ESD testing according to RTCA DO-160D, Section 25

Cabin electronic equipment can be effected by electrostatic discharge due to environmental and installation conditions, such as low relative humidity and the use of poor or non-conductive materials for carpets, seat textiles, arm rests etc., which exist in all locations within the aircraft. For ESD testing, different Human Body Models, such as the MIL-STD-833 and the RTCA DO-160D (comparable to IEC 1000-4-2) were applied to the passenger entertainment system to reproduce the same system failures observed by different customers. Comparison of the models showed that only the contact discharge with a modified network of the DO-160D standard is the appropriate test method to recreate the problems observed on current equipment and to obtain reproducable test results. Therefore it is recommanded that section 25 of the DO-160D for cabin electronic equipment be modifed.