Why Planes’ Doors Are Outlined With A Different Color

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Ever since we started Your Mileage May Vary, we’ve gone over safety features and procedures in planes, such as:

• Can you go to the lavatory/bathroom with the “fasten seat belt” sign is on?
• The plane safety feature most passengers never notice
• The real reason why you have to close your tray table during takeoff and landing
• What flight attendants are really doing when they greet you on the plane
• 12 secret words & phrases flight crews use

Here’s another “safety” thing you may not know about.

Regardless of the livery, you’ve seen this relatively subtle feature on the doors of planes your whole life and possibly never even noticed it. But the door of every commercial plane in the U.S. (and many foreign countries) is outlined in a contrasting color.

Not only that, but certain windows on these planes will be outlines as well.

The reason for this is simple, and yep, it’s another safety feature – in the event of an emergency on the ground, it makes the doors and emergency exits (which are also doors) easier to find. That can save potentially trapped passengers precious seconds or even minutes to be saved by rescuers.

In the U.S., it’s a federal regulation to have emergency exits marked from the outside. From Cornell Law School:

14 CFR § 25.811 – Emergency exit marking.

(f) Each emergency exit that is required to be openable from the outside, and its means of opening, must be marked on the outside of the airplane. In addition, the following apply:

(1) The outside marking for each passenger emergency exit in the side of the fuselage must include a 2-inch colored band outlining the exit.

(2) Each outside marking including the band, must have color contrast to be readily distinguishable from the surrounding fuselage surface. The contrast must be such that if the reflectance of the darker color is 15 percent or less, the reflectance of the lighter color must be at least 45 percent. “Reflectance” is the ratio of the luminous flux reflected by a body to the luminous flux it receives. When the reflectance of the darker color is greater than 15 percent, at least a 30-percent difference between its reflectance and the reflectance of the lighter color must be provided.

(3) In the case of exits other than those in the side of the fuselage, such as ventral or tailcone exits, the external means of opening, including instructions if applicable, must be conspicuously marked in red, or bright chrome yellow if the background color is such that red is inconspicuous. When the opening means is located on only one side of the fuselage, a conspicuous marking to that effect must be provided on the other side.

Most non-U.S. countries have similar laws.

And now you know. 🙂

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary