Crash Dynamics Program Transport Seat Performance and Cost Study Benefit Study.

This report describes the work that was performed to support the Federal Aviation Administration's Crash Dynamics Program. An element of the program was the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID) of a Boeing 720 aircraft. Work related to the CID involved developing modifications of commercial transport passenger seats to improve their structural crashworthiness, then installing them alongside standard, unmodified seats aboard the test aircraft. This was followed by posttest analyses of the CID data and examination of the test specimens. Other supporting work included a literature review of the development of transport seats from the 1950's to the present, an investigation of the elements affecting transport seats' performance in a crash environment, and recommended changes that would improve the seats' survival. Additionally, a study was performed of severe survivable transport accidents between 1970 and 1983 to determine the effect transport seat performance had on passenger survival, and to identify instances where an improved seat/restraint system might have been beneficial.