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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Naïve Subject Testing – Suite Emergency Passage Features</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2686617</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Applicants for type design approval are working to support their airline customers by installing passenger suites that include doors between the passenger and exit.  To install these doors, an exemption to 25.813(e) is required in which one of the conditions of the exemption is that the applicant must show the emergency passage feature (EPF) is simple and obvious to open.  Applicants achieve this showing by completing a naïve subject test.  The test method currently being used combines test parameters from the naïve subject test for evacuation specified in Part 25 Appendix J, the naïve subject test for life vest donning specified in TSO-C13, and the naïve subject test for floor proximity markings outlined in AC 25.812-1 and AC 25.812-2a.  The test method has several variables involved that are debated amongst regulators and applicants on how they should be controlled.  As a result, the test is run inconsistently, and variations in how the test is performed has led to an unlevel playing field amongst applicants, delays in certification testing by seat suppliers, and conflicting design approvals.   ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:17:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2686617</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Communicable disease preparedness: Aircraft cabin disease dispersion study for model validation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2675923</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research supports the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA’s) Aviation Safety Research Strategy Public Health Preparedness thrust and depends on access to National Research Council Canada’s Centre for Air Travel Research facility. To strengthen public health preparedness, the Office of Aerospace Medicine must quantitatively model disease transmission risk in commercial aviation and evaluate mitigation strategies. Building on preliminary work under prior work, risk analysis models have been developed for interagency Safety Risk Management (SRM) use, with broader dissemination planned to public health planners, industry, and academia.

This project directly responds to the final recommendation of GAO-22-104579, which highlighted critical gaps in prior models. The project will publish key human behavior and ventilation datasets, enabling peer review, independent replication, and expanded application.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 10:19:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2675923</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Accessible lavatories</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625301</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Air Transportation Division (AFS-200) needs the ability to certify lavatories that are 
accessible to passengers with disabilities by FY28. This research will focus on conducting 
a feasibility study to assess the space requirements for accessible lavatories and their 
compatibility with various sized aircraft. In the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FY2024 Appropriations bill, Congress wrote: Aircraft Accessibility Research.—The Committee directs the FAA to research how 
transport category aircraft accessibility can be improved. This research should include 
how manual and powered personal wheelchairs can be safely secured in the passenger 
seating areas of transport category airplanes, determining the optimal safe evacuation 
processes for persons with disabilities, including persons who use wheelchairs, and 
determining how various types of transport category airplanes could most safely and 
efficiently be retrofit for accessible lavatories. The FAA shall include the resource needs 
for such research in future budget justifications. (Ref: Senate report 118-70).
This project will focus on how various designs of varying types of transport category 
airplanes could most safely and efficiently be retrofit for accessible lavatories.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:16:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625301</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effects of Airplane Cabin Interiors on Egress I - updates based on NASEM review</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625303</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project is to support updates to publication DOT/FAA/AM-21/01, Effects of Airplane Cabin Interiors on Egress I: Assessment of Anthropometrics, Seat Pitch, and Seat Width on Egress based on feedback received from NASEM peer review.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:26:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625303</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Effect on Egress of Furniture in Egress Pathways</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620734</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Cabin Safety Branch (AIR-624) requires validated methods to assess how new cabin furniture (e.g., obliquely oriented seats, business-class pods, lie flat seats) placed adjacent to aisles or emergency exits that affects emergency egress, ditching, and water survival outcomes. The research will (a) quantify impacts on individual and group evacuation times and behaviors, (b) identify injury and entrapment risks, and (c) develop objective test methods and acceptance criteria to inform certification guidance and updates to relevant policy. Deliverables are required by FY28 to support pending manufacturer requests for novel cabin layouts that may be in or near certification planning.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:59:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620734</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cabin Air Safety</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2582997</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to conduct a study pertaining to cabin air quality and any risk of, and potential for, persistent and accidental fume or smoke events onboard a passengercarrying aircraft operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. This study was directed in Section 362 of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, with the study commencing not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Act.  
Sec. 362 - Cabin Air Safety Act which was included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. 
Here's a breakdown of what this legislation entails for cabin air safety:
Enabling Standards: This act empowers the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish standards for cabin air quality.
Mandatory Training: It mandates training for airline personnel regarding toxic smoke/fumes on aircraft.
Onboard Detectors: It requires airlines to install and maintain onboard air quality detectors.
Studying Bleed Air Contaminants: It directs the FAA to study bleed air contaminants in the cabin and issue recommendations.
