02012R0965 — EN — 09.01.2023 — 023.001

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Amended by:





Corrected by:









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COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 965/2012

of 5 October 2012

laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council







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Article 1

Subject matter and scope

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1. This Regulation lays down detailed rules for air operations with aeroplanes and helicopters, including ramp inspections of aircraft of operators under the safety oversight of another State when landed at aerodromes located in the territory subject to the provisions of the Treaties.

2. This Regulation also lays down detailed rules on the conditions for issuing, maintaining, amending, limiting, suspending or revoking the certificates of operators of aircraft referred to in points (b)(i) and (ii) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, except for balloons and sailplanes, engaged in commercial air transport operation, the privileges and responsibilities of the holders of certificates as well as conditions under which operations shall be prohibited, limited or subject to certain conditions in the interest of safety;

3. This Regulation also lays down detailed rules on the conditions and procedures for the declaration by operators engaged in commercial specialised operations of aeroplanes and helicopters or in non-commercial operation of complex motor-powered aircraft, including non-commercial specialised operations of complex motor-powered aircraft, of their capability and the availability of the means to discharge the responsibilities associated with the operation of aircraft, and for the oversight of such operators.

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4. This Regulation also lays down detailed rules on the conditions under which certain high risk commercial specialised operations shall be subject to authorisation in the interest of safety, and on the conditions for issuing, maintaining, amending, limiting, suspending or revoking the authorisations.

5. This Regulation shall not apply to air operations within the scope of Article 1(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008.

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6. This Regulation shall not apply to air operations with airships.

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7. This Regulation shall not apply to air operations with balloons and sailplanes. However, in respect of such air operations with balloons, other than tethered gas balloons, and sailplanes, the requirements in respect of oversight of Article 3 shall apply.

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Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

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(1) ‘aeroplane’ means an engine-driven fixed-wing aircraft heavier than air that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings;

(1a) ‘helicopter’ means a heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of the air on one or more power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axes;

(1b) ‘balloon’ means a manned lighter-than-air aircraft which is not power-driven and sustains flight through the use of either a lighter-than-air gas or an airborne heater, including gas balloons, hot-air balloons, mixed balloons and, although power-driven, hot-air airships;

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(1c) ‘sailplane’ means a heavier-than-air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its fixed lifting surfaces, the free flight of which does not depend on an engine;

(1d) ‘commercial operation’ means any operation of an aircraft, in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration, which is available for the public or, when not made available to the public, which is performed under a contract between an operator and a customer, where the latter has no control over the operator;

(1e) ‘tethered gas balloon’ means a gas balloon with a tether system that continuously anchors the balloon to a fixed point during operation;

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(2) ‘performance class B aeroplanes’ means aeroplanes powered by propeller engines with a maximum operational passenger seating configuration of nine or less and a maximum take-off mass of 5 700 kg or less;

(3) ‘public interest site (PIS)’ means a site used exclusively for operations in the public interest;

(4) ‘operation in performance class 1’ means an operation that, in the event of failure of the critical engine, the helicopter is able to land within the rejected take-off distance available or safely continue the flight to an appropriate landing area, depending on when the failure occurs;

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(5) ‘performance-based navigation (PBN)’ means area navigation based on performance requirements for aircraft operating along an ATS route, on an instrument approach procedure or in a designated airspace;

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(6) ‘air taxi operation’ means, for the purpose of flight time and duty time limitations, a non-scheduled on demand commercial air transport operation with an aeroplane with a maximum operational passenger seating configuration (‘MOPSC’) of 19 or less;

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(7) ‘specialised operation’ means any operation, other than commercial air transport operation, where the aircraft is used for specialised activities such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, aerial advertisement, maintenance check flights;

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(8) ‘high risk commercial specialised operation’ means any commercial specialised aircraft operation carried out over an area where the safety of third parties on the ground is likely to be endangered in the event of an emergency, or, as determined by the competent authority of the place where the operation is conducted, any commercial specialised aircraft operation that, due to its specific nature and the local environment in which it is conducted, poses a high risk, in particular to third parties on the ground;

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(9) ‘introductory flight’ means any operation against remuneration or other valuable consideration consisting of an air tour of short duration for the purpose of attracting new trainees or new members, performed either by a training organisation referred to in Article 10a of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 ( 1 ) or by an organisation created with the aim of promoting aerial sport or leisure aviation;

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(10) ‘competition flight’ means any flying activity where the aircraft is used in air races or contests, as well as where the aircraft is used to practice for air races or contests and to fly to and from racing or contest events;

(11) ‘flying display’ means any flying activity deliberately performed for the purpose of providing an exhibition or entertainment at an advertised event open to the public, including where the aircraft is used to practice for a flying display and to fly to and from the advertised event.

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Additional definitions are laid down in Annex I for the purposes of Annexes II to ►M4 VIII ◄ .

Article 3

Oversight capabilities

1. Member States shall designate one or more entities as the competent authority within that Member State with the necessary powers and allocated responsibilities for the certification and oversight of persons and organisations subject to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its implementing rules.

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The administration and management systems of the competent authorities of the Member States and of the Agency shall comply with the requirements specified in Annex II.

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2. If a Member State designates more than one entity as competent authority: (a) the areas of competence of each competent authority shall be clearly defined in terms of responsibilities and geographic limitation; and (b) coordination shall be established between those entities to ensure effective oversight of all organisations and persons subject to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its implementing rules within their respective remits.

3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authority(ies) has(ve) the necessary capability to ensure the oversight of all persons and organisations covered by their oversight programme, including sufficient resources to fulfil the requirements of this Regulation.

4. Member States shall ensure that competent authority personnel do not perform oversight activities when there is evidence that this could result directly or indirectly in a conflict of interest, in particular when relating to family or financial interest.

5. Personnel authorised by the competent authority to carry out certification and/or oversight tasks shall be empowered to perform at least the following tasks: (a) examine the records, data, procedures and any other material relevant to the execution of the certification and/or oversight task; (b) take copies of or extracts from such records, data, procedures and other material; (c) ask for an oral explanation on site; (d) enter relevant premises, operating sites or means of transport; (e) perform audits, investigations, assessments, inspections, including ramp inspections and unannounced inspections; (f) take or initiate enforcement measures as appropriate.

6. The tasks under paragraph 5 shall be carried out in compliance with the legal provisions of the relevant Member State.

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Article 4

Ramp inspections

1. Ramp inspections of aircraft of operators under the safety oversight of another Member State or of a third country shall be carried out in accordance with Subpart RAMP of Annex II.

2. Member States shall ensure that alcohol testing of flight crew and cabin crew members is carried out with regard to operators under their own oversight as well as with regard to operators under the oversight of another Member State or of a third country. Such testing shall be performed by ramp inspectors within the framework of the ramp inspection programme of Subpart RAMP of Annex II.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States may ensure alcohol testing of flight crew and cabin crew members to be carried out by other authorised officials and outside the framework of the ramp inspection programme of Subpart RAMP of Annex II, provided that such alcohol testing meets the same objectives and adheres to the same principles as tests carried out under the framework of Subpart RAMP of Annex II. Results of such alcohol tests shall be included in the centralised database in accordance with point (b) of ARO.RAMP.145.

4. Member States may carry out additional testing for psychoactive substances other than alcohol. In that case, the Member State shall notify the European Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) and the Commission.

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Article 5

Air operations

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1. Operators shall only operate an aeroplane or a helicopter for the purpose of commercial air transport (hereinafter ‘CAT’) operations as specified in Annexes III and IV.

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1a. Operators engaged in CAT operations starting and ending at the same aerodrome/operating site with Performance class B aeroplanes or non-complex helicopters shall comply with the relevant provisions of Annexes III and IV.

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2. ►M1 ————— ◄ Operators shall comply with the relevant provisions of Annex V when operating: (a) aeroplanes and helicopters used for: (i) operations using performance-based navigation (PBN); (ii) operations in accordance with minimum navigation performance specifications (MNPS); (iii) operations in airspace with reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM); ▼M21 (iv) low-visibility operations (LVOs) or operations with operational credits; ▼M14 (b) aeroplanes and helicopters used for the transport of dangerous goods (DG); ▼B (c) two-engined aeroplanes used for extended range operations (ETOPS) in commercial air transport; (d) helicopters used for commercial air transport operations with the aid of night vision imaging systems (NVIS); (e) helicopters used for commercial air transport hoist operations (HHO); ►M9 ————— ◄ (f) helicopters used for commercial air transport emergency medical service operations (HEMS); and ▼M9 (g) helicopters used for offshore operations (HOFO).

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3. Operators of complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters involved in non-commercial operations shall declare their capability and means to discharge their responsibilities associated with the operation of aircraft and operate the aircraft in accordance with the provisions specified in Annex III and Annex VI. Such operators when engaged in non-commercial specialised operations shall operate the aircraft in accordance with the provisions specified in Annex III and VIII instead.

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4. Operators of other-than-complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters involved in non-commercial operations, including non-commercial specialised operations, shall operate the aircraft in accordance with the provisions set out in Annex VII.

5. Training organisations referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 and having their principal place of business in a Member State shall, when conducting flight training into, within or out of the Union, operate: (a) complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters in accordance with the provisions specified in Annex VI; (b) other aeroplanes and helicopters in accordance with the provisions specified in Annex VII.

6. Operators shall only operate an aeroplane or a helicopter for the purpose of commercial specialised operations in accordance with the requirements in Annexes III and VIII.

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7. ►M5 ◄ Flights taking place immediately before, during or immediately after specialised operations and directly connected to those operations shall be operated in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4 and 6, as applicable.Except for crew members, persons other than those indispensable to the mission shall not be carried on board.

