257 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 23.807 

(b) Each emergency exit must be lo-

cated to allow rapid evacuation of the 
crew and have a size and shape of at 
least a 19- by 20-inch unobstructed rec-
tangular opening; and 

(c) For each emergency exit that is 

not less than six feet from the ground, 
an assisting means must be provided. 
The assisting means may be a rope or 
any other means demonstrated to be 
suitable for the purpose. If the assist-
ing means is a rope, or an approved de-
vice equivalent to a rope, it must be— 

(1) Attached to the fuselage structure 

at or above the top of the emergency 
exit opening or, for a device at a pilot’s 
emergency exit window, at another ap-
proved location if the stowed device, or 
its attachment, would reduce the pi-
lot’s view; and 

(2) Able (with its attachment) to 

withstand a 400-pound static load. 

[Doc. No. 26324, 59 FR 25773, May 17, 1994] 

§ 23.807

Emergency exits. 

(a) 

Number and location. Emergency 

exits must be located to allow escape 
without crowding in any probable 
crash attitude. The airplane must have 
at least the following emergency exits: 

(1) For all airplanes with a seating 

capacity of two or more, excluding air-
planes with canopies, at least one 
emergency exit on the opposite side of 
the cabin from the main door specified 
in § 23.783 of this part. 

(2) [Reserved] 
(3) If the pilot compartment is sepa-

rated from the cabin by a door that is 
likely to block the pilot’s escape in a 
minor crash, there must be an exit in 
the pilot’s compartment. The number 
of exits required by paragraph (a)(1) of 
this section must then be separately 
determined for the passenger compart-
ment, using the seating capacity of 
that compartment. 

(4) Emergency exits must not be lo-

cated with respect to any propeller 
disk or any other potential hazard so 
as to endanger persons using that exit. 

(b) 

Type and operation. Emergency 

exits must be movable windows, panels, 
canopies, or external doors, openable 
from both inside and outside the air-
plane, that provide a clear and unob-
structed opening large enough to admit 
a 19-by-26-inch ellipse. Auxiliary lock-
ing devices used to secure the airplane 

must be designed to be overridden by 
the normal internal opening means. 
The inside handles of emergency exits 
that open outward must be adequately 
protected against inadvertent oper-
ation. In addition, each emergency exit 
must— 

(1) Be readily accessible, requiring no 

exceptional agility to be used in emer-
gencies; 

(2) Have a method of opening that is 

simple and obvious; 

(3) Be arranged and marked for easy 

location and operation, even in dark-
ness; 

(4) Have reasonable provisions 

against jamming by fuselage deforma-
tion; and 

(5) In the case of acrobatic category 

airplanes, allow each occupant to aban-
don the airplane at any speed between 
V

SO

and V

D

; and 

(6) In the case of utility category air-

planes certificated for spinning, allow 
each occupant to abandon the airplane 
at the highest speed likely to be 
achieved in the maneuver for which the 
airplane is certificated. 

(c) 

Tests.  The proper functioning of 

each emergency exit must be shown by 
tests. 

(d) 

Doors and exits. In addition, for 

commuter category airplanes, the fol-
lowing requirements apply: 

(1) In addition to the passenger entry 

door— 

(i) For an airplane with a total pas-

senger seating capacity of 15 or fewer, 
an emergency exit, as defined in para-
graph (b) of this section, is required on 
each side of the cabin; and 

(ii) For an airplane with a total pas-

senger seating capacity of 16 through 
19, three emergency exits, as defined in 
paragraph (b) of this section, are re-
quired with one on the same side as the 
passenger entry door and two on the 
side opposite the door. 

(2) A means must be provided to lock 

each emergency exit and to safeguard 
against its opening in flight, either in-
advertently by persons or as a result of 
mechanical failure. In addition, a 
means for direct visual inspection of 
the locking mechanism must be pro-
vided to determine that each emer-
gency exit for which the initial opening 
movement is outward is fully locked. 

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