(a) Each emergency exit, including each flightcrew emergency exit, must be a moveable door or hatch in the external walls of the fuselage, allowing an unobstructed opening to the outside. 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 provided no obstructions exist between the exit and the viewing means. Means must also be provided to permit viewing 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 collapse.

(b) Each emergency exit must be openable from the inside and the outside except that sliding window emergency 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 attitudes 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 actuated 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 simple 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 acceptable.

(e) Each emergency exit must be shown by tests, or by a combination of analysis and tests, to meet the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.

(f) Each door must be located where persons using them will not be endangered by the propellers when appropriate operating procedures are used.

(g) There must be provisions to minimize the probability of jamming of the emergency exits resulting from fuselage deformation in a minor crash landing.

(h) When required by the operating rules for any large passenger-carrying turbojet-powered airplane, each ventral 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 installed at a conspicuous location near the means of opening the exit, stating that the exit has been designed and constructed so that it cannot be opened during flight.

(i) Each emergency exit must have a means to retain the exit in the open position, once the exit is opened in an emergency. The means must not require separate action to engage when the exit is opened, and must require positive action to disengage.

[Doc. No. 5066, 29 FR 18291, Dec. 24, 1964, as amended by Amdt. 25-15, 32 FR 13264, Sept. 20, 1967; Amdt. 25-32, 37 FR 3970, Feb. 24, 1972; Amdt. 25-34, 37 FR 25355, Nov. 30, 1972; Amdt. 25-46, 43 FR 50597, Oct. 30, 1978; Amdt. 25-47, 44 FR 61325, Oct. 25, 1979; Amdt. 25-72, 55 FR 29782, July 20, 1990; Amdt. 25-114, 69 FR 24502, May 3, 2004; Amdt. 25-116, 69 FR 62788, Oct. 27, 2004]