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Article 6

Derogations

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►M5

2. By way of derogation from Article 5(1), aircraft referred to in Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 shall, in the case of aeroplanes, be operated under the conditions set out in Commission Decision C(2009) 7633 of 14 October 2009 when used in CAT operations. ◄ Any change to the operation that affects the conditions set out in that Decision shall be notified to the Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency (hereinafter ‘the Agency’) before the change is implemented.

A Member State, other than an addressee of Decision C(2009)7633, which intends to use the derogation provided for in that Decision shall notify its intention to the Commission and the Agency before the derogation is implemented. The Commission and the Agency shall assess to what extent the change or the intended use deviates from the conditions of Decision C(2009)7633 or impacts on the initial safety assessment performed in the context of that Decision. If the assessment shows that the change or the intended use does not correspond to the initial safety assessment done for Decision C(2009)7633, the Member State concerned shall submit a new derogation request in accordance with Article 14(6) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008.

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3. By way of derogation from Article 5 of this Regulation and without prejudice to point (b) of Article 18(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and to Subpart P of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 ( 2 ) concerning the permit to fly, the following flights shall continue to be operated under the requirements specified in the national law of the Member State in which the operator has its principal place of business, or, where the operator has no principal place of business, the place where the operator is established or resides: (a) flights related to the introduction or modification of aeroplane or helicopter types conducted by design or production organisations within the scope of their privileges; ▼M15 (b) flights carrying no passengers or cargo, where the aeroplane or helicopter is ferried for refurbishment, repair, inspections, delivery, export or similar purposes, provided that the aircraft is not listed on an air operator certificate or on a declaration.

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4. Notwithstanding Article 5, Member States may, until 30 June 2018, continue to require a specific approval and additional requirements regarding operational procedures, equipment, crew qualification and training for CAT helicopter offshore operations in accordance with their national law. Member States shall notify the Commission and the Agency of the additional requirements being applied to such specific approvals. Those requirements shall not be less restrictive than those of Annexes III and IV.

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4a. By way of derogation from Article 5(1) and (6), the following operations with other-than-complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters may be conducted in accordance with Annex VII: ▼M4 (a) cost-shared flights by private individuals, on the condition that the direct cost is shared by all the occupants of the aircraft, pilot included and the number of persons sharing the direct costs is limited to six; (b) competition flights or flying displays, on the condition that the remuneration or any valuable consideration given for such flights is limited to recovery of direct costs and a proportionate contribution to annual costs, as well as prizes of no more than a value specified by the competent authority; ▼M14 (c) introductory flights, parachute dropping, sailplane towing or aerobatic flights performed either by a training organisation having its principal place of business in a Member State and referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, or by an organisation created with the aim of promoting aerial sport or leisure aviation, on the condition that the aircraft is operated by the organisation on the basis of ownership or dry lease, that the flight does not generate profits distributed outside of the organisation, and that whenever non-members of the organisation are involved, such flights represent only a marginal activity of the organisation.

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5. Until 2 September 2017, exemptions granted before 22 March 2017 in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91, as provided for in Article 6(5) of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 as applicable before 22 March 2017, shall be considered to constitute approvals referred to in point (a) of CAT.POL.A.300 of Annex IV (Part-CAT). After 2 September 2017, those exemptions shall no longer be valid for the operation of single-engined aeroplanes.

If any change to the operation of those aeroplanes that affects the conditions set out in those exemptions is envisaged between 22 March 2017 and 2 September 2017, that envisaged change shall be notified to the Commission and the Agency before it is implemented. The Commission and the Agency shall assess the envisaged change in accordance with Article 14(5) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008.

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6. Existing helicopter operations to/from a public interest site (PIS) may be conducted in derogation to CAT.POL.H.225 of Annex IV whenever the size of the PIS, the obstacle environment or the helicopter does not permit compliance with the requirements for operation in performance class 1. Such operations shall be conducted under conditions determined by Member States. Member States shall notify the Commission and the Agency of the conditions being applied.

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8. By way of derogation from the first sentence of Article 5(3), operators of complex motor-powered aeroplanes with a maximum certificated take-off mass (MCTOM) at or below 5 700 kg, equipped with turboprop engines, involved in non-commercial operations, shall operate those aircraft only in accordance with Annex VII.

9. By way of derogation from Article 5(5)(a), training organisations shall, when conducting flight training on complex motor-powered aeroplanes with a maximum certificated take-off mass (MCTOM) at or below 5 700 kg, equipped with turboprop engines, operate those aircraft in accordance with Annex VII.

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Article 7

Air operator certificates

1. Air operator certificates (AOCs) issued by a Member State to CAT operators of aeroplanes before this Regulation applies in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 shall be deemed to have been issued in accordance with this Regulation.

However, no later than 28 October 2014:

(a) operators shall adapt their management system, training programmes, procedures and manuals to be compliant with Annexes III, IV and V, as relevant;

(b) the AOC shall be replaced by certificates issued in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

2. AOCs issued by a Member State to CAT operators of helicopters before this Regulation applies shall be converted into AOCs compliant with this Regulation in accordance with a conversion report established by the Member State that issued the AOC, in consultation with the Agency.

The conversion report shall describe:

(a) the national requirements on the basis of which the AOCs were issued;

(b) the scope of privileges that were given to the operators;

(c) the differences between the national requirements on the basis of which the AOCs were issued and the requirements of Annexes III, IV and V, together with an indication of how and when the operators will be required to ensure full compliance with those Annexes.

The conversion report shall include copies of all documents necessary to demonstrate the elements set out in points (a) to (c), including copies of the relevant national requirements and procedures.

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Article 8

Flight time limitations

1. CAT operations shall be subject to the requirements of Subpart FTL of Annex III.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, air taxi, emergency medical service and single pilot CAT operations by aeroplanes shall be subject to the requirements specified in the national law referred to in Article 8(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 and in Subpart Q of Annex III to that Regulation.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, CAT operations with helicopters and CAT operations with sailplanes shall comply with the requirements specified in the national law of the Member State in which the operator has its principal place of business.

4. Non-commercial operations, including non-commercial specialised operations, with complex motor-powered aeroplanes and helicopters, as well as commercial specialised operations with aeroplanes, helicopters and sailplanes shall comply as regards flight time limitations, with the requirements specified in the national law of the Member State in which the operator has its principal place of business, or, where the operator has no principal place of business, the place where the operator is established or resides.

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Article 9

Minimum equipment lists

Minimum equipment lists (‘MEL’) approved by the State of Operator or Registry before the application of this Regulation, are deemed to be approved in accordance with this Regulation and may continue to be used by the operator.

After the entry into force of this Regulation any change to the MEL referred to in the first subparagraph for which a Master Minimum Equipment List (‘MMEL’) is established as part of the operational suitability data in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 ( 3 ) shall be made in compliance with point ORO.MLR.105 of Section 2 of Annex III to this Regulation at the earliest opportunity and not later than 18 December 2017 or two years after the operational suitability data was approved, whichever is the latest.

Any change to an MEL referred to in the first subparagraph, for which an MMEL has not been established as part of the operational suitability data, shall continue to be made in accordance with the MMEL accepted by the State of Operator or Registry as applicable.

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Article 9a

Flight and cabin crew training

Operators shall ensure that flight crew and cabin crew members who are already in operation and have completed training in accordance with Subparts FC and CC of Annex III which did not include the mandatory elements established in the relevant operational suitability data, undertake training covering those mandatory elements not later than 18 December 2017 or two years after the approval of the operational suitability data, whichever is the latest.

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Article 9aa

Flight crew requirements for maintenance check flights

A pilot having acted, before 25 September 2019, as a pilot-in-command on a maintenance check flight that in accordance with the definition in point SPO.SPEC.MCF.100 in Annex VIII is categorised as a Level A maintenance check flight, shall be given credit for the purpose of complying with point SPO.SPEC.MCF.115(a)(1) of that Annex. In that case, the operator shall ensure that the pilot-in-command receives a briefing on any differences identified between the operating practices established before 25 September 2019 and the obligations provided in Section 5 of Subpart E of Annex VIII to this Regulation including those derived from the related procedures established by the operator.

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Article 9b

Review

1. The Agency shall conduct a continuous review of the effectiveness of the provisions concerning flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements contained in Annexes II and III. No later than 18 February 2019 the Agency shall produce a first report on the results of this review.

That review shall involve scientific expertise and shall be based on operational data gathered, with the assistance of Member States, on a long-term basis after the date of application of this Regulation.

The review shall assess the impact of at least the following on the alertness of aircrew:

(a) duties of more than 13 hours at the most favourable times of the day;

(b) duties of more than 10 hours at less favourable times of the day;

(c) duties of more than 11 hours for crew members in an unknown state of acclimatisation;

(d) duties including a high level of sectors (more than 6);

(e) on-call duties such as standby or reserve followed by flight duties; and

(f) disruptive schedules.

2. ►M20 The Agency shall conduct a continuous review of the effectiveness of the provisions concerning support programmes, the psychological assessment of flight crew and the systematic and random testing of psychoactive substances to ensure the medical fitness of flight crew and cabin crew members set out in Annexes II and IV. No later than 14 August 2023, the Agency shall produce a first report on the results of this review.

That review shall involve relevant expertise and shall be based on data gathered, with the assistance of Member States and the Agency, on a long-term basis. ◄

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Article 10

Entry into force

►M14 ◄ ————— This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

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It shall apply from 28 October 2012.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.