Standardized Reporting System: It also mandates the FAA to develop a standardized and centralized system for flight attendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance technicians to report and track fume and smoke events. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:22:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2582997</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cabin Temperature (Sec 323)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2582996</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to assess the impacts of unusually high and low aircraft cabin air temperatures, and related ambient conditions such as humidity levels, on the health and safety of the passengers and cabin crew of commercial airlines. This study was directed in Section 323 of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, with the study commencing not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Act. SEC. 323. STUDY ON IMPACTS OF TEMPERATURE IN AIRCRAFT CABINS. (a) STUDY.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall seek to enter into appropriate arrangements with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies shall conduct a 1-year study on the health and safety impacts of unsafe cabin temperature with respect to passengers and crewmembers during each season in which the study is conducted. (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study required under paragraph (1), the National Academies shall review existing standards produced by recognized industry organizations on safe air temperatures and humidity levels in enclosed environments, including onboard aircraft, and evaluate the validity of such standards as it relates to aircraft cabin temperatures. (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study required under paragraph (1), the National Academies shall consult with the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute of the FAA, air carriers operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, relevant Federal agencies, and any applicable aviation labor organizations. (b) REPORTS.— (1) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 180 days after the date on which the study under subsection (a) is completed, the National Academies shall submit to the Secretary a report on the results of such study, including any recommendations determined appropriate by the National Academies. (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the National Academies submits the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the results of the study required under subsection (a), including any recommendations for further action determined appropriate by the Secretary. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:03:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2582996</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cabin Safety Accommodation for Passengers with Disabilities</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536239</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Air Transportation Division (AFS-200) needs the ability to develop and/or update guidance for the evacuation of ambulatory passengers with disabilities. This includes passengers who are ambulatory and have other types of physical disabilities and who occupy aircraft seats and are capable of self-evacuation.    This project is sponsored by AFS-200 but involves the participation and support from AIR-600.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:00:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536239</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Integration of Personal Wheelchairs into the Cabin</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536228</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Abstract not available.This project will focus on empirical testing, data collection, and analysis of occupants using personal wheelchairs secured with restraint systems. The study seeks to address critical issues such as ensuring safe egress when a wheelchair is positioned near an exit row and performing static load analysis for various wheelchair types and occupant characteristics. Building on prior research and external studies, this effort will produce validated test plans, impact data, and final recommendations to support informed FAA certification decisions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2025 15:42:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536228</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Communicable Disease Preparedness: Airline Cabin Inflight Ventilation Assessment</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2518968</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA’s) Office of Aerospace Medicine needs to quantify disease transmission risks during the gate-to-gate travel segment, considering various risk factors and controls, to support safety risk assessment. This project builds on a prior project (Communicable Disease Preparedness: M&S Framework for Analyzing Cabin Health Hazards), where Boeing developed a risk assessment M&S tool using behavioral data and ventilation data from airports, jet bridges, and aircraft cabins collected by National Research Council Canada. However, prior data collection was limited to aircraft at the gate. To address a U.S. Government Accountability Office recommendation, this project will gather ventilation data for off-gate portions under operational conditions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:25:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2518968</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Reducing Cabin Lethality in Commercial Spacecraft</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537212</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team proposes to continue a study to evaluate the methods, procedures, and technologies available for the protection of crew-occupied space in commercial spaceflight vehicles to identify recommendations for safety in both nominal and contingency manned aerospace vehicle operations. This includes a review of methods for the de-lethalization of the cabin environment, space vehicle crashworthiness, individual restraint systems, emergency evacuation systems, survival equipment, and related objectives. The review will include an analysis of historical vehicle capabilities and standards as well as a discussion of likely cabin configurations of the various commercial vehicles currently in development. Further, development of a systematic protocol designed to establish best practices towards the evaluation of a space vehicle airframe for any lapses in safety design for primary mishap prevention, as well as appropriate aeromedical response plans to be utilized in the case of an aerospace mishap, will be undertaken. The ultimate objective would be to provide a detailed summary of minimal standards that a crew cabin should meet to be considered safe for occupants in nominal and contingency spaceflight operations and the establishment of a detailed plan for mishap aeromedical response.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537212</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>310-UTMB: Increasing Cabin Survivability in Commercial Spacecraft</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531982</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:02:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531982</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Sensors and Prognostics to Mitigate Bleed Air Contamination Events. Development of a Plan for a Study of Bleed Air Quality in Aircraft Cabins Tracking</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1363289</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2015 01:01:03 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1363289</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Methodology Applied to Disease Transmission</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1362688</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2015 01:00:57 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1362688</guid>
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