Correct placement of child carriers on aircraft?

[2060ELL]

Question for any safety experts out there:

If you are placing a child carrier (car seat) on an aircraft for an infant, how should it be placed on the seat. I know in a car or commercial airliner you position the carrier in a forward facing seat with the child facing the back of the seat.

But if you are placing the carrier in a rear facing seat since that is suggested as the safest seat on an aircraft, would you not face the car seat toward the back of the aircraft also-not facing the seat back as the child would then be thrown forward on impact?

Would the forward rear facing seat against the bulkhead be the safest choice?
Have not been able to find any info relating to private aircraft and car seats.

[MarkHkg]

The recommendations on whether the seat should be forward or aft facing may lie in the child's weight and the design of the seat.

For instance, the Southwest Airlines page notes,
"The FAA recommends that children under 20 pounds be restrained in an approved rear-facing child safety seat. Children weighing 20-40 pounds should use an approved forward-facing safety seat."

Similarly, Transport Canada also notes the same thing:

"Infant Restraint System - is an aft-facing restraint system that is generally restricted to an occupant weight of under 20 pounds. Weight restrictions are specified on the system and can vary from one system to another. Infant Restraint Systems are certified to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 213.1.

Child Restraint System - is a forward-facing restraint system that is generally restricted to an occupant weight of 20 to 40 pounds. However, some systems can accommodate occupants of a greater weight. Weight restrictions are specified on the system and can vary from one system to another. Child Restraint Systems are certified to CMVSS 213."

I hope that might be slightly useful.

[CD]

You ask an excellent question and therein lies one of the problems with child restraint systems that are designed and intended for use in motor vehicles (cars).

CRS certified to motor vehicle standards such as the U.S. FMVSS 213 (http://www.carseat.org/Legal/FMVSS213.pdf) or the Canadian CMVSS 213 (http://www.tc.gc.ca/acts-regulations/GENERAL/M/mvsa/regulations/rssr/rssr.htm) are designed to be installed in forward-facing automobile seats. They are impact tested in this configuration and are not designed nor intended for installation in aft-facing seats. The "aircraft certification" that you see on the label means that the manufacturer has performed an inversion test to verify that the CRS will not fall out of the aircraft passenger seat belt, and the anthropomorphic test device will not fall out of the CRS, at any time during the rotation or three-second inverted period of the test.

There is now a TSO for CRS, which is a minimum performance standard that must be met for systems that are designed and intended for use on board aircraft. TSO-C100b - Child Restraint System (CRS) (http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgTSO.nsf/0/3F6D56364A0414EF86256DC60069642B?OpenDocument) includes the following labelling requirement for CRS designed specifically for use on board an aircraft: "Use only in a forward facing seat. Do not use in a rear facing seat or a side facing seat."

The best advice is to follow the installation instructions for the CRS. It is unlikely that you will find one that includes authorization for installation in an aft-facing aircraft seat.

[2060ELL]

I appreciate the information and links. This answers our question.