By Don Phillips Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, May 13, 2003; Page A04
Study after study has shown that many Americans are overweight, raising health concerns among physicians. Now, the Federal Aviation Administration is saying it may be a safety concern for fliers, too.
After months of surveying, the FAA said yesterday that the average airline passenger now weighs almost 21 pounds more than in 1995 and is carrying heavier bags.
As it continues to study the effect of the additional weight, the agency is ordering all airlines that use average, federally approved passenger weights to add 10 pounds for each person on board and five more pounds for each passenger's checked luggage to compensate for the new survey results.
The new weight limits may, in some cases, force small planes to leave seats empty or leave cargo or bags behind. It is likely to have little or no effect on larger regional planes and jet airliners. However, it is possible that at high-altitude airports and in hot, humid weather, when aerodynamic lift is less, even larger airliners might have to leave some cargo behind.
Airlines still have the option of weighing each passenger and bag individually.
The FAA survey of commuter passengers came after the January crash in Charlotte of a US Airways Express Beech 1900, which pitched nose-up on takeoff and slammed to the ground near a maintenance hangar, killing all 21 aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined a probable cause for the crash, but the possibilities include overloading or incorrectly balancing the load of the aircraft.
After an earlier survey of airline passengers, the FAA in 1995 set an average weight for passengers and carry-on bags of 180 pounds in summer and 185 pounds in winter, when passengers are likely to be wearing heavier clothes. Of those totals, 160 or 165 pounds was for the passenger, and 20 pounds was for carry-on luggage. Checked luggage was set at an extra 25 pounds for domestic flights and 30 pounds for international flights.
After the Charlotte crash, the FAA decided on a new survey as a precaution in case the last survey was outdated or wrong.
According to the new survey, the average passenger weighs 20.63 pounds more than the average in the 1995 survey. That means the average passenger in winter clothing now weighs about 185 pounds, rather than the 165 pounds found in the 1995 survey. The average weight of carry-on bags is 5.72 pounds more per passenger, bringing that total up to a little more than 25 pounds. The average weight of checked luggage is 3.81 pounds more than the 1995 estimate.
Each airline has the option of conducting its own survey and applying to the FAA to use those numbers. But unless that survey is completed within 90 days, the new FAA limits will apply.
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