451 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 25.809 

(j) 

Flightcrew emergency exits. For air-

planes in which the proximity of pas-
senger emergency exits to the 
flightcrew area does not offer a conven-
ient and readily accessible means of 
evacuation of the flightcrew, and for 
all airplanes having a passenger seat-
ing capacity greater than 20, flightcrew 
exits shall be located in the flightcrew 
area. Such exits shall be of sufficient 
size and so located as to permit rapid 
evacuation by the crew. One exit shall 
be provided on each side of the air-
plane; or, alternatively, a top hatch 
shall be provided. Each exit must en-
compass an unobstructed rectangular 
opening of at least 19 by 20 inches un-
less satisfactory exit utility can be 
demonstrated by a typical crew-
member. 

[Amdt. 25–72, 55 FR 29781, July 20, 1990, as 
amended by Amdt. 25–88, 61 FR 57956, Nov. 8, 
1996; 62 FR 1817, Jan. 13, 1997; Amdt. 25–94, 63 
FR 8848, Feb. 23, 1998; 63 FR 12862, Mar. 16, 
1998; Amdt. 25–114, 69 FR 24502, May 3, 2004] 

§ 25.809

Emergency exit arrangement. 

(a) Each emergency exit, including 

each flightcrew emergency exit, must 
be a moveable door or hatch in the ex-
ternal walls of the fuselage, allowing 
an unobstructed opening to the out-
side. In addition, each emergency exit 
must have means to permit viewing of 
the conditions outside the exit when 
the exit is closed. The viewing means 
may be on or adjacent to the exit pro-
vided no obstructions exist between the 
exit and the viewing means. Means 
must also be provided to permit view-
ing of the likely areas of evacuee 
ground contact. The likely areas of 
evacuee ground contact must be 
viewable during all lighting conditions 
with the landing gear extended as well 
as in all conditions of landing gear col-
lapse. 

(b) Each emergency exit must be 

openable from the inside and the out-
side except that sliding window emer-
gency exits in the flight crew area need 
not be openable from the outside if 
other approved exits are convenient 
and readily accessible to the flight 
crew area. Each emergency exit must 
be capable of being opened, when there 
is no fuselage deformation— 

(1) With the airplane in the normal 

ground attitude and in each of the atti-

tudes corresponding to collapse of one 
or more legs of the landing gear; and 

(2) Within 10 seconds measured from 

the time when the opening means is ac-
tuated to the time when the exit is 
fully opened. 

(3) Even though persons may be 

crowded against the door on the inside 
of the airplane. 

(c) The means of opening emergency 

exits must be simple and obvious; may 
not require exceptional effort; and 
must be arranged and marked so that 
it can be readily located and operated, 
even in darkness. Internal exit-opening 
means involving sequence operations 
(such as operation of two handles or 
latches, or the release of safety 
catches) may be used for flightcrew 
emergency exits if it can be reasonably 
established that these means are sim-
ple and obvious to crewmembers 
trained in their use. 

(d) If a single power-boost or single 

power-operated system is the primary 
system for operating more than one 
exit in an emergency, each exit must 
be capable of meeting the requirements 
of paragraph (b) of this section in the 
event of failure of the primary system. 
Manual operation of the exit (after 
failure of the primary system) is ac-
ceptable. 

(e) Each emergency exit must be 

shown by tests, or by a combination of 
analysis and tests, to meet the require-
ments of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this 
section. 

(f) Each door must be located where 

persons using them will not be endan-
gered by the propellers when appro-
priate operating procedures are used. 

(g) There must be provisions to mini-

mize the probability of jamming of the 
emergency exits resulting from fuse-
lage deformation in a minor crash 
landing. 

(h) When required by the operating 

rules for any large passenger-carrying 
turbojet-powered airplane, each ven-
tral exit and tailcone exit must be— 

(1) Designed and constructed so that 

it cannot be opened during flight; and 

(2) Marked with a placard readable 

from a distance of 30 inches and in-
stalled at a conspicuous location near 
the means of opening the exit, stating 
that the exit has been designed and 

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