ANNEX I

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Definitions for terms used in Annexes II to VIII

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For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘accelerate-stop distance available (ASDA)’ means the length of the take-off run available plus the length of stopway, if such stopway is declared available by the State of the aerodrome and is capable of bearing the mass of the aeroplane under the prevailing operating conditions;

(2) ‘acceptable means of compliance (AMC)’ means non-binding standards adopted by the Agency to illustrate means to establish compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules;

(3) ‘acceptance checklist’ means a document used to assist in carrying out a check on the external appearance of packages of dangerous goods and their associated documents to determine that all appropriate requirements have been met with;

(4) ‘adequate aerodrome’ means an aerodrome on which the aircraft can be operated, taking account of the applicable performance requirements and runway characteristics;

(5) For the purpose of passenger classification: (a) ‘adult’ means a person of an age of 12 years and above; (b) ‘child/children’ means persons who are of an age of two years and above but who are less than 12 years of age; (c) ‘infant’ means a person under the age of two years;

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(6) ‘aerodrome operating minima’ means the limits of usability of an aerodrome for: (a) take-off, expressed in terms of runway visual range (RVR) and/or visibility and, if necessary, ceiling ; (b) landing in 2D instrument approach operations, expressed in terms of visibility and/or RVR, minimum descent altitude/height (MDA/H) and, if necessary, ceiling; (c) landing in 3D instrument approach operations, expressed in terms of visibility and/or RVR and decision altitude/height (DA/H) as appropriate to the type and/or category of the operation;

▼B

(7) ‘aided night vision imaging system (NVIS) flight’ means, in the case of NVIS operations, that portion of a visual flight rules (VFR) flight performed at night when a crew member is using night vision goggles (NVG);

(8) ‘aircraft’ means a machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface;

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(8a) ‘aircraft tracking’ means a ground based process that maintains and updates, at standardised intervals, a record of the four dimensional position of individual aircraft in flight;

(8b) ‘aircraft tracking system’ means a system that relies on aircraft tracking in order to identify abnormal flight behaviour and provide alert;

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(8c) ‘alternate aerodrome’ means an adequate aerodrome to which an aircraft may proceed when it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to proceed to or land at the aerodrome of intended landing, where the necessary services and facilities are available, where aircraft performance requirements can be met, and which is operational at the expected time of use; ‘alternate aerodrome’ includes the following: (a) ‘take-off alternate aerodrome’: an alternate aerodrome at which an aircraft would be able to land if it becomes necessary shortly after take-off and it is not possible to use the aerodrome of departure; (b) ‘en route alternate (ERA) aerodrome’: an alternate aerodrome at which an aircraft would be able to land if a diversion becomes necessary while en route; (c) ‘fuel/energy en route alternate (fuel/energy ERA) aerodrome’ means an ERA aerodrome that is required at the planning stage for use in the calculation of fuel/energy; (d) ‘destination alternate aerodrome’: an alternate aerodrome at which an aircraft would be able to land if it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to land at the aerodrome of intended landing;

▼B

(9) ‘alternative means of compliance’ means those means that propose an alternative to an existing acceptable means of compliance or those that propose new means to establish compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules for which no associated AMC have been adopted by the Agency;

(10) ‘anti-icing’, in the case of ground procedures, means a procedure that provides protection against the formation of frost or ice and accumulation of snow on treated surfaces of the aircraft for a limited period of time (hold-over time);

▼M21 —————

▼M14 —————

▼B

►M1 ◄ (12) ‘cabin crew member’ means an appropriately qualified crew member, other than a flight crew or technical crew member, who is assigned by an operator to perform duties related to the safety of passengers and flight during operations;

▼M21 —————

▼M15

(17) ‘category A with respect to helicopters’ means a multi-engined helicopter designed with engine and system isolation features specified in the applicable certification specification and capable of operations using take-off and landing data scheduled under a critical engine failure concept that assures adequate designated surface area and adequate performance capability for continued safe flight or safe rejected take-off in the event of engine failure;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (18) ‘category B with respect to helicopters’ means a single-engined or multi-engined helicopter that does not meet category A standards. Category B helicopters have no guaranteed capability to continue safe flight in the event of an engine failure, and unscheduled landing is assumed;

▼M21

(18a) ‘ceiling’ means the height above the ground or water of the base of the lowest layer of cloud below 6 000 m (20 000 ft) covering more than half the sky;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (19) ‘certification specifications’ (CS) means technical standards adopted by the Agency indicating means to show compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules and which can be used by an organisation for the purpose of certification;

▼M21

(20) ‘circling’ means the visual phase of a circling approach operation;

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(20a) ‘circling approach operation’ means a Type A instrument approach operation to bring an aircraft into position for landing on a runway/final approach and take-off area (FATO) that is not suitably located for a straight-in approach;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (21) ‘clearway’ means a defined rectangular area on the ground or water under the control of the appropriate authority, selected or prepared as a suitable area over which an aeroplane may make a portion of its initial climb to a specified height;

►M1 ◄ (22) ‘cloud base’ means the height of the base of the lowest observed or forecast cloud element in the vicinity of an aerodrome or operating site or within a specified area of operations, normally measured above aerodrome elevation or, in the case of offshore operations, above mean sea level;

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(22a) ‘cockpit voice recorder (CVR)’ means a crash-protected flight recorder that uses a combination of microphones and other audio and digital inputs to collect and record the aural environment of the flight crew compartment and communications to, from and between the flight crew members;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (23) ‘code share’ means an arrangement under which an operator places its designator code on a flight operated by another operator, and sells and issues tickets for that flight;

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(23a) ‘competency’ means a dimension of human performance that is used to reliably predict successful performance on the job and which is manifested and observed through behaviours that mobilise the relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes to carry out activities or tasks under specified conditions;

(23b) ‘competency-based training’ means assessment and training programmes that are characterised by a performance orientation, emphasis on standards of performance and their measurement and the development of training to the specified performance standards;

(23c) ‘competency framework’ means a complete set of identified competencies that are developed, trained and assessed in the operator’s evidence-based training programme utilising scenarios that are relevant to operations and which is wide enough to prepare the pilot for both foreseen and unforeseen threats and errors;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (24) ‘congested area’ means in relation to a city, town or settlement, any area which is substantially used for residential, commercial or recreational purposes;

▼M16

(25) ‘contaminated runway’ means a runway of which a significant portion of its surface area (whether in isolated areas or not) within the length and width being used is covered by one or more of the substances listed under the runway surface condition descriptors;

▼M20

(26) ‘contingency fuel/energy’ means the fuel/energy required to compensate for unforeseen factors that could have an influence on the fuel/energy consumption to the destination aerodrome;

▼M21

(27) ‘continuous descent final approach (CDFA)’ means a technique, consistent with stabilised approach procedures, for flying the final approach segment (FAS) of an instrument non-precision approach (NPA) procedure as a continuous descent, without level-off, from an altitude/height at or above the final approach fix altitude/height: (a) for straight-in approach operations, to a point approximately 15 m (50 ft) above the landing runway threshold or the point where the flare manoeuvre begins; or (b) for circling approach operations, until MDA/H or visual flight manoeuvre altitude/height is reached;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (28) ‘converted meteorological visibility (CMV)’ means a value, equivalent to an RVR, which is derived from the reported meteorological visibility;

►M1 ◄ (29) ‘crew member’ means a person assigned by an operator to perform duties on board an aircraft;

►M1 ◄ (30) ‘critical phases of flight’ in the case of aeroplanes means the take-off run, the take-off flight path, the final approach, the missed approach, the landing, including the landing roll, and any other phases of flight as determined by the pilot-in-command or commander;

►M1 ◄ (31) ‘critical phases of flight’ in the case of helicopters means taxiing, hovering, take-off, final approach, missed approach, the landing and any other phases of flight as determined by the pilot-in-command or commander;

▼M20

(31a) ‘current fuel/energy scheme’ means the approved fuel/energy scheme that is currently used by the operator;

▼M16 —————

▼B

►M1 ◄ (33) ‘dangerous goods (DG)’ means articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment and which are shown in the list of dangerous goods in the technical instructions or which are classified according to those instructions;

►M1 ◄ (34) ‘dangerous goods accident’ means an occurrence associated with and related to the transport of dangerous goods by air which results in fatal or serious injury to a person or major property damage;

►M1 ◄ (35) ‘dangerous goods incident’ means: (a) an occurrence other than a dangerous goods accident associated with and related to the transport of dangerous goods by air, not necessarily occurring on board an aircraft, which results in injury to a person, property damage, fire, breakage, spillage, leakage of fluid or radiation or other evidence that the integrity of the packaging has not been maintained; (b) any occurrence relating to the transport of dangerous goods which seriously jeopardises an aircraft or its occupants;

▼M21

(35a) ‘decision altitude (DA) or decision height (DH)’ means a specified altitude or height in a 3D instrument approach operation at which a missed approach procedure must be initiated if the required visual reference to continue the approach has not been established;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (36) ‘de-icing’, in the case of ground procedures, means a procedure by which frost, ice, snow or slush is removed from an aircraft in order to provide uncontaminated surfaces;

►M1 ◄ (37) ‘defined point after take-off (DPATO)’ means the point, within the take-off and initial climb phase, before which the helicopter’s ability to continue the flight safely, with the critical engine inoperative, is not assured and a forced landing may be required;

►M1 ◄ (38) ‘defined point before landing (DPBL)’ means the point within the approach and landing phase, after which the helicopter’s ability to continue the flight safely, with the critical engine inoperative, is not assured and a forced landing may be required;

