765 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 29.811 

tests must be conducted without fail-
ure. 

(h) For rotorcraft having 30 or fewer 

passenger seats and having an exit 
threshold more than 6 feet above the 
ground, a rope or other assist means 
may be used in place of the slide speci-
fied in paragraph (f) of this section, 
provided an evacuation demonstration 
is accomplished as prescribed in 
§ 29.803(d) or (e). 

(i) If a rope, with its attachment, is 

used for compliance with paragraph (f), 
(g), or (h) of this section, it must— 

(1) Withstand a 400-pound static load; 

and 

(2) Attach to the fuselage structure 

at or above the top of the emergency 
exit opening, or at another approved 
location if the stowed rope would re-
duce the pilot’s view in flight. 

[Amdt. 29–3, 33 FR 968, Jan. 26, 1968, as 
amended by Amdt. 29–29, 54 FR 47321, Nov. 13, 
1989; Amdt. 27–26, 55 FR 8004, Mar. 6, 1990] 

§ 29.811

Emergency exit marking. 

(a) Each passenger emergency exit, 

its means of access, and its means of 
opening must be conspicuously marked 
for the guidance of occupants using the 
exits in daylight or in the dark. Such 
markings must be designed to remain 
visible for rotorcraft equipped for 
overwater flights if the rotorcraft is 
capsized and the cabin is submerged. 

(b) The identity and location of each 

passenger emergency exit must be rec-
ognizable from a distance equal to the 
width of the cabin. 

(c) 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— 

(1) Next to or above the aisle near 

each floor emergency exit, except that 
one sign may serve two exits if both ex-
ists can be seen readily from that sign; 
and 

(2) 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. 

(d) Each passenger emergency exit 

marking and each locating sign must 
have white letters 1 inch high on a red 

background 2 inches high, be self or 
electrically illuminated, and have a 
minimum luminescence (brightness) of 
at least 160 microlamberts. The colors 
may be reversed if this will increase 
the emergency illumination of the pas-
senger compartment. 

(e) The location of each passenger 

emergency exit operating handle and 
instructions for opening must be 
shown— 

(1) For each emergency exit, by a 

marking on or near the exit that is 
readable from a distance of 30 inches; 
and 

(2) For each Type I or Type II emer-

gency exit with a locking mechanism 
released by rotary motion of the han-
dle, 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 degrees of arc at a ra-
dius approximately 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. 

(f) Each emergency exit, and its 

means of opening, must be marked on 
the outside of the rotorcraft. In addi-
tion, the following apply: 

(1) There must be a 2-inch colored 

band outlining each passenger emer-
gency exit, except small rotorcraft 
with a maximum weight of 12,500 
pounds or less may have a 2-inch col-
ored band outlining each exit release 
lever or device of passenger emergency 
exits which are normally used doors. 

(2) Each outside marking, including 

the band, must have color contrast to 
be readily distinguishable from the sur-
rounding fuselage surface. The contrast 
must be such that, if the reflectance of 
the darker color is 15 percent or less, 
the reflectance of the lighter color 
must be at least 45 percent. ‘‘Reflec-
tance’’ is the ratio of the luminous flux 
reflected by a body to the luminous 
flux it receives. When the reflectance 
of the darker color is greater than 15 
percent, at least a 30 percent difference 
between its reflectance and the reflec-
tance of the lighter color must be pro-
vided. 

(g) Exits marked as such, though in 

excess of the required number of exits, 

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