Aeroplane Equipment and Instruments — Page 90, Lesson 144

I want to walk you through the required safety equipment that must be carried on commercial aeroplanes, starting with Crew Protective Breathing Equipment, or PBE. Let’s begin with the PBE. For any aeroplane with a certificated maximum take-off mass — MTOM — greater than 5700 kilograms, or with a maximum seating configuration of more than 19 passengers, the regulations require specific PBE for the flight crew. Each flight crew member must have a PBE that protects the eyes, nose, and mouth. It must be a ‘quick don’ type — meaning you can put it on rapidly in an emergency — and it must provide oxygen for a period of not less than 15 minutes. The oxygen supply for this PBE can come from the main supplemental oxygen system already on the aircraft. The ‘quick don’ unit must be located so that it is easily accessible for immediate use by each required flight crew member. If the flight crew consists of more than one person and no cabin crew are carried, then a portable PBE for one crew member, meeting the same 15-minute standard, must also be carried. Now for the cabin crew. Sufficient PBE must be provided for all cabin crew members, again for a period of not less than 15 minutes. These PBE units must be installed adjacent to each cabin crew member’s duty station — that is, right where they work during the flight. There are also requirements for additional PBE. Easily accessible portable PBE must be located at or adjacent to the required hand-held fire extinguishers in two specific places: first, in galleys that are not located on the main passenger deck, and second, at or adjacent to Class A or Class B cargo compartments. For a cargo compartment, the PBE must be stowed outside the compartment itself but right next to the entrance to that compartment. Next, let’s talk about crash axes and crowbars. For aeroplanes with a maximum take-off mass exceeding 5700 kilograms, or with a passenger seating configuration of more than nine, you must carry a crash axe or crowbar located on the flight deck. If the passenger seating configuration exceeds 200, you need an additional crash axe or crowbar stowed in the rearmost galley area. Importantly, any axes or crowbars stowed in the passenger cabin must not be visible to the passengers. Now, megaphones. An operator cannot operate an aeroplane with a maximum approved passenger seating configuration of more than 60 and carrying one or more passengers unless it is equipped with portable battery-powered megaphones — often called ‘bull horns’. These must be readily accessible for use by crew members during an emergency evacuation. The number required depends on the passenger seating configuration for each passenger deck. For a configuration between 61 and 99 passengers, you need 1 megaphone. For 100 or more passengers, you need 2 megaphones. If the aeroplane has more than one passenger deck, in all cases where the total passenger seating configuration is more than 60, at least 1 megaphone is required. Finally, emergency lighting. The rules here are complex and vary depending on the date of certification and the approved passenger seating configuration. Generally speaking, emergency lighting must be provided to allow evacuation of the aeroplane. It must have an independent power source that continues to provide power even after the aircraft batteries have been switched off. The lighting can be provided from several sources — and we’ll look at those sources in the next part of the text.