Pilots of general aviation aircraft should be careful about allowing passengers to share a seat and a seat belt, the FAA says in a clarification to its seat-belt requirements, released last week. "Prior [FAA] interpretations state that the shared use of a single restraint may be permissible," the FAA said. But the new clarification says it is permissible only if it conforms to the limits defined in the Airplane Flight Manual. The pilot also must check that the seat belt is approved and rated for such use, if that information is available. Pilots should also attempt to affirm that the structural strength limitations of the seat are not exceeded. Even better, says the FAA, "Whenever possible, each person onboard an aircraft should voluntarily be seated in a separate seat and be restrained by a separate seat belt."
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/faa-clarifies-ga-seatbelt-rules