README for "Analysis of Child Restraint System (CRS) Compatibility with Aircraft Seats [supporting datasets]" datasets.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
6-04-2025

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LINKS TO DATASET
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A. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1529728
      			 


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SUMMARY OF DATASET
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) encourages the use of aircraft-approved child restraint systems (CRS, or child safety seats) on aircraft. CRS are primarily designed for use in automotive vehicles. The installation of a CRS on an aircraft seat can be challenging due to physical space restrictions. If too many barriers exist for caregivers attempting to fly with a CRS, they might choose a less safe option such as holding their infant or buckling a small child into a lap belt only. The broad objective of this work is to quantify compatibility concerns between CRS and aircraft seats and belts to ultimately facilitate higher rates of CRS use on aircraft. 
The physical dimensions of aircraft seats (n=8) were obtained through collaboration with the seat manufacturers. Seats included economy and premium in regional jet, narrow body, and wide body aircraft. The corresponding dimensions of various CRS (n=64) were compiled from previous studies. Compatibility between CRS and aircraft seats was predicted in terms of seat width, seat cushion angles, seat cushion length, head restraint  height, depth, and belt buckle location. Aircraft seat dimensions were also compared to automotive vehicle seat dimensions (n=111) collected during previous studies so that broad comparisons could be made across the seating environments. Aircraft seat dimensions were also compared to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 inversion bench and the aircraft/CRS compatibility guidance within SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) 4466.
The width of several aircraft seats could not accommodate the width of many CRS, especially larger types of CRS in regional jet or narrow body aircraft. Aircraft seat cushion angles were more horizontal than those in vehicles. The seat back angle with respect to seat cushion angle matched forward-facing (FF) CRS reasonably well, suggesting good fit in terms of angle. Seat cushion length in aircraft are shorter than the length needed to accommodate many rear-facing (RF) CRS. The depth of aircraft seats (fore/aft space between rows) is similar to that of vehicles with the front row slider track in the fully rearward position. This may cause difficulty installing large CRS in RF mode. Aircraft seat belt buckle hardware often sits within the belt path of many CRS. The FMVSS 213 inversion bench has a steeper seat pan angle and more acute angle between seat cushions compared to the aircraft seat dimensions collected in this study. The aircraft seat dimensions matched the guidance in SAE ARP4466 well, and the recommended dimensions would accommodate some of the smaller CRS but not larger CRS. 


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. General Information
B. Sharing/Access & Policies Information
C. Data and Related File Overview
D. Methodological Information
E. Data-Specific Information for: Analysis of Child Restraint System (CRS) Compatibility with Aircraft Seats [supporting datasets]
F. Update Log



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A. GENERAL INFORMATION
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0. Title of Dataset: Analysis of Child Restraint System (CRS) Compatibility with Aircraft Seats [supporting datasets]
   


1. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) encourages the use of aircraft-approved child restraint systems (CRS, or child safety seats) on aircraft. CRS are primarily designed for use in automotive vehicles. The installation of a CRS on an aircraft seat can be challenging due to physical space restrictions. If too many barriers exist for caregivers attempting to fly with a CRS, they might choose a less safe option such as holding their infant or buckling a small child into a lap belt only. The broad objective of this work is to quantify compatibility concerns between CRS and aircraft seats and belts to ultimately facilitate higher rates of CRS use on aircraft. 
The physical dimensions of aircraft seats (n=8) were obtained through collaboration with the seat manufacturers. Seats included economy and premium in regional jet, narrow body, and wide body aircraft. The corresponding dimensions of various CRS (n=64) were compiled from previous studies. Compatibility between CRS and aircraft seats was predicted in terms of seat width, seat cushion angles, seat cushion length, head restraint  height, depth, and belt buckle location. Aircraft seat dimensions were also compared to automotive vehicle seat dimensions (n=111) collected during previous studies so that broad comparisons could be made across the seating environments. Aircraft seat dimensions were also compared to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 inversion bench and the aircraft/CRS compatibility guidance within SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) 4466.
The width of several aircraft seats could not accommodate the width of many CRS, especially larger types of CRS in regional jet or narrow body aircraft. Aircraft seat cushion angles were more horizontal than those in vehicles. The seat back angle with respect to seat cushion angle matched forward-facing (FF) CRS reasonably well, suggesting good fit in terms of angle. Seat cushion length in aircraft are shorter than the length needed to accommodate many rear-facing (RF) CRS. The depth of aircraft seats (fore/aft space between rows) is similar to that of vehicles with the front row slider track in the fully rearward position. This may cause difficulty installing large CRS in RF mode. Aircraft seat belt buckle hardware often sits within the belt path of many CRS. The FMVSS 213 inversion bench has a steeper seat pan angle and more acute angle between seat cushions compared to the aircraft seat dimensions collected in this study. The aircraft seat dimensions matched the guidance in SAE ARP4466 well, and the recommended dimensions would accommodate some of the smaller CRS but not larger CRS.
   


2. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1529728
       


3. Authorship Information: 
   Principal Data Creator or Data Manager Contact Information
        Name: Mansfield, Julie A  (0000-0001-8536-445X)
           Institution: The Ohio State University
           Address: 333 W. 10th Ave, Graves Hall Room 2063 Columbus, OH 43210
           Email: Julie.Mansfield@osumc.edu

   Data Distributor Contact Information
        Name: Mansfield, Julie A  (0000-0001-8536-445X)
           Institution: The Ohio State University
           Address: 333 W. 10th Ave, Graves Hall Room 2063 Columbus, OH 43210
           Email: Julie.Mansfield@osumc.edu

   Organizational Contact Information
        Name: Mansfield, Julie A  (0000-0001-8536-445X)
           Institution: The Ohio State University
           Address: 333 W. 10th Ave, Graves Hall Room 2063 Columbus, OH 43210
           Email: Julie.Mansfield@osumc.edu
	   

4. Date of data collection and update interval: NA
   


5. Geographic location of data collection: United States
   


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B. SHARING/ACCESS & POLICIES INFORMATION 
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0. Recommended citation for the data: 

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace Medicine (2023). 
Analysis of Child Restraint System (CRS) Compatibility with Aircraft Seats [supporting datasets]. https://doi.org/10.21949/1529728
   


1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: None
   


2. Was data derived from another source?: 
CRS dimensions were aggregated from previous publications and reports, each containing full descriptions of how each measurement was collected (Bing et al. 2015, Bing et al. 2018, Bing et al. 2016, Mansfield et al. 2022).

Vehicle seat dimensions were aggregated from previous publications, each containing full descriptions of how each measurement was collected (Bing et al. 2015, Bing et al. 2018, Bing et al. 2016, Mansfield et al. 2022, Mansfield et al. 2024).
   
   
3. This document was created to meet the requirements enumerated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's 'Plan to Increase Public Access to the Results of Federally-Funded Scientific Research' Version 1.1 << https://doi.org/10.21949/1520559 >> and guidelines suggested by the DOT Public Access website << https://doi.org/10.21949/1503647  >>, in effect and current as of December 03, 2020.
 



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C. DATA & RELATED FILE OVERVIEW
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1. File List for the CChips_CRS_Fit_Data.zip collection      
        
   A. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Belt Length-clean.csv
          
        Short description: Measurements for car seat belt path locations and buckle length. 
         

   B. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Manufacturer A-clean.csv
           
        Short description: Measurements and details about aircraft seats from manufacturer A. 
      

   C. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Manufacturer B-clean.csv

	Short description: Additional measurements for more aircraft seats manufacturer B. 


   D. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Head Restraint Height-clean.csv
		
   	Short description: Vehicle head restraint, car seat back height, and aircraft head restraint measurements. 


   E. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Pitch-clean.csv

	Short description: Vehicle and aircraft seat pitch measurements.  


   F. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Seat Pan Angle-clean.csv

	Short description: Vehicle and aircraft seat pan angle measurements.


   G. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Cushion Length-clean.csv

	Short description: Vehicle and aircraft seat cushion length.


   H. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Seat Back Angle-clean.csv

	Short description: Vehicle and aircraft seat back angle measurements.


   I. Filename: CChIPS CRS fit on aircraft - Seat Width-clean.csv

	Short description: Car seat widths and aircraft seat widths.


   J. Filename: README.txt

	Short description: This file, containing information about the project and datasets. 


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D. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION
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1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: 
The physical dimensions of aircraft seats were obtained through collaboration with the SAE Aircraft Seat Committee. Project leaders presented the goals and methods of the study at a virtual meeting of the committee. Representatives from several major aircraft seat manufacturers were requested to provide data on their company's seats. The majority of measurements were pulled from CAD models of the aircraft seats. Meeting attendees were given a spreadsheet with instructions on which dimensions to collect and how to measure each. 

2. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: 
Spreadsheet software such as Excel, or any program that can open and read CSV files. 
   



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E. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION  
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1. Each row represents: A seat/belt measurement or car seat type
  

2. Data Dictionary/Variable List: Variables defined in .csv files.  Additional information, including photos, contained in the research report.

3. Acronyms: 
CRS	Child Restraint System
FF	Forward-Facing CRS
RF	Rear-Facing CRS
STD	Standard Armrest
IAT	In-armrest Tray Table



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F. UPDATE LOG
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This README file was originally created on 2025-06-05 by William Carroll [ORCID 0000-0001-6668-6971] 

2025-06-05: Original file created
2025-11-17: Final edit