1. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 1 Improvement of Cabin Equipment to Enhance Safety against Turbulence Association of Air Transport Engineering and Research (ATEC), Japan Shozo Hirose

2. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 2 Objectives of the committee A research committee, commissioned by JCAB and supported by ATEC, was formed in order to - analyze turbulence related accidents, - review current status and - work out practical safety measures The committee members are from - National aerospace laboratory of Japan, - Aviation accident investigation commission, - Airlines and - Aircraft equipment manufacturers

3. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 3 Turbulence accidents analyzed by the committee Reviewed 98 accidents occurred in USA, UK and Japan during 1997 - 2002 143 persons injured seriously and one person fatally (57 passengers and 87 flight attendants injured seriously, and 1 passenger injured fatally) Flight attendants are 36 times more likely to be injured than passengers

4. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 4 Signs of violent jolts Of 10 turbulence related accidents in Japan, - Jolted all of a sudden ……………………….…1 case - Sustained vibration were felt beforehand.…...3 cases - Vibration began 2 to 4 seconds before……..…6 cases In many cases, signs of violent jolts are perceivable, even for a CAT. Handholds that give quick grip would be effective to mitigate turbulence related injuries.

5. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 5 Examples of FDR (Vertical acceleration) 3sec Foreseeable jolts 10sec Sudden jolt

6. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 6 Injuries by galley carts Of 98 turbulent related accidents, galley carts caused - 9 accidents (9%) - 10 serious injuries (7%) Galley carts moved violently but not caused injuries in - 6 accidents (6%) Galley carts are involved in 15% of accidents in total

7. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 7 Expected effects on mitigation of injuries Possible safety measuresPassengers Flight attendants Software Belts fastened while seated290 Turbulence procedure029 Prohibition of loading heavy articles in overhead stowage 10 Hardware Handgrips in galleys024 Handgrips on passenger seats110 Galley carts fixation26 Handgrips on jump seats03 Handgrips in toilets20 Handgrips outside toilets20 Coffee pots with lids10 Display of passenger seatbelts status10

8. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 Existing Handholds

9. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 9 Existing handholds (Cabin aisle) Handrails under the Overhead Stowage Handgrips on the business class passenger seats

10. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 10 Existing handholds (Galley)

11. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 11 Existing handholds (Outside of toilets) Suitcase handles outside toilets Recessed handle

12. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 Questionnaire survey on flight attendants

13. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 13 Experience of violent jolt (Questionnaire survey on flight attendants) 456 flight attendants answered Experience of violent jolt that caused or may have caused injuries Yes 66 % No 34 %

14. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 14 Effectiveness of handholds (Questionnaire survey on flight attendants ) Experience of escaping injury by grabbing handholds Yes 92 % No 8 %

15. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 15 Insecure places in the cabin (Questionnaire survey on flight attendants ) Cabin aisle : Only a few handholds Galley : Flight attendants spend much time Outside toilet : Wide open area and no handholds Cabin aisle 60 % Others 2 % Toilet 5 % Outside toilet 15 % Galley 18 %

16. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 16 Desirable handholds (Questionnaire survey on flight attendants ) Cabin aisle - Handgrips on the shoulder of passenger seats - Handrails under the overhead stowage Galley - More handholds - Handholds at low position for use when squat down - Handholds on the galley walls Outside toilets - Handholds near the doors for waiting passengers

17. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 Proposed Measures

18. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 18 Handgrips on passenger seats Conspicuous and easy to grip Needs a compromise between safety and comfortableness

19. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 19 Handgrips on flight attendant’s seat No disadvantages and highly feasible Also effective for passengers waiting for toilet

20. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 20 Handgrips in toilet Two bars on the both sides of a toilet seat Prevent floatation of the passenger Sanitary problem must be solved

21. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 21 Handholds on the toilet and galley walls Should not impede emergency evacuation

22. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 22 Engagement with passenger seats (Manual or automatic) Engages with passenger seat manually or automatically Need to place the cart at the predetermined positions

23. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 23 Floor track system Most effective method to prevent floatation Too much cost for existing airplane Can be adopted by newly designed airplane

24. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 24 Tying-down with ropes A B C Lowest cost High workload for flight attendants Insufficient fixation

25. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 25 Conclusions Keeping seatbelts fastened while seated and new turbulence procedures are very effective to mitigate turbulence related injuries. In many cases, sign of severe turbulence is foreseeable. Handholds that can be reached quickly are effective. Handgrips in the cabin aisle are feasible and effective. Embodiments of proposed handholds are desirable. Galley carts should not be neglected as causes of injuries. Further research is required to prevent floatation.

26. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 26 An example of embodiment of the committee conclusions ANA B737NG Handrails under the Overhead Stowage

27. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 27 END Thank you…… hirose@atec.or.jp

28. 4 th Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference Lisbon, Portugal, November 15 - 18, 2004 28