Each required emergency exit must be accessible to the passengers and located where it will afford an effective means of evacuation. Emergency exit distribution must be as uniform as practical, taking passenger distribution into account; however, the size and location of exits on both sides of the cabin need not be symmetrical. If only one floor level exit per side is prescribed, and the airplane does not have a tailcone or ventral emergency exit, the floor level exit must be in the rearward part of the passenger compartment, unless another location affords a more effective means of passenger evacuation. Where more than one floor level exit per side is prescribed, at least one floor level exit per side must be located near each end of the cabin, except that this provision does not apply to combination cargo/passenger configurations. In addition --

(a) There must be a passageway leading from the nearest main aisle to each Type A, Type B, Type C, Type I, or Type II emergency exit and between individual passenger areas. Each passageway leading to a Type A or Type B exit must be unobstructed and at least 36 inches wide. Passageways between individual passenger areas and those leading to Type I, Type II, or Type C emergency exits must be unobstructed and at least 20 inches wide. Unless there are two or more main aisles, each Type A or B exit must be located so that there is passenger flow along the main aisle to that exit from both the forward and aft directions. If two or more main aisles are provided, there must be unobstructed cross-aisles at least 20 inches wide between main aisles. There must be --

(1) A cross-aisle which leads directly to each passageway between the nearest main aisle and a Type A or B exit; and

(2) A cross-aisle which leads to the immediate vicinity of each passageway between the nearest main aisle and a Type 1, Type II, or Type III exit; except that when two Type III exits are located within three passenger rows of each other, a single cross-aisle may be used if it leads to the vicinity between the passageways from the nearest main aisle to each exit.

(b) Adequate space to allow crewmember(s) to assist in the evacuation of passengers must be provided as follows:

(1) The assist space must not reduce the unobstructed width of the passageway below that required for the exit.

(2) For each Type A or Type B exit, assist space must be provided at each side of the exit regardless of whether a means is required by §25.810(a) to assist passengers in descending to the ground from that exit.

(3) Assist space must be provided at one side of any other type exit required by §25.810(a) to have a means to assist passengers in descending to the ground from that exit.

(c) The following must be provided for each Type III or Type IV exit -- (1) There must be access from the nearest aisle to each exit. In addition, for each Type III exit in an airplane that has a passenger seating configuration of 60 or more --

(i) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(1)(ii), the access must be provided by an unobstructed passageway that is at least 10 inches in width for interior arrangements in which the adjacent seat rows on the exit side of the aisle contain no more than two seats, or 20 inches in width for interior arrangements in which those rows contain three seats. The width of the passageway must be measured with adjacent seats adjusted to their most adverse position. The centerline of the required passageway width must not be displaced more than 5 inches horizontally from that of the exit.

(ii) In lieu of one 10- or 20-inch passageway, there may be two passageways, between seat rows only, that must be at least 6 inches in width and lead to an unobstructed space adjacent to each exit. (Adjacent exits must not share a common passageway.) The width of the passageways must be measured with adjacent seats adjusted to their most adverse position. The unobstructed space adjacent to the exit must extend vertically from the floor to the ceiling (or bottom of sidewall stowage bins), inboard from the exit for a distance not less than the width of the narrowest passenger seat installed on the airplane, and from the forward edge of the forward passageway to the aft edge of the aft passageway. The exit opening must be totally within the fore and aft bounds of the unobstructed space.

(2) In addition to the access --

(i) For airplanes that have a passenger seating configuration of 20 or more, the projected opening of the exit provided must not be obstructed and there must be no interference in opening the exit by seats, berths, or other protrusions (including any seatback in the most adverse position) for a distance from that exit not less than the width of the narrowest passenger seat installed on the airplane.

(ii) For airplanes that have a passenger seating configuration of 19 or fewer, there may be minor obstructions in this region, if there are compensating factors to maintain the effectiveness of the exit.

(3) For each Type III exit, regardless of the passenger capacity of the airplane in which it is installed, there must be placards that --

(i) Are readable by all persons seated adjacent to and facing a passageway to the exit;

(ii) Accurately state or illustrate the proper method of opening the exit, including the use of handholds; and

(iii) If the exit is a removable hatch, state the weight of the hatch and indicate an appropriate location to place the hatch after removal.

(d) If it is necessary to pass through a passageway between passenger compartments to reach any required emergency exit from any seat in the passenger cabin, the passageway must be unobstructed. However, curtains may be used if they allow free entry through the passageway.

(e) No door may be installed in any partition between passenger compartments.

(f) If it is necessary to pass through a doorway separating the passenger cabin from other areas to reach any required emergency exit from any passenger seat, the door must have a means to latch it in open position. The latching means must be able to withstand the loads imposed upon it when the door is subjected to the ultimate inertia forces, relative to the surrounding structure, listed in §25.561(b).

[Amdt. 25-1, 30 FR 3204, Mar. 9, 1965, as amended by Amdt. 25-15, 32 FR 13265, Sept. 20, 1967; Amdt. 25-32, 37 FR 3971, Feb. 24, 1972; Amdt. 25-46, 43 FR 50597, Oct. 30, 1978; Amdt. 25-72, 55 FR 29783, July 20, 1990; Amdt. 25-76, 57 FR 19244, May 4, 1992; Amdt. 25-76, 57 FR 29120, June 30, 1992; Amdt. 25-88, 61 FR 57958, Nov. 8, 1996]