Because the usage of aircraft is not limited to a specific country, a large number of national regulations apply in the aviation sector.
The problem, however, is that fire protection in aircraft is not regulated worldwide by an independent organization such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The guidelines of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American aviation supervisory authority, are applied worldwide.
However, these Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) represent national regulations of the USA.
International agreements determine which national test procedures correspond to each other and are accepted. In this area in particular, there are a large number of very strict regulations, as it takes more time for passengers to land safely and evacuate than it does for land-based modes of transport.
The delivery conditions of the aircraft manufacturers and the airlines partly contain requirements beyond the FAR, especially with regard to smoke development and the toxicity of the fire gases.
The safety concept also includes a post-crash-fire fire.
According to this concept, aircraft seats and large-area parts in the cabin area are to be tested under very high thermal stress. Furthermore, cargo hold walls are to be designed in such a way that a fire with high heat generation that has developed in the cargo hold cannot spread to the rest of the aircraft.
Further specialist information can be obtained from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Propulsion Technology, Engine.
The group Fire Protection focuses on fire safety issues of aviation materials and aircraft. The Material Testing Centre for Fire Behaviour (MPB) integrated in this area is one of the few internationally recognised testing centres in Europe with extensive test equipment for the certification of aviation materials (NBS and OSU chambers) and the possibility of carrying out large-scale full-scale fire tests.