seats vs souls on board

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Brad W

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this is just a thought exercise, not something I've considered or think is necessarily a smart thing to do......
and I think I recall reading a FAR on this...but I can't recall it now...

if an aircraft is a 4 seater...certified aircraft so I think that means it was 'certified for 4'....
such as say a cessna 182, piper archer, etc....
and if the load capacity allowed
would it be legal to put more than 4 bodies in and fly?
...such as 3 small kids in the back seat of a 182?

I think I've read of folks doing that.
& I know I've flown 2 seat aircraft that only had a single lap belt
so, could 2 small kids share a seat?
 
Some (all?) Cirruses prohibit more people than seats so you can only have a lap baby if you leave a seat empty.

The POH (page 2-16 at http://www.pilotexaminers.com/Cirrus/SR20_C2.pdf) says:
> Maximum Occupancy
> Occupancy of this airplane is limited to four persons (the pilot and three passengers).

I think that's unusual and I don't think there's such a limitation on a 182 or Archer.
 
pdonahue said:
Some (all?) Cirruses prohibit more people than seats so you can only have a lap baby if you leave a seat empty.

The POH (page 2-16 at http://www.pilotexaminers.com/Cirrus/SR20_C2.pdf) says:
> Maximum Occupancy
> Occupancy of this airplane is limited to four persons (the pilot and three passengers).

I think that's unusual and I don't think there's such a limitation on a 182 or Archer.
Click to expand...

Probably not unusual for a modern designed aircraft.

Back in the days when 182s and Archers were certificated, lack of ashtrays were likely a bigger factor than a lack of seatbelts in determining maximum occupancy.
 
Brad Z said:
Kids under two can go on a lap. Not a good idea, but not prohibited. See 91.107.
Click to expand...
I also recall seeing guidance that you could put two kids under one lap belt...I wish I could find that.

Again, not a good idea, but apparently someone somewhere didn’t think things through.
 
I’ve got a 3rd row seat for my 182 that I’ve never installed. Based on what I read in @Brad Z ‘s link, it looks like I might be able to get 3 small people in the 2nd row, and stick 2 teeny ones in the 3rd. Thus a 182 with 7 souls, lol!
 
Family of 5 in a Luscombe 8A, anyone? Old neighbor used to do that when the kids were little.
 
If I were going to have two kids share a seat and seat belt designed for one (and I never would), the first thing I would wonder is how the insurance company would feel about it. If the plane is a rental, I would wonder how the plane's owner would feel about it.
 
I remember hearing a story about a pilot in Alaska, flying for a company I used to fly for, put 2 kids in one seat and used a cargo strap as a seat belt.

I think he got a 30 day vacation.
 
We used to put 5 people in a 182, 4 skydiver passengers sitting on the floor, no seats, sharing seat belts.
 
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