►M1 ◄ (39) ‘distance DR’ means the horizontal distance that the helicopter has travelled from the end of the take-off distance available;

▼M4

(40) ‘dry lease agreement’ means an agreement between undertakings pursuant to which the aircraft is operated under the air operator certificate (AOC) of the lessee or, in the case of commercial operations other than CAT, under the responsibility of the lessee;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (41) ‘dry operating mass’ means the total mass of the aircraft ready for a specific type of operation, excluding usable fuel and traffic load;

▼M16

(42) ‘dry runway’ means a runway whose surface is free of visible moisture and not contaminated within the area intended to be used;

▼M14

(42a) ‘EFB application’ means a software application installed on an EFB host platform that provides one or more specific operational functions which support flight operations;

(42b) ‘EFB host platform’ means the hardware equipment in which the computing capabilities and basic software reside, including the operating system and the input/output software;

(42c) ‘EFB system’ means the hardware equipment (including any battery, connectivity provisions, input/output components) and software (including databases and the operating system) needed to support the intended EFB application(s);

▼M18

(42d) ‘EBT module’ means a combination of sessions in a qualified flight simulation training device as part of the 3-year period of recurrent assessment and training;

▼M1

(43) ‘ELA1 aircraft’ means the following manned European Light Aircraft: (a) an aeroplane with a Maximum Take-off Mass (MTOM) of 1 200 kg or less that is not classified as complex motor-powered aircraft; (b) a sailplane or powered sailplane of 1 200 kg MTOM or less; (c) a balloon with a maximum design lifting gas or hot air volume of not more than 3 400 m3 for hot air balloons, 1 050 m3 for gas balloons, 300 m3 for tethered gas balloons;

(44) ‘ELA2 aircraft’ means the following manned European Light Aircraft: (a) an aeroplane with a Maximum Take-off Mass (MTOM) of 2 000 kg or less that is not classified as complex motor-powered aircraft; (b) a sailplane or powered sailplane of 2 000 kg MTOM or less; (c) a balloon; (d) a Very Light Rotorcraft with a MTOM not exceeding 600 kg which is of a simple design, designed to carry not more than two occupants, not powered by turbine and/or rocket engines; restricted to VFR day operations;

▼M14

(44a) ‘electronic flight bag (EFB)’ means an electronic information system, comprised of equipment and applications for flight crew, which allows for the storing, updating, displaying and processing of EFB functions to support flight operations or duties;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (45) ‘elevated final approach and take-off area (elevated FATO)’ means a FATO that is at least 3 m above the surrounding surface;

▼M15

(45a) ‘emergency exit’ means an installed exit-type egress point from the aircraft that allows maximum opportunity for cabin and flight crew compartment evacuation within an appropriate time period and includes floor level door, window exit or any other type of exit, for instance hatch in the flight crew compartment and tail cone exit;

▼M20 —————

▼M21

(46) ‘enhanced flight vision system (EFVS)’ is an electronic means to provide the flight crew with a real-time sensor-derived or enhanced display of the external scene topography (the natural or man-made features of a place or region especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevation) through the use of imaging sensors; an EFVS is integrated with a flight guidance system and is implemented on a head-up display or an equivalent display system; if an EFVS is certified according to the applicable airworthiness requirements and an operator holds the necessary specific approval (when required), then it may be used for EFVS operations and may allow operations with operational credits;

(46a) ‘EFVS operation’ means an operation in which visibility conditions require an EFVS to be used instead of natural vision in order to perform an approach or landing, identify the required visual references or conduct a roll-out;

(46b) ‘EFVS 200 operation’ means an operation with an operational credit in which visibility conditions require an EFVS to be used down to 200 ft above the FATO or runway threshold. From that point to land, natural vision is used. The RVR shall not be less than 550 m;

▼M21

(47) ‘enhanced vision system (EVS)’ is an electronic means to provide the flight crew with a real-time image of the actual external scene topography (the natural or man-made features of a place or region especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevation) through the use of imaging sensors;

▼M18

(47a) ‘enrolment’ means the administrative action carried out by the operator where a pilot participates in the operator’s EBT programme;

(47b) ‘enrolled pilot’ means the pilot that participates in the EBT recurrent training programme;

(47c) ‘equivalency of approaches’ means all the approaches that place an additional demand on a proficient crew regardless of whether they are used or not in the EBT modules;

(47d) ‘equivalency of malfunctions’ means all the malfunctions that put a significant demand on a proficient crew regardless of whether they are used or not in the EBT modules;

(47e) ‘evaluation phase’ means one of the phases of an EBT modulewhich is a line-orientated flight scenario, representative of the operator’s environment during which there are one or more occurrences to evaluate key elements of the defined competency framework;

(47f) ‘evidence-based training (EBT)’ means assessment and training based on operational data that is characterised by developing and assessing the overall capability of a pilot across a range of competencies (competency framework) rather than by measuring the performance in individual events or manoeuvres;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (48) ‘final approach and take-off area (FATO)’ means a defined area for helicopter operations, over which the final phase of the approach manoeuvre to hover or land is completed, and from which the take-off manoeuvre is commenced. In the case of helicopters operating in performance class 1, the defined area includes the rejected take-off area available;

▼M15

(48a) ‘flight crew member’ means a licensed crew member charged with duties essential to the operation of an aircraft during a flight duty period;

▼M21

(48b) ‘final approach segment (FAS)’ means that segment of an instrument approach procedure (IAP) in which alignment and descent for landing are accomplished;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (49) ‘flight data monitoring (FDM)’ means the proactive and non-punitive use of digital flight data from routine operations to improve aviation safety;

▼M15

(49a) ‘flight operations officer’ or ‘flight dispatcher’ means a person designated by the operator to engage in the control and supervision of flight operations, who is suitably qualified, who supports, briefs or assists, or both, the pilot-in-command in the safe conduct of the flight;

▼M16

(49b) ‘flight data recorder (FDR)’ means a crash-protected flight recorder that uses a combination of data sources to collect and record parameters that reflect the state and performance of the aircraft;

(49c) ‘flight recorder’ means any type of recorder that is installed on the aircraft for the purpose of facilitating accident or incident safety investigations;

▼M20

(49d) ‘flight following’ means the recording in real time of departure and arrival messages by operational personnel to ensure that a flight is operating and has arrived at the destination aerodrome or an alternate aerodrome;

(49e) ‘flight monitoring’ means, in addition to the requirements defined for flight following: (a) operational monitoring of flights by suitably qualified operational-control personnel from departure throughout all phases of the flight; (b) communication of all available and relevant safety information between the operational-control personnel on the ground and the flight crew; and (c) critical assistance to the flight crew in the event of an in-flight emergency or security issue, or at the request of the flight crew;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (50) ‘flight simulation training device (FSTD)’ means a training device which is: (a) in the case of aeroplanes, a full flight simulator (FFS), a flight training device (FTD), a flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT), or a basic instrument training device (BITD); (b) in the case of helicopters, a full flight simulator (FFS), a flight training device (FTD) or a flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT);

▼M20

(50a) ‘flight time’ means: (a) for aeroplanes, the total time from the moment an aeroplane first moves for the purpose of taking off until the moment the aeroplane finally comes to rest at the end of the flight; (b) for helicopters, the total time between the moment a helicopter’s rotor blades start turning for the purpose of taking off until the moment the helicopter finally comes to rest at the end of the flight, and the rotor blades are stopped;

(50b) ‘flight watch’ means, in addition to all elements defined for ‘flight monitoring’, the active tracking of a flight by suitably qualified operational-control personnel throughout all phases of the flight to ensure that the flight is following its prescribed route without unplanned deviations, diversions or delays;

▼M20 —————

▼B

►M1 ◄ (52) ‘GBAS landing system (GLS)’ means an approach landing system using ground based augmented global navigation satellite system (GNSS/GBAS) information to provide guidance to the aircraft based on its lateral and vertical GNSS position. It uses geometric altitude reference for its final approach slope;

▼M21

(52a) ‘go-around’ means a transition from an approach operation to a stabilised climb. This includes manoeuvres conducted at or above the MDA/H or DA/H, or below the DA/H (balked landings);

▼B

►M1 ◄ (53) ‘ground emergency service personnel’ means any ground emergency service personnel (such as policemen, firemen, etc.) involved with helicopter emergency medical services (HEMSs) and whose tasks are to any extent pertinent to helicopter operations;

►M1 ◄ (54) ‘grounding’ means the formal prohibition of an aircraft to take-off and the taking of such steps as are necessary to detain it;

▼M21

(55) ‘head-up display landing system (HUDLS)’ means the total airborne system which provides head-up guidance to the pilot to enable the pilot to either control the aircraft or to monitor the autopilot during take-off (if applicable), approach and landing (and roll-out if applicable), or go-around. It includes all the sensors, computers, power supplies, indications and controls;

▼M21 —————

▼M14 —————

▼B

►M1 ◄ (58) ‘helicopter hoist operation (HHO) crew member’ means a technical crew member who performs assigned duties relating to the operation of a hoist;

►M1 ◄ (59) ‘helideck’ means a FATO located on a floating or fixed offshore structure;

►M1 ◄ (60) ‘HEMS crew member’ means a technical crew member who is assigned to a HEMS flight for the purpose of attending to any person in need of medical assistance carried in the helicopter and assisting the pilot during the mission;

►M1 ◄ (61) ‘HEMS flight’ means a flight by a helicopter operating under a HEMS approval, the purpose of which is to facilitate emergency medical assistance, where immediate and rapid transportation is essential, by carrying: (a) medical personnel; (b) medical supplies (equipment, blood, organs, drugs); or (c) ill or injured persons and other persons directly involved;

