Stage: Final Publications

Regulatory Agency Final Publications

FAA Notice N8900.529 Extended Unmanned Aircraft Systems Oversight

This notice outlines updated Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
surveillance requirements for Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) to immediately
incorporate into their Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Work Program Guidelines (NPG) work
plans. It also provides guidance for doing the necessary analysis and coordination that either
trigger the requirements or help target the required activity

New Date: January 1, 2025 for CofA after January 1 2024 — ICAO and EASA Autonomous Distress Tracking for Aeroplanes above 27,000 kg (Required) and New above 5,700 kg (Recommended)

NOTE: The compliance date for the ADT requirement was extended at ICAO and also EASA.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) released Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2022-104, Postponement of the requirements for locating an aircraft in distress, to its advisory bodies for consultation earlier today. The NPA is being issued for a limited consultation with the agency’s advisory bodies until 24 August 2022. The EASA NPA is being issued in response to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adoption of Amendment 48 to ICAO Annex 6, Part I, on July 18. GAMA is a member of EASA’s advisory bodies and welcomes feedback from member companies by Friday, August 19.

The proposed amendment would replace Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, specifically CAT.GET.MPA.210, Location of an aircraft in distress – Aeroplanes, with the following text:

As of 1 January 2025, the following aeroplanes shall be equipped with robust and automatic means to accurately determine, following an accident during which the aeroplane is severely damaged, the location of the point of end of flight:

(a) all aeroplanes with an MCTOM of more than 27 000 kg, with an MOPSC of more than 19, and first issued with an individual CofA on or after 1 January 2024; and

(b) all aeroplanes with an MCTOM of more than 45 500 kg and first issued with an individual CofA on or after 1 January 2025.

The associated amendment to the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) adopted earlier this summer changed Section 6.18 of ICAO Annex 6 (Operation of Aircraft) Part I (International Commercial Air Transport – Aeroplanes) from an applicability to aeroplanes with an MCTOM of 27 000 kg with an individual certificate issued on or after 1 January 2023 to the following Standard:

6.18.1 As of 1 January 2025, all aeroplanes of a maximum certificated take-off mass of over 27 000 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued on or after 1 January 2024, shall autonomously transmit information from which a position can be determined by the operator at least once every minute, when in distress, in accordance with Appendix 9.

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NOTE: The compliance date for the GADDS requirement was extended by two years from January 1, 2021 until January 1, 2023

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Update on GADSS-Related Global Aircraft Tracking Initiatives
​March 2016

Normal Aircraft Tracking
On 10 November 2015, the ICAO Council adopted Amendment 39 to Annex 6 — Operation of Aircraft, Part I — International Commercial Air Transport — Aeroplanes which included the normal aircraft tracking Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). These SARPs became effective on 20 March 2016 and will be applicable on 8 November 2018. Amendment 39 will be issued in April 2016.

The normal aircraft tracking SARPs establish the air operator’s responsibility to track its aircraft throughout its area of operations. It establishes an aircraft-tracking time interval of 15 minutes whenever air traffic services obtain an aircraft’s position information at greater than 15-minute intervals for aeroplanes with a seating capacity greater than nineteen. This aircraft-tracking time interval further applies as a recommendation to all operations of aircraft with a take-off mass of 27 000 kg and as a requirement to all operations of aircraft with a take-off mass of 45 500 kg when flying over oceanic areas.

The SARPs also establish the requirements for data retention to assist search and rescue (SAR) in determining the last known position of the aircraft. Finally, the SARPs establish when an air operator needs to report missing aircraft position information.

Location of an aeroplane in distress (ADT – Autonomous Distress Tracking)

On 2 March 2016, the ICAO Council adopted Amendment 40 to Annex 6, Part I which included, among other elements, SARPs relating to the location of an aeroplane in distress. These SARPs address the Global Aeronautical Distress Safety System (GADSS) autonomous distress tracking (ADT) concept. The SARPs will become effective on 11 July 2016 and will be applicable on 1 January 2021. Amendment 40 will be issued in July 2016.

