EUROPEAN AND NORTH American aviation authorities, have made an unprecedented joint invitation to the air-transport industry, to take part in a review of progress in cabin-safety research.
The subject retains a high political profile, particularly since, during the last five years, all the authorities involved have postponed decisions on the carriage of passenger smoke hoods and rejected fire-delaying cabin-water-mist systems on cost grounds.
The European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), Transport Canada (TC), and the US Federal Aviation Administration have announced a jointly sponsored conference to which industry is invited.
"The objective is to go for a more systematic approach to the whole business of cabin safety, rather than reacting to individual accidents as we have done," says UK Civil Aviation Authority research project manager Graham Greene.
At the 14-16 November meeting in Atlantic City, participants are to review the combined FAA/TC Cabin Safety Research Programme and Plan and JAA programmes. Areas to be covered include cabin evacuation; crash dynamics; in-flight emergencies as they affect the cabin; and cabin fire safety.
Source: Flight International
