107 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 121.310 

E

DITORIAL

N

OTE

: For F

EDERAL

R

EGISTER

ci-

tations affecting § 121.309, see the List of CFR 
Sections Affected, which appears in the 
Finding Aids section of the printed volume 
and at 

www.govinfo.gov. 

§ 121.310

Additional emergency equip-

ment. 

(a) 

Means for emergency evacuation. 

Each passenger-carrying landplane 
emergency exit (other than over-the- 
wing) that is more than 6 feet from the 
ground with the airplane on the ground 
and the landing gear extended, must 
have an approved means to assist the 
occupants in descending to the ground. 
The assisting means for a floor-level 
emergency exit must meet the require-
ments of § 25.809(f)(1) of this chapter in 
effect on April 30, 1972, except that, for 
any airplane for which the application 
for the type certificate was filed after 
that date, it must meet the require-
ments under which the airplane was 
type certificated. An assisting means 
that deploys automatically must be 
armed during taxiing, takeoffs, and 
landings. However, if the Adminis-
trator finds that the design of the exit 
makes compliance impractical, he may 
grant a deviation from the requirement 
of automatic deployment if the assist-
ing means automatically erects upon 
deployment and, with respect to re-
quired emergency exits, if an emer-
gency evacuation demonstration is 
conducted in accordance with 
§ 121.291(a). This paragraph does not 
apply to the rear window emergency 
exit of DC–3 airplanes operated with 
less than 36 occupants, including crew-
members and less than five exits au-
thorized for passenger use. 

(b) 

Interior emergency exit marking. 

The following must be complied with 
for each passenger-carrying airplane: 

(1) Each passenger emergency exit, 

its means of access, and its means of 
opening must be conspicuously 
marked. The identity and location of 
each passenger emergency exit must be 
recognizable from a distance equal to 
the width of the cabin. The location of 
each passenger emergency exit must be 
indicated by a sign visible to occupants 
approaching along the main passenger 
aisle. There must be a locating sign— 

(i) Above the aisle near each over- 

the-wing passenger emergency exit, or 

at another ceiling location if it is more 
practical because of low headroom; 

(ii) Next to each floor level passenger 

emergency exit, except that one sign 
may serve two such exits if they both 
can be seen readily from that sign; and 

(iii) 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. 

(2) Each passenger emergency exit 

marking and each locating sign must 
meet the following: 

(i) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b)(2)(iii) of this section, for an air-
plane for which the application for the 
type certificate was filed prior to May 
1, 1972, each passenger emergency exit 
marking and each locating sign must 
be manufactured to meet the require-
ments of § 25.812(b) of this chapter in ef-
fect on April 30, 1972. On these air-
planes, no sign may continue to be 
used if its luminescence (brightness) 
decreases to below 100 microlamberts. 
The colors may be reversed if it in-
creases the emergency illumination of 
the passenger compartment. However, 
the Administrator may authorize devi-
ation from the 2-inch background re-
quirements if he finds that special cir-
cumstances exist that make compli-
ance impractical and that the proposed 
deviation provides an equivalent level 
of safety. 

(ii) For a transport category airplane 

for which the application for the type 
certificate was filed on or after May 1, 
1972, each passenger emergency exit 
marking and each locating sign must 
be manufactured to meet the interior 
emergency exit marking requirements 
under which the airplane was type cer-
tificated. On these airplanes, no sign 
may continue to be used if its lumines-
cence (brightness) decreases to below 
250 microlamberts. 

(iii) For a nontransport category tur-

bopropeller powered airplane type cer-
tificated after December 31, 1964, each 
passenger emergency exit marking and 
each locating sign must be manufac-
tured to have white letters 1 inch high 
on a red background 2 inches high, be 
self-illuminated or independently, in-
ternally electrically illuminated, and 

VerDate Sep<11>2014 

08:20 May 17, 2019

Jkt 247048

PO 00000

Frm 00117

Fmt 8010

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\247048.XXX

247048