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"   Airbags in cars are ubiquitous, but could the seatbelts used on commercial airplanes be equipped with similar inflatable protection? A company called AmSafe is marketing such a device\u2014in hopes that a new Federal Aviation Administration safety regulation will open the door for their widespread adoption on commercial airliners.   In 2005, the FAA mandated that all U.S. aircraft built after October 2009 meet the &amp;quot;16g rule,&amp;quot; which states that passengers somehow be protected to withstand forces equivalent to 16 times earth&amp;#039;s gravity. The FAA will demand that new seats &amp;quot;protect the occupant from debilitating leg and spine injuries; improve the attachment to the airframe; protect crew members from serious chest injury when upper torso restraints are used; and ensure occupants do not become trapped in their seats due to excessive seat deformation.&amp;quot; (Go here for the full language.) &amp;quot;The rule was primarily designed to keep seats in place when there is a survivable impact,&amp;quot; says FAA spokesman Les Dorr. &amp;quot;Clearly if the airplane digs a smoking hole in the ground, that&amp;#039;s not survivable. But this regulation is meant for instances like the landing in the Hudson, when the airplane makes a hard landing but the occupants have time to get out.&amp;quot; Dorr notes that many airplane designers, including industry leaders like the Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, already use 16g seats. For more than five years, manufacturers of large and small airplanes have been preparing for the regulation, certifying the new seats in their airplanes in advance. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re not expecting any large spikes in demand,&amp;quot; says Mark Hulan, technical sales manager at DeCrane Aerospace, which makes seats and sofas for midsize and small corporate jets. &amp;quot;I think everyone has been getting ready in advance.&amp;quot;   But for some commercial operators, compliance might mean installing seatbelt airbags\u2014and AmSafe is betting that the market for these devices will grow as the deadline looms. AmSafe&amp;#039;s airbag is stored in the lap belt and deploys in less than 90 milliseconds, according to AmSafe general manager Bill Hagan. &amp;quot;The seatbelt airbag is designed to avoid head injuries that lead to loss of consciousness, making it impossible for passengers to evacuate the aircraft before succumbing to fire or smoke inhalation,&amp;quot; he says.   &amp;quot;The seat must pass a dynamic crash test with a test dummy in the exact configuration that it will fly in the aircraft, demonstrating that the passenger is not injured by impact with other seats or the interior of the aircraft,&amp;quot; Hagan says. (See the video of what a 16g crash does to a test dummy, and AmSafe&amp;#039;s solution in action, below.)   Hulan, of DeCrane Aerospace, says AmSafe&amp;#039;s idea may be &amp;quot;the best option for stopping a body from hitting something. In some [seating] layouts, it might be the only option.&amp;quot; The only drawback, he says, is that the device is bulky. &amp;quot;I think they&amp;#039;re onto something,&amp;quot; he says, but adds that DeCrane has always found a way to build a better seat rather than using seatbelt airbags.   AmSafe&amp;#039;s airbag belt is most popular among operators of small airplanes: Hagan says the AmSafe has delivered more than 38,000 inflatable seatbelts, and they are currently factory-installed on new single-engine Cessnas, Mooneys, Adam A500s, Cirruses and Aviat Huskies. And the demand might soon be global. &amp;quot;The rest of the world will also follow this rule by the end of the year, or within one to two years following,&amp;quot; he says.   If Hagan is right, in 2010 it might behoove passengers in small airplanes to look at the belts securing themselves to their seats. There might just be an additional surprise there, one that with luck they will never see in action. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a4163/4308255/>