453 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.178 

(3) For airplanes type certificated 

after January 1, 1958, include floor 
proximity emergency escape path 
marking which meets the requirements 
of § 25.812(e) of this chapter in effect on 
November 26, 1984. 

(d) 

Emergency light operation. 

Except 

for lights forming part of emergency 
lighting subsystems provided in com-
pliance with § 25.812(h) of this chapter 
(as prescribed in paragraph (h) of this 
section) that serve no more than one 
assist means, are independent of the 
airplane’s main emergency lighting 
systems, and are automatically acti-
vated when the assist means is de-
ployed, each light required by para-
graphs (c) and (h) of this section must: 

(1) Be operable manually both from 

the flightcrew station and from a point 
in the passenger compartment that is 
readily accessible to a normal flight 
attendant seat; 

(2) Have a means to prevent inad-

vertent operation of the manual con-
trols; 

(3) When armed or turned on at ei-

ther station, remain lighted or become 
lighted upon interruption of the air-
plane’s normal electric power; 

(4) Be armed or turned on during tax-

iing, takeoff, and landing. In showing 
compliance with this paragraph, a 
transverse vertical separation of the 
fuselage need not be considered; 

(5) Provide the required level of illu-

mination for at least 10 minutes at the 
critical ambient conditions after emer-
gency landing; and 

(6) Have a cockpit control device that 

has an ‘‘on,’’ ‘‘off,’’ and ‘‘armed’’ posi-
tion. 

(e) 

Emergency exit operating handles. 

(1) For a passenger-carrying airplane 
for which the application for the type 
certificate was filed prior to May 1, 
1972, the location of each passenger 
emergency exit operating handle, and 
instructions for opening the exit, must 
be shown by a marking on or near the 
exit that is readable from a distance of 
30 inches. In addition, for each Type I 
and Type II emergency exit with a 
locking mechanism released by rotary 
motion of the handle, the instructions 
for opening must be shown 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

° 

of arc at a radius ap-

proximately 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. 

(2) For a passenger-carrying airplane 

for which the application for the type 
certificate was filed on or after May 1, 
1972, the location of each passenger 
emergency exit operating handle and 
instructions for opening the exit must 
be shown in accordance with the re-
quirements under which the airplane 
was type certificated. On these air-
planes, no operating handle or oper-
ating handle cover may continue to be 
used if its luminescence (brightness) 
decreases to below 100 microlamberts. 

(f) 

Emergency exit access. 

Access to 

emergency exits must be provided as 
follows for each passenger-carrying air-
plane: 

(1) Each passageway between indi-

vidual passenger areas, or leading to a 
Type I or Type II emergency exit, must 
be unobstructed and at least 20 inches 
wide. 

(2) There must be enough space next 

to each Type I or Type II emergency 
exit to allow a crewmember to assist in 
the evacuation of passengers without 
reducing the unobstructed width of the 
passageway below that required in 
paragraph (f)(1) of this section; how-
ever, the Administrator may authorize 
deviation from this requirement for an 
airplane certificated under the provi-
sions of part 4b of the Civil Air Regula-
tions in effect before December 20, 1951, 
if he finds that special circumstances 
exist that provide an equivalent level 
of safety. 

(3) There must be access from the 

main aisle to each Type III and Type 
IV exit. The access from the aisle to 
these exits must not be obstructed by 
seats, berths, or other protrusions in a 
manner that would reduce the effec-
tiveness of the exit. In addition, for a 
transport category airplane type cer-
tificated after January 1, 1958, there 
must be placards installed in accord-
ance with § 25.813(c)(3) of this chapter 
for each Type III exit after December 3, 
1992. 

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