FAA bill would force the agency to craft 'real world' rules for airplane evacuations

A Japan Airlines jet burst into flames after colliding with a Japanese coast guard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January. All 379 people on board the Japan Airlines flight were safely evacuated, but the incident raised questions about evacuation standards. (STR/Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — If an airplane has to be evacuated, the Federal Aviation Administration says all passengers must be capable of getting out within 90 seconds.

But critics say the agency's testing standards have not kept pace with the shrinking size of airplane seats — which means more people jammed into the cabin — or the changing composition of the flying public.