►M1 ◄ (62) ‘HEMS operating base’ means an aerodrome at which the HEMS crew members and the HEMS helicopter may be on stand-by for HEMS operations;

►M1 ◄ (63) ‘HEMS operating site’ means a site selected by the commander during a HEMS flight for helicopter hoist operations, landing and take-off;

►M1 ◄ (64) ‘HHO flight’ means a flight by a helicopter operating under an HHO approval, the purpose of which is to facilitate the transfer of persons and/or cargo by means of a helicopter hoist;

►M1 ◄ (65) ‘HHO offshore’ means a flight by a helicopter operating under an HHO approval, the purpose of which is to facilitate the transfer of persons and/or cargo by means of a helicopter hoist from or to a vessel or structure in a sea area or to the sea itself;

►M1 ◄ (66) ‘HHO passenger’ means a person who is to be transferred by means of a helicopter hoist;

►M1 ◄ (67) ‘HHO site’ means a specified area at which a helicopter performs a hoist transfer;

►M1 ◄ (68) ‘hold-over time (HoT)’ means the estimated time the anti-icing fluid will prevent the formation of ice and frost and the accumulation of snow on the protected (treated) surfaces of an aeroplane;

▼M9

(69) ‘hostile environment’ means: (a) an area in which: (i) a safe forced landing cannot be accomplished because the surface is inadequate; or (ii) the helicopter occupants cannot be adequately protected from the elements; or (iii) search and rescue response/capability are not provided consistent with anticipated exposure; or (iv) there is an unacceptable risk of endangering persons or property on the ground; (b) in any case, the following areas: (i) for overwater operations, the open sea area north of 45 N and south of 45 S, unless any part is designated as non-hostile by the responsible authority of the State in which the operations take place; and (ii) those parts of a congested area without adequate safe forced landing areas;

▼M14

(69a) ‘human–machine interface (HMI)’ means a component of certain devices that is capable of handling human–machine interactions. The interface consists of hardware and software that allow user inputs to be interpreted and processed by machines or systems that, in turn, provide the required results to the user;

▼M18

(69b) ‘in-seat instruction’ means a technique used in the manoeuvres training phase or the scenario-based training phase, where the instructors can: (a) provide simple instructions to one pilot; or (b) perform predetermined exercises acting, in a pilot seat, as pilot flying (PF) or pilot monitoring (PM) for: (1) the demonstration of techniques; and/or (2) triggering the other pilot to intervene or interact;

(69c) ‘instructor concordance’ means the consistency or stability of scores between different EBT instructorswhich gives a score (or scores) of how much homogeneity, or consensus, there is in the ratings given by instructors (raters);

▼M21

(69d) ‘instrument approach operation’ means an approach and landing using instruments for navigation guidance based on an instrument approach procedure (IAP). There are two methods for executing instrument approach operations: (a) a two-dimensional (2D) instrument approach operation, using lateral navigation guidance only; and (b) a three-dimensional (3D) instrument approach operation, using both lateral and vertical navigation guidance;

(69e) ‘instrument approach procedure (IAP)’ means a series of predetermined manoeuvres by reference to flight instruments with specified protection from obstacles from the initial approach fix or, where applicable, from the beginning of a defined arrival route to a point from which a landing can be completed and thereafter, if a landing is not completed, to a position at which holding or en-route obstacle clearance criteria apply. IAPs are classified as follows: (a) non-precision approach (NPA) procedure, which means an IAP designed for 2D instrument approach operations Type A; (b) approach procedure with vertical guidance (APV) means a performance-based navigation (PBN) IAP designed for 3D instrument approach operations Type A; (c) precision approach (PA) procedure means an IAP based on navigation systems designed for 3D instrument approach operations Type A or B;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (70) ‘landing decision point (LDP)’ means the point used in determining landing performance from which, an engine failure having been recognised at this point, the landing may be safely continued or a balked landing initiated;

▼M16

(70a) ‘landing distance at time of arrival (LDTA)’ means a landing distance that is achievable in normal operations based on landing performance data and associated procedures determined for the prevailing conditions at the time of landing;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (71) ‘landing distance available (LDA)’ means the length of the runway which is declared available by the State of the aerodrome and suitable for the ground run of an aeroplane landing;

►M1 ◄ (72) ‘landplane’ means a fixed wing aircraft which is designed for taking off and landing on land and includes amphibians operated as landplanes;

▼M18

(72a) ‘line-orientated flight scenario’ means the assessment and training involving a realistic, ‘real-time’, full mission simulation of scenarios that are representative of line operations;

▼M21

(72b) ‘line check’ means a check conducted by the operator and completed by the pilot or the technical crew member to demonstrate competence in carrying out normal line operations described in the operations manual;

▼M20

(73) ‘local helicopter operation (LHO)’ means a commercial air transport operation of helicopters with a maximum certified take-off mass (MCTOM) over 3 175 kg and a maximum operational passenger seating configuration (MOPSC) of nine or less, by day, over routes navigated by reference to visual landmarks, conducted within a local and defined geographical area specified in the operations manual;

▼M21

(74) ‘low-visibility operations (LVOs)’ means approach or take-off operations on a runway with a runway visual range less than 550 m or with a decision height less than 200 ft;

(75) ‘low-visibility take-off (LVTO)’ means a take-off with an RVR less than 550 m;

▼M21 —————

▼M15

(76a) ‘maintenance check flight (“MCF”)’ means a flight of an aircraft with an airworthiness certificate or with a permit to fly which is carried out for troubleshooting purposes or to check the functioning of one or more systems, parts or appliances after maintenance, if the functioning of the systems, parts or appliances cannot be established during ground checks and which is carried out in any of the following situations: (a) as required by the aircraft maintenance manual (‘AMM’) or any other maintenance data issued by a design approval holder being responsible for the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft; (b) after maintenance, as required by the operator or proposed by the organisation responsible for the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft; (c) as requested by the maintenance organisation for verification of a successful defect rectification; (d) to assist with fault isolation or troubleshooting;

▼M18

(76b) ‘manoeuvres training phase’ means a phase of an EBT module during which, according to aircraft generation, crews have time to practise and improve performance in largely psychomotor skill-based exercises by achieving a prescribed flight path or performing a prescribed event to a prescribed outcome;

(76c) ‘mixed EBT programme’ means an operator’s recurrent training and checking programme as per ORO.FC.230, a portion of which is dedicated to the application of EBT but which does not replace proficiency checks as per Appendix 9 to Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (77) ‘maximum operational passenger seating configuration (MOPSC)’ means the maximum passenger seating capacity of an individual aircraft, excluding crew seats, established for operational purposes and specified in the operations manual. Taking as a baseline the maximum passenger seating configuration established during the certification process conducted for the type certificate (TC), supplemental type certificate (STC) or change to the TC or STC as relevant to the individual aircraft, the MOPSC may establish an equal or lower number of seats, depending on the operational constraints;

►M1 ◄ (78) ‘medical passenger’ means a medical person carried in a helicopter during a HEMS flight, including but not limited to doctors, nurses and paramedics;

▼M14

(78a) ‘minor failure condition’ means a failure condition that would not significantly reduce aircraft safety, and which involves flight crew actions that are well within their capabilities;

(78b) ‘misuse of substances’ means the use of one or more psychoactive substances by flight crew, cabin crew members and other safety-sensitive personnel in a way that: (a) constitutes a direct hazard to the user or endangers the lives, health or welfare of others; and/or (b) causes or worsens an occupational, social, mental or physical problem or disorder;

▼M21

(78c) ‘minimum descent altitude (MDA) or minimum descent height (MDH)’ means a specified altitude or height in a 2D instrument approach operation or circling approach operation below which descent must not be made without the required visual reference;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (79) ‘night’ means the period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight or such other period between sunset and sunrise as may be prescribed by the appropriate authority, as defined by the Member State;

►M1 ◄ (80) ‘night vision goggles (NVG)’ means a head-mounted, binocular, light intensification appliance that enhances the ability to maintain visual surface references at night;

►M1 ◄ (81) ‘night vision imaging system (NVIS)’ means the integration of all elements required to successfully and safely use NVGs while operating a helicopter. The system includes as a minimum: NVGs, NVIS lighting, helicopter components, training and continuing airworthiness;

►M1 ◄ (82) ‘non-hostile environment’ means an environment in which: (a) a safe forced landing can be accomplished; (b) the helicopter occupants can be protected from the elements; and (c) search and rescue response/capability is provided consistent with the anticipated exposure. In any case, those parts of a congested area with adequate safe forced landing areas shall be considered non-hostile;

▼M21 —————

▼B

►M1 ◄ (84) ‘NVIS crew member’ means a technical crew member assigned to an NVIS flight;

►M1 ◄ (85) ‘NVIS flight’ means a flight under night visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with the flight crew using NVGs in a helicopter operating under an NVIS approval;

▼M21

(85a) ‘obstacle clearance altitude (OCA) or obstacle clearance height (OCH)’ means the lowest altitude or the lowest height above the elevation of the relevant runway threshold or the aerodrome elevation, as applicable, used in establishing compliance with the appropriate obstacle clearance criteria;

▼M9

(86) ‘offshore operation’ means a helicopter operation that has a substantial proportion of any flight conducted over open sea areas to or from an offshore location;

▼M9

(86a) ‘offshore location’ means a facility intended to be used for helicopter operations on a fixed or floating offshore structure or a vessel;

(86b) ‘open sea area’ means the area of water to seaward of the coastline;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (87) ‘operating site’ means a site, other than an aerodrome, selected by the operator or pilot-in-command or commander for landing, take-off and/or external load operations;

