< p>Law “on the second door” was adopted back in 2018, but the previous administration shelved the process of approval and official publication of the document. The topic resurfaced only in 2021 under the Biden administration.
Despite the efforts of the White House to get the law into effect as soon as possible, a lot of time was spent on discussions and agreements. Only now has the FAA confirmed that the requirement for a “physical additional barrier” as a mandatory part of the design of the aircraft will soon come into force.
It remains to wait for publication in the federal register, and the “counter” will turn on. Aircraft manufacturers will have exactly one year to begin deliveries of new aircraft with a second cockpit door.
The aviation industry is pushing for an extension of the so-called “compliance period”, and the European manufacturer Airbus even asked to push back the entry into force law “on doors” for three years. This request was denied by the FAA.
The FAA also denied a request from aviation industry unions to extend the requirement for additional cockpit doors to older aircraft, explaining that the rule would only apply to new aircraft.
< p> In this case, if the structure fails, airlines do not have to take aircraft out of service while they are waiting for the defects to be fixed. By the way, the cost of such an additional protection reaches $ 35,000, and the requirements are quite stringent: no one must break through for at least 5 seconds. Another condition: with one door open, the “spare” obstructs line of sight between the cockpit and the cabin.