Dynamic Test Methodology for Aircraft Seat and Restraint Systems

The General Aviation Safety Panel began to develop its recommendations for enhanced crash tolerance for small general aviation aircraft in 1983. The recommendations were presented to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1984, and contained two dynamic tests intended to demonstrate the ability of the seat and restraint system to protect an occupant against injury in forward and combined forward and vertical impact conditions. The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) has conducted a cooperative program with the Panel and industry since 1983 to develop the recommendations and then to demonstrate the practicality of meeting the goals of the recommendations. This paper presents test procedures developed in that program which are unique to the needs of the civil aviation applications.