►M1 ◄ (88) ‘operation in performance class 1’ means an operation that, in the event of failure of the critical engine, the helicopter is able to land within the rejected take-off distance available or safely continue the flight to an appropriate landing area, depending on when the failure occurs;

►M1 ◄ (89) ‘operation in performance class 2’ means an operation that, in the event of failure of the critical engine, performance is available to enable the helicopter to safely continue the flight, except when the failure occurs early during the take-off manoeuvre or late in the landing manoeuvre, in which cases a forced landing may be required;

►M1 ◄ (90) ‘operation in performance class 3’ means an operation that, in the event of an engine failure at any time during the flight, a forced landing may be required in a multi-engined helicopter and will be required in a single-engined helicopter;

►M1 ◄ (91) ‘operational control’ means the responsibility for the initiation, continuation, termination or diversion of a flight in the interest of safety;

▼M21

(91a) ‘operational credit’ means a credit for operations with an advanced aircraft enabling lower aerodrome operating minima than would normally be established by the operator for a basic aircraft, based upon the performance of advanced aircraft systems utilising the available external infrastructure. Lower operating minima may include a lower decision height/altitude or minimum descent height/altitude, reduced visibility requirements or reduced ground facilities or a combination of these;

▼M21

(92) ‘operator proficiency check’ means a check conducted by the operator and completed by the pilot or the technical crew member to demonstrate competence in carrying out normal, abnormal and emergency procedures;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (93) ‘performance class A aeroplanes’ means multi-engined aeroplanes powered by turbo-propeller engines with an MOPSC of more than nine or a maximum take-off mass exceeding 5 700 kg, and all multi-engined turbo-jet powered aeroplanes;

►M1 ◄ (94) ‘performance class B aeroplanes’ means aeroplanes powered by propeller engines with an MOPSC of nine or less and a maximum take-off mass of 5 700 kg or less;

►M1 ◄ (95) ‘performance class C aeroplanes’ means aeroplanes powered by reciprocating engines with an MOPSC of more than nine or a maximum take-off mass exceeding 5 700 kg;

▼M15

(95a) ‘personnel-carrying device system (PCDS)’ means a system including one or more devices that is either attached to a hoist or cargo hook or mounted to the rotorcraft airframe during human external cargo (HEC) or helicopter hoist operations (HHO). The devices have the structural capability and features needed to transport occupants external to the helicopter e.g. a life safety harness with or without a quick release and strop with a connector ring, a rigid basket or a cage;

(95b) ‘simple personnel carrying device system (simple “PCDS”)’ means a PCDS that complies with the following conditions: (a) meets a harmonised standard under Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 4 ) or Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ); (b) is designed to restrain no more than a single person (for instance, hoist or cargo hook operator, task specialist or photographer) inside the cabin, or to restrain no more than two persons outside the cabin; (c) is not a rigid structure such as a cage, a platform or a basket;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (96) ‘pilot-in-command’ means the pilot designated as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of the flight. For the purpose of commercial air transport operations, the ‘pilot-in-command’ shall be termed the ‘commander’;

▼M14

(96a) ‘portable EFB’ means a portable EFB host platform, used on the flight deck, which is not part of the configuration of the certified aircraft;

(96b) ‘portable electronic device (PED)’ means any kind of electronic device, typically but not limited to consumer electronics, brought on board the aircraft by crew members, passengers, or as part of the cargo, that is not included in the configuration of the certified aircraft. It includes all equipment that is able to consume electrical energy. The electrical energy can be provided from internal sources such as batteries (chargeable or non-rechargeable) or the devices may also be connected to specific aircraft power sources;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (97) ‘principal place of business’ means the head office or registered office of the organisation within which the principal financial functions and operational control of the activities referred to in this Regulation are exercised;

►M1 ◄ (98) ‘prioritisation of ramp inspections’ means the dedication of an appropriate portion of the total number of ramp inspections conducted by or on behalf of a competent authority on an annual basis as provided in Part-ARO;

▼M18

(98a) ‘proficient’ means having demonstrated the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes that are required to perform any defined tasks to the prescribed standard;

▼M20

(98b) ‘psychoactive substances’ means alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents, with the exception of caffeine and tobacco;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (99) ‘public interest site (PIS)’ means a site used exclusively for operations in the public interest;

►M1 ◄ (100) ‘ramp inspection’ means the inspection of aircraft, of flight and cabin crew qualifications and of flight documentation in order to verify the compliance with the applicable requirements;

►M1 ◄ (101) ‘rectification interval’ means a limitation on the duration of operations with inoperative equipment;

►M1 ◄ (102) ‘rejected take-off distance available (RTODAH)’ means the length of the final approach and take-off area declared available and suitable for helicopters operated in performance class 1 to complete a rejected take-off;

►M1 ◄ (103) ‘rejected take-off distance required (RTODRH)’ means the horizontal distance required from the start of the take-off to the point where the helicopter comes to a full stop following an engine failure and rejection of the take-off at the take-off decision point;

▼M9

(103a) ‘required navigation performance (RNP) specification’ means a navigation specification for PBN operations which includes a requirement for on-board navigation performance monitoring and alerting;

▼M15

(103b) ‘rules of the air’ means the rules established in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 ( 6 );

▼M16

(103c) ‘runway condition report (RCR)’ means a comprehensive standardised report relating to the conditions of the runway surface and their effect on the aeroplane landing and take-off performance, described by means of runway conditions code;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (104) ‘runway visual range (RVR)’ means the range over which the pilot of an aircraft on the centre line of a runway can see the runway surface markings or the lights delineating the runway or identifying its centre line;

▼M20

(104a) ‘safe landing’ means, in the context of the fuel/energy policy or fuel/energy schemes, a landing at an adequate aerodrome or operating site with no less than the final reserve fuel/energy remaining and in compliance with the applicable operational procedures and aerodrome operating minima;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (105) ‘safe forced landing’ means an unavoidable landing or ditching with a reasonable expectancy of no injuries to persons in the aircraft or on the surface;

▼M12

(105a) ‘safety-sensitive personnel’ means persons who might endanger aviation safety if they perform their duties and functions improperly, including flight crew and cabin crew members, aircraft maintenance personnel and air traffic controllers;

▼M18

(105b) ‘scenario-based training phase’ means a phase of an EBT module which focuses on the development of competencies, whilst the pilot is trained to mitigate the most critical risks identified for the aircraft generation. It should include the management of specific operator’s threats and errors in a real-time line-orientated environment;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (106) ‘seaplane’ means a fixed wing aircraft which is designed for taking off and landing on water and includes amphibians operated as seaplanes;

►M1 ◄ (107) ‘separate runways’ means runways at the same aerodrome that are separate landing surfaces. These runways may overlay or cross in such a way that if one of the runways is blocked, it will not prevent the planned type of operations on the other runway. Each runway shall have a separate approach procedure based on a separate navigation aid;

▼M16

(107a) ‘specially prepared winter runway’ means a runway with a dry frozen surface of compacted snow or ice which has been treated with sand or grit or has been mechanically treated to improve runway friction;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (108) ‘special VFR flight’ means a VFR flight cleared by air traffic control to operate within a control zone in meteorological conditions below VMC;

►M1 ◄ (109) ‘stabilised approach (SAp)’ means an approach that is flown in a controlled and appropriate manner in terms of configuration, energy and control of the flight path from a pre-determined point or altitude/height down to a point 50 ft above the threshold or the point where the flare manoeuvre is initiated if higher;

▼M5

(109a) ‘sterile flight crew compartment’ means any period of time when the flight crew members are not disturbed or distracted, except for matters critical to the safe operation of the aircraft or the safety of the occupants;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (110) ‘take-off alternate aerodrome’ means an alternate aerodrome at which an aircraft can land should this become necessary shortly after take-off and if it is not possible to use the aerodrome of departure;

►M1 ◄ (111) ‘take-off decision point (TDP)’ means the point used in determining take-off performance from which, an engine failure having been recognised at this point, either a rejected take-off may be made or a take-off safely continued;

►M1 ◄ (112) ‘take-off distance available (TODA)’ in the case of aeroplanes means the length of the take-off run available plus the length of the clearway, if provided;

►M1 ◄ (113) ‘take-off distance available (TODAH)’ in the case of helicopters means the length of the final approach and take-off area plus, if provided, the length of helicopter clearway declared available and suitable for helicopters to complete the take-off;

►M1 ◄ (114) ‘take-off distance required (TODRH)’ in the case of helicopters means the horizontal distance required from the start of the take-off to the point at which take-off safety speed (VTOSS), a selected height and a positive climb gradient are achieved, following failure of the critical engine being recognised at the TDP, the remaining engines operating within approved operating limits;

►M1 ◄ (115) ‘take-off flight path’ means the vertical and horizontal path, with the critical engine inoperative, from a specified point in the take-off for aeroplanes to 1 500 ft above the surface and for helicopters to 1 000 ft above the surface;

►M1 ◄ (116) ‘take-off mass’ means the mass including everything and everyone carried at the commencement of the take-off for helicopters and take-off run for aeroplanes;

►M1 ◄ (117) ‘take-off run available (TORA)’ means the length of runway that is declared available by the State of the aerodrome and suitable for the ground run of an aeroplane taking off;

▼M4

(117a) ‘task specialist’ means a person assigned by the operator or a third party, or acting as an undertaking, who performs tasks on the ground directly associated with a specialised task or performs specialised tasks on board or from the aircraft;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (118) ‘technical crew member’ means a crew member in commercial air transport HEMS, HHO or NVIS operations other than a flight or cabin crew member, assigned by the operator to duties in the aircraft or on the ground for the purpose of assisting the pilot during HEMS, HHO or NVIS operations, which may require the operation of specialised on-board equipment;

