 4
2 Ditching Accidents With Official Accident Reports Available 5
3 Inadvertent Water Impact Accidents With Official Accident Reports Available 6
4 Ditching Preparation Events With Official Accident Reports Available 7
5 Safety Topic Occurrences in Water Related Accidents 12
6 Analysis Data Appendices 13
7 Comparison of Operating Requirements Relating to the Carriage of Occupant
Flotation Means 21
8 Annual Cost of Equipping With Life Vests on a ‘Per Life Vest’ Basis 37
9 Number of Passenger Seats – Narrow Body U.S. Fleet 38
10 Annual Cost of Equipping ‘Non-EOW’ Fleet with Passenger Life Vests 39
11 Summary of Fatalities in Water Related Accidents 41
12 Cost of Equipping Fleet in Terms of Equivalent Lives Saved per Year 43

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LIST OF ACRONYMS
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
JAA Joint Aviation Authority
EOW Extended Overwater
NTSB National Transportation Safety Board
CSRTG Cabin Safety Research Technical Group

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