5.3 Exits Without Slides, Window Exits & Exit Row Seating

Exits without slides and window exits

Not every exit has a slide. Overwing Type III and Type IV exits are usually hatches, removed inward and either stowed on an adjacent seat or thrown outside, and evacuation continues across the wing to a designated escape route and, on many types, an escape strap and a wing-mounted slide or ramp at the trailing edge.

Key operating knowledge:

• The hatch is heavy — of the order of 15 to 20 kg on common narrow-bodies — and must be lifted inward, then manoeuvred clear. Nig. CARs describes the necessary capability as being able to lift out, hold, deposit on nearby seats, or manoeuvre over the seatbacks to the next row objects the size and mass of over-wing window exit doors.
• The hatch must not be left blocking the aisle or the exit aperture.
• There is a step up to the sill and a step down onto the wing, and the wing surface is slippery when wet or contaminated.
• The escape route across the wing is marked, and exterior emergency lighting illuminates it.
• Some overwing exits are crew-inaccessible in practice because they sit in the middle of the cabin; they are operated by the passengers seated beside them, which is exactly why exit row seating is regulated.

Other exits without slides include tailcone exits, ventral airstairs, cockpit exits and flight deck sliding windows with an escape rope or reel, all of which appear in the syllabus under emergency operation.

Exit row seating: the seven criteria

Nig. CARs 8.9.2.11 is prescriptive. No AOC holder shall allow a passenger to sit in an emergency exit row if the pilot-in-command or senior cabin crew member determine that the passenger would likely be unable to understand and perform the functions necessary to open an exit and exit rapidly. No cabin crew member may seat a person in a passenger exit seat if it is likely that the person would be unable to perform one or more of the applicable functions. The disqualifying grounds are:

1. Insufficient mobility, strength or dexterity in both arms and hands and both legs to reach upward, sideways and downward to the exit and slide operating mechanisms; grasp, push, pull, turn or manipulate those mechanisms; open the exits; lift out, hold, deposit on nearby seats or manoeuvre over seat backs objects the size and mass of overwing window exit doors; remove obstructions of similar size and mass; reach the exit expeditiously; maintain balance while removing obstructions; exit expeditiously; stabilise an escape slide after deployment; or assist others off an escape slide.
2. The person is less than 15 years of age, or lacks the capacity to perform the functions without the assistance of an adult companion, parent or other relative.
3. Inability to read and understand the printed or graphic instructions provided by the operator, or to understand oral crew commands.
4. Insufficient visual capacity to perform the functions without visual aids beyond contact lenses or eyeglasses.
5. Insufficient aural capacity to hear and understand instructions shouted by cabin crew members, without assistance beyond a hearing aid.
6. Inability to impart information orally to other passengers.
7. A condition or responsibility — such as caring for small children — that might prevent performance of the functions, or a condition that might cause the person harm if they performed them.

The Nigerian age threshold is 15, not 16 or 18. Candidates who have trained on another State's syllabus commonly get this wrong.

Who decides, and what happens next

• Determinations are made by cabin crew members or other persons designated in the AOC holder's operations manual. It is an operational decision taken in the cabin, not a commercial decision taken at check-in.
• If a cabin crew member determines that a passenger assigned to an exit seat would be unable to perform the functions, or if a passenger requests a non-exit seat, the crew member shall expeditiously relocate the passenger to a non-exit seat. A passenger who simply does not want the responsibility is moved, without argument or persuasion.
• If the non-exit seats are fully booked and a relocation is necessary, the crew member shall move a passenger who is willing and able to assume the evacuation functions into the exit seat.
• Ticket agents must assign seats consistent with the selection criteria to the maximum extent feasible before boarding, and must make the written exit row seating procedures available for public inspection at gates and ticket counters.

The briefing requirements

Each cabin crew member must include in their passenger briefings:

• A request that a passenger identify themselves to allow reseating if they cannot meet the selection criteria, have a non-discernible condition that will prevent them performing the functions, may suffer bodily harm as a result of performing them, or do not wish to perform them; and
• A reference to the passenger information cards and to the functions to be performed at an emergency exit.

The non-discernible condition limb is important. A recent shoulder operation, a heart condition or a healing fracture is invisible from the aisle, so the regulation places the invitation on the crew and the disclosure on the passenger.

Passengers must comply with instructions implementing exit seating restrictions, and Nig. CARs 8.9.2.2 allows an AOC holder to deny transportation to a passenger who refuses to comply with exit seating restrictions, or who has a handicap that can be physically accommodated only by an exit row seat.

The pre-departure verification

The final control is stated as a bar on the pilot-in-command: no PIC may allow taxi or pushback unless at least one required crew member has verified that all exit rows and escape paths are unobstructed and that no exit seat is occupied by a person the crew member determines is likely to be unable to perform the applicable evacuation functions.

This is why the cabin secure report before pushback is a safety declaration rather than a formality. When a crew member reports the cabin secure, they are asserting, among other things, that this verification has been done.