►M1 ◄ (119) ‘technical instructions (TI)’ means the latest effective edition of the ‘Technical instructions for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air’, including the supplement and any addenda, approved and published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation;

▼M11

(120) ‘traffic load’ means the total mass of passengers, baggage, cargo and carry-on specialist equipment and including any ballast;

▼M14

(120a) ‘type A EFB application’ means an EFB application whose malfunction or misuse has no safety effect;

(120b) ‘type B EFB application’ means an EFB application: (a) whose malfunction or misuse is classified as minor failure condition or below; and (b) which neither replaces nor duplicates any system or functionality required by airworthiness regulations, airspace requirements, or operational rules;

▼M21

(120c) ‘training to proficiency’ means training designed to achieve end-state performance objectives, providing sufficient assurance that the trained individual is capable of consistently carrying out specific tasks safely and effectively;

(120d) ‘type A instrument approach operation’ means an instrument approach operation with an MDH or a DH at or above 250 ft;

(120e) ‘type B instrument approach operation’ means an operation with a DH below 250 ft. Type B instrument approach operations are categorised as: (a) Category I (CAT I): a DH not lower than 200 ft and with either a visibility not less than 800 m or an RVR not less than 550 m; (b) Category II (CAT II): a DH lower than 200 ft but not lower than 100 ft, and an RVR not less than 300 m; (c) Category III (CAT III): a DH lower than 100 ft or no DH, and an RVR less than 300 m or no RVR limitation;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (121) ‘unaided NVIS flight’ means, in the case of NVIS operations, that portion of a VFR flight performed at night when a crew member is not using NVG;

►M1 ◄ (122) ‘undertaking’ means any natural or legal person, whether profit-making or not, or any official body whether having its own personality or not;

►M1 ◄ (123) ‘V1’ means the maximum speed in the take-off at which the pilot must take the first action to stop the aeroplane within the accelerate-stop distance. V1 also means the minimum speed in the take-off, following a failure of the critical engine at VEF, at which the pilot can continue the take-off and achieve the required height above the take-off surface within the take-off distance;

►M1 ◄ (124) ‘VEF’ means the speed at which the critical engine is assumed to fail during take-off;

▼M21

(124a) ‘visibility (VIS)’ means visibility for aeronautical purposes, which is the greater of: (a) the greatest distance at which a black object of suitable dimensions, situated near the ground, can be seen and recognised when observed against a bright background; and (b) the greatest distance at which lights in the vicinity of 1 000 candelas can be seen and identified against an unlit background;

▼M21

(125) ‘visual approach operation’ means an approach operation by an IFR flight when either a part or all parts of an IAP is (are) not completed and the approach operation is executed with visual reference to terrain;

(126) ‘weather-permissible aerodrome’ means an adequate aerodrome where, for the anticipated time of use, meteorological reports, or forecasts, or any combination thereof, indicate that the meteorological conditions will be at or above the required aerodrome operating minima, and the runway surface condition reports indicate that a safe landing will be possible;

▼M4

(127) ‘wet lease agreement’ means an agreement: — in the case of CAT operations, between air carriers pursuant to which the aircraft is operated under the AOC of the lessor; or — in the case of commercial operations other than CAT, between operators pursuant to which the aircraft is operated under the responsibility of the lessor;

▼M16

(128) ‘wet runway’ means a runway whose surface is covered by any visible dampness or water up to and including 3 mm deep within the area intended to be used.

▼B









ANNEX II

AUTHORITY REQUIREMENTS FOR AIR OPERATIONS

[PART-ARO]

ARO.GEN.005 Scope

This Annex establishes requirements for the administration and management system to be fulfilled by the Agency and Member States for the implementation and enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules regarding civil aviation air operations.

SUBPART GEN

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

SECTION I

General

ARO.GEN.115 Oversight documentation

The competent authority shall provide all legislative acts, standards, rules, technical publications and related documents to relevant personnel in order to allow them to perform their tasks and to discharge their responsibilities.

ARO.GEN.120 Means of compliance

▼M15

(a) The Agency shall develop acceptable means of compliance (‘AMC’) that may be used to establish compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts.

(b) Alternative means of compliance may be used to establish compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts.

(c) The competent authority shall establish a system to consistently evaluate whether the alternative means of compliance used by itself or by organisations and persons under its oversight comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts. That system shall include procedures to limit, revoke or amend approved alternative means of compliance, if it has been demonstrated by the competent authority that those alternative means of compliance do not comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and delegated and implementing acts adopted on its basis.

▼M14

(d) The competent authority shall evaluate all alternative means of compliance proposed by an organisation in accordance:

(1) with point ORO.GEN.120(b) of Annex III (Part-ORO) to this Regulation;

(2) for balloons with point BOP.ADD.010 of Annex II (Part-BOP) to Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/395 ( 7 ).

▼M15 —————

▼M14

by analysing the documentation provided and, if considered necessary, conducting an inspection of the organisation.

When the competent authority finds that the alternative means of compliance are in accordance with the Implementing Rules, it shall without undue delay:

(1) notify the applicant that the alternative means of compliance may be implemented and, if applicable, amend the approval, specialised operation authorisation or certificate of the applicant accordingly; and

(2) notify the Agency of their content, including copies of all relevant documentation;

(3) inform other Member States about alternative means of compliance that were accepted.

▼B

(e) When the competent authority itself uses alternative means of compliance to achieve compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules it shall:

(1) make them available to all organisations and persons under its oversight; and

(2) without undue delay notify the Agency.

The competent authority shall provide the Agency with a full description of the alternative means of compliance, including any revisions to procedures that may be relevant, as well as an assessment demonstrating that the Implementing Rules are met.

ARO.GEN.125 Information to the Agency

(a) The competent authority shall without undue delay notify the Agency in case of any significant problems with the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules.

(b) The competent authority shall provide the Agency with safety-significant information stemming from the occurrence reports it has received.

ARO.GEN.135 Immediate reaction to a safety problem

▼M15

(a) Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ), the competent authority shall implement a system to appropriately collect, analyse and disseminate safety information.

▼B

(b) The Agency shall implement a system to appropriately analyse any relevant safety information received and without undue delay provide to Member States and the Commission any information, including recommendations or corrective actions to be taken, necessary for them to react in a timely manner to a safety problem involving products, parts, appliances, persons or organisations subject to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules.

(c) Upon receiving the information referred to in (a) and (b), the competent authority shall take adequate measures to address the safety problem.

(d) Measures taken under (c) shall immediately be notified to all persons or organisations which need to comply with them under Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules. The competent authority shall also notify those measures to the Agency and, when combined action is required, the other Member States concerned.

SECTION II

Management

ARO.GEN.200 Management system

(a) The competent authority shall establish and maintain a management system, including as a minimum:

(1) documented policies and procedures to describe its organisation, means and methods to achieve compliance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules. The procedures shall be kept up to date and serve as the basic working documents within that competent authority for all related tasks;

(2) a sufficient number of personnel to perform its tasks and discharge its responsibilities. Such personnel shall be qualified to perform their allocated tasks and have the necessary knowledge, experience, initial and recurrent training to ensure continuing competence. A system shall be in place to plan the availability of personnel, in order to ensure the proper completion of all tasks;

(3) adequate facilities and office accommodation to perform the allocated tasks;

(4) a function to monitor compliance of the management system with the relevant requirements and adequacy of the procedures including the establishment of an internal audit process and a safety risk management process. Compliance monitoring shall include a feedback system of audit findings to the senior management of the competent authority to ensure implementation of corrective actions as necessary; and

(5) a person or group of persons, ultimately responsible to the senior management of the competent authority for the compliance monitoring function.

(b) The competent authority shall, for each field of activity, including management system, appoint one or more persons with the overall responsibility for the management of the relevant task(s).

(c) The competent authority shall establish procedures for participation in a mutual exchange of all necessary information and assistance with other competent authorities concerned including on all findings raised and follow-up actions taken as a result of oversight of persons and organisations exercising activities in the territory of a Member State, but certified ►M4 or authorised ◄ by ►M1 or making declarations to ◄ the competent authority of another Member State or the Agency.

(d) A copy of the procedures related to the management system and their amendments shall be made available to the Agency for the purpose of standardisation.

ARO.GEN.205 Allocation of tasks to qualified entities

(a) Tasks related to the initial certification ►M4 , specialised operation authorisation ◄ or continuing oversight of persons or organisations subject to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules shall be allocated by Member States only to qualified entities. When allocating tasks, the competent authority shall ensure that it has:

(1) put a system in place to initially and continuously assess that the qualified entity complies with Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. This system and the results of the assessments shall be documented.

(2) established a documented agreement with the qualified entity, approved by both parties at the appropriate management level, which clearly defines: (i) the tasks to be performed; (ii) the declarations, reports and records to be provided; (iii) the technical conditions to be met in performing such tasks; (iv) the related liability coverage; and (v) the protection given to information acquired in carrying out such tasks.

(b) The competent authority shall ensure that the internal audit process and safety risk management process required by ARO.GEN.200(a)(4) covers all certification ►M4 , authorisation ◄ or continuing oversight tasks performed on its behalf.

ARO.GEN.210 Changes in the management system

(a) The competent authority shall have a system in place to identify changes that affect its capability to perform its tasks and discharge its responsibilities as defined in Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules. This system shall enable it to take action as appropriate to ensure that its management system remains adequate and effective.

(b) The competent authority shall update its management system to reflect any change to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules in a timely manner, so as to ensure effective implementation.

(c) The competent authority shall notify the Agency of changes affecting its capability to perform its tasks and discharge its responsibilities as defined in Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules.

ARO.GEN.220 Record-keeping

(a) The competent authority shall establish a system of record-keeping providing for adequate storage, accessibility and reliable traceability of:

(1) the management system’s documented policies and procedures;

(2) training, qualification and authorisation of its personnel;

(3) the allocation of tasks, covering the elements required by ARO.GEN.205 as well as the details of tasks allocated;

(4) certification processes and continuing oversight of certified organisations;

▼M4

(4a) the process of authorisation of a high risk commercial specialised operation and continuing oversight of an authorisation holder;

▼M1

(5) declaration processes and continuing oversight of declared organisations;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (6) details of training courses provided by certified organisations, and if applicable, records relating to FSTDs used for such training;

▼M4

(7) oversight of persons and organisations exercising activities within the territory of the Member State, but overseen, certified or authorised by the competent authority of another Member State or the Agency, as agreed between these authorities;

▼M5

(8) oversight of operations of other-than complex motor-powered aircraft by non-commercial operators;

▼B

►M1 ◄ (9) the evaluation and notification to the Agency of alternative means of compliance proposed by organisations subject to certification ►M4 , or authorisation ◄ and the assessment of alternative means of compliance used by the competent authority itself;

►M1 ◄ (10) findings, corrective actions and date of action closure;

►M1 ◄ (11) enforcement measures taken;

►M1 ◄ (12) safety information and follow-up measures; and

►M1 ◄ (13) the use of flexibility provisions in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008.

▼M4

(b) The competent authority shall maintain a list of all organisation certificates and specialised operations authorisations it issued as well as declarations it received.

▼B

(c) All records shall be kept for the minimum period specified in this Regulation. In the absence of such indication, records shall be kept for a minimum period of five years subject to applicable data protection law.

SECTION III

Oversight, certification and enforcement

ARO.GEN.300 Oversight

▼M1

(a) The competent authority shall verify:

▼M4

(1) compliance with the requirements applicable to organisations or type of operations prior to the issue of a certificate, approval or authorisation, as applicable;

▼M15

(2) continued compliance with the applicable requirements of organisations it has certified, specialised operations it has authorised and organisations from which it received a declaration;

▼M5

(3) continued compliance with the applicable requirements of non-commercial operators of other-than complex motor-powered aircraft; and

▼M1

(4) implementation of appropriate safety measures mandated by the competent authority as defined in ARO.GEN.135(c) and (d).

▼B

(b) This verification shall:

(1) be supported by documentation specifically intended to provide personnel responsible for safety oversight with guidance to perform their functions;

(2) provide the persons and organisations concerned with the results of safety oversight activity;

(3) be based on audits and inspections, including ramp and unannounced inspections; and

(4) provide the competent authority with the evidence needed in case further action is required, including the measures foreseen by ARO.GEN.350 and ARO.GEN.355.

(c) The scope of oversight defined in (a) and (b) shall take into account the results of past oversight activities and the safety priorities.

(d) Without prejudice to the competences of the Member States and to their obligations as set out in ARO.RAMP, the scope of the oversight of activities performed in the territory of a Member State by persons or organisations established or residing in another Member State shall be determined on the basis of the safety priorities, as well as of past oversight activities.

(e) Where the activity of a person or organisation involves more than one Member State or the Agency, the competent authority responsible for the oversight under (a) may agree to have oversight tasks performed by the competent authority(ies) of the Member State(s) where the activity takes place or by the Agency. Any person or organisation subject to such agreement shall be informed of its existence and of its scope.

(f) The competent authority shall collect and process any information deemed useful for oversight, including for ramp and unannounced inspections.

ARO.GEN.305 Oversight programme

(a) The competent authority shall establish and maintain an oversight programme covering the oversight activities required by ARO.GEN.300 and by ARO.RAMP.

(b) For organisations certified by the competent authority, the oversight programme shall be developed taking into account the specific nature of the organisation, the complexity of its activities, the results of past certification and/or oversight activities required by ARO.GEN and ARO.RAMP and shall be based on the assessment of associated risks. It shall include within each oversight planning cycle:

(1) audits and inspections, including ramp and unannounced inspections as appropriate; and

(2) meetings convened between the accountable manager and the competent authority to ensure both remain informed of significant issues.

(c) For organisations certified by the competent authority an oversight planning cycle not exceeding 24 months shall be applied.

The oversight planning cycle may be reduced if there is evidence that the safety performance of the organisation has decreased.

The oversight planning cycle may be extended to a maximum of 36 months if the competent authority has established that, during the previous 24 months:

(1) the organisation has demonstrated an effective identification of aviation safety hazards and management of associated risks;

(2) the organisation has continuously demonstrated under ORO.GEN.130 that it has full control over all changes;

(3) no level 1 findings have been issued; and

(4) all corrective actions have been implemented within the time period accepted or extended by the competent authority as defined in ARO.GEN.350(d)(2).

The oversight planning cycle may be further extended to a maximum of 48 months if, in addition to the above, the organisation has established, and the competent authority has approved, an effective continuous reporting system to the competent authority on the safety performance and regulatory compliance of the organisation itself.

▼M4

(d) For organisations declaring their activity to the competent authority, the oversight programme shall be based on the specific nature of the organisation, the complexity of its activities and the data of past oversight activities and the assessment of risks associated with the type of activity carried out. It shall include audits and inspections, including ramp and unannounced inspections, as appropriate.

▼M4

(d1) For organisations holding a specialised operations authorisation, the oversight programme shall be established in accordance with (d) and shall also take into account the past and current authorisation process and the validity period of the authorisation.

▼B

►M1 (e) ◄ For persons holding a licence, certificate, rating, or attestation issued by the competent authority the oversight programme shall include inspections, including unannounced inspections, as appropriate.

►M1 (f) ◄ The oversight programme shall include records of the dates when audits, inspections and meetings are due and when such audits, inspections and meetings have been carried out.

ARO.GEN.310 Initial certification procedure — organisations

(a) Upon receiving an application for the initial issue of a certificate for an organisation, the competent authority shall verify the organisation’s compliance with the applicable requirements. This verification may take into account the statement referred to in ORO.AOC.100(b).

(b) When satisfied that the organisation is in compliance with the applicable requirements, the competent authority shall issue the certificate(s), as established in Appendices I and II. The certificate(s) shall be issued for an unlimited duration. The privileges and scope of the activities that the organisation is approved to conduct shall be specified in the terms of approval attached to the certificate(s).

(c) To enable an organisation to implement changes without prior competent authority approval in accordance with ORO.GEN.130, the competent authority shall approve the procedure submitted by the organisation defining the scope of such changes and describing how such changes will be managed and notified.

ARO.GEN.330 Changes — organisations

(a) Upon receiving an application for a change that requires prior approval, the competent authority shall verify the organisation’s compliance with the applicable requirements before issuing the approval.

The competent authority shall prescribe the conditions under which the organisation may operate during the change, unless the competent authority determines that the organisation’s certificate needs to be suspended.

When satisfied that the organisation is in compliance with the applicable requirements, the competent authority shall approve the change.

(b) Without prejudice to any additional enforcement measures, when the organisation implements changes requiring prior approval without having received competent authority approval as defined in (a), the competent authority shall suspend, limit or revoke the organisation’s certificate.

(c) For changes not requiring prior approval, the competent authority shall assess the information provided in the notification sent by the organisation in accordance with ORO.GEN.130 to verify compliance with the applicable requirements. In case of any non-compliance, the competent authority shall:

(1) notify the organisation about the non-compliance and request further changes;

(2) in case of level 1 or level 2 findings, act in accordance with ARO.GEN.350.

▼M1

ARO.GEN.345 Declaration — organisations

▼M14

(a) Upon receiving a declaration from an organisation carrying out or intending to carry out activities for which a declaration is required, the competent authority shall verify that the declaration contains all the information required:

(1) pursuant to ORO.DEC.100 of Annex III (Part-ORO) to this Regulation;

(2) for balloon operators pursuant to BOP.ADD.100 of Annex II (Part-BOP) to Regulation (EU) 2018/395; or

(3) for sailplane operators pursuant to SAO.DEC.100 of Annex II (Part-SAO) to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1976.

After having verified the required information, the competent authority shall acknowledge receipt of the declaration to the organisation.

▼M1

(b) If the declaration does not contain the required information, or contains information that indicates non-compliance with applicable requirements, the competent authority shall notify the organisation about the non-compliance and request further information. If deemed necessary the competent authority shall carry out an inspection of the organisation. If the non-compliance is confirmed, the competent authority shall take action as defined in ARO.GEN.350.

▼B

ARO.GEN.350 Findings and corrective actions — organisations

(a) The competent authority for oversight in accordance with ARO.GEN.300(a) shall have a system to analyse findings for their safety significance.

▼M4

(b) A level 1 finding shall be issued by the competent authority when any significant non-compliance is detected with the applicable requirements of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its Implementing Rules, with the organisation’s procedures and manuals or with the terms of an approval, certificate, specialised operation authorisation or with the content of a declaration which lowers safety or seriously hazards flight safety.

▼B

The level 1 findings shall include:

▼M11

(1) failure to give the competent authority access to the facilities of the organisation in accordance with point ORO.GEN.140 of Annex III (Part-ORO) to this Regulation, or for balloons operators in accordance with points BOP.ADD.015 and BOP.ADD.035