The SARPs relating to the location of an aeroplane in distress establish the requirement for an aeroplane to autonomously transmit information from which a position can be determined at least once every minute when in a distress condition. An aircraft is in a distress condition when it is in a state that, if the aircraft behaviour event is left uncorrected, could result in an accident. The SARPs are applicable to new aeroplanes with take-off mass greater than 27 000 kg from 1 January 2021. The requirement also recommends that it applies to new aeroplanes with take-off mass greater than 5 700 kg from the same date.

The SARPs specify that autonomous transmission of position information needs to be active when an aircraft is in a distress condition. This will provide a high probability of locating an accident site to within a 6 NM radius. It also specifies that the transmission can be activated manually. The SARP is not technology-specific and will allow for various solutions, including a triggered transmission system. It specifies performance criteria such as that the autonomous transmission of position information needs to be capable of transmitting the information in the event of aircraft electrical power loss, at least for the expected duration of the entire flight.

The SARP also establishes the requirements for making this information available to the relevant authorities such as SAR Regional Coordination Centers and air traffic services. Finally, although these SARPs apply only to newly manufactured aircraft, there is an incentive to retrofit aeroplanes with ADT systems since they can replace one of two required emergency locator transmitters (ELT).

Ongoing work
The above-mentioned adopted SARPs (Amendments 39 and 40) provide clarity on the information that will be available when they become applicable. ICAO is now working on reviewing procedures for air navigation services (PANS), and possibly other Annexes, to ensure that the flow of information is well established by the time these new systems come online.

These SARPs will be available in the ICAO online store at http://store1.icao.int​ on the above mentioned issuance dates.

EASA CS-FSTD Issue 2 – Delay in Compliance to April 20 – 2020

Dear FS.TEC Members,

From 20 December 2019, certain recurrent training elements, in particular the UPRT related dynamic upset, high altitude stall events and icing effects training in an FSTD (FFS), need to be delivered on an FSTD updated to the relevant CS-FSTD(A) issue 2 specifications and referenced in the FSTD qualification certificate accordingly. However, after a written consultation to the Aircrew and Air Ops TeB made on 4th October 2019, it became clear that a large number of FSTDs have not yet been updated. Despite EASA’s efforts to support the implementation of the new requirements, many FSTDs operators appear to be late in the process and the unavailability of devices updated in time for the December deadline will adversely impact the delivery of mandatory UPRT training elements, with a risk to operational continuity. Those elements amount to approx. 15% of the total UPRT training footprint. The Agency remains convinced of the safety importance of UPRT but it is also forced to take note of the reduced implementation rate and the operational consequences thereof and would like to propose a pragmatic solution.

After carefully evaluating the situation, EASA informed the NAAs last Friday about a proposal to:
· Postpone until 20 April 2020 the requirement for FSTDs to be updated against CS-FSTD(A) issue 2 specifications as explained above; and
· Amend and clarify the Air Operations regulatory framework by introducing the CS-FSTD(A) issue 2 requirement in ORO.FC at AMC level.

EASA will now consult the relevant EASA advisory bodies in the coming weeks with a view to publish an ED Decision shortly before the December 2019 deadline.

Note that the requirement to use an FSTD qualified in accordance with the relevant CS FSTD (A) issue 2 specifications for will still be applicable to Part-FCL type rating trainings starting from 20th December 2019. For these cases, NAAs will need to rely on training limitations and/or exemptions on the ATO training courses on a case-by-case basis.

Best regards,

Olga Rando
Aircrew & Medical Coordination Assistant
European Aviation Safety Agency

Tel.: +49 221 89990-4340
Postal: Postfach 10 12 53, 50452 Cologne, Germany
An agency of the European Union

Opinion 05/2019 Standard scenarios for UAS operations in the ‘specific’ category

The objective of this Opinion is to provide cost-efficient rules for low-risk unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in the ‘specific’ category.

This Opinion proposes the addition of two standard scenarios (STSs) in Appendix 1 to the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, defining the conditions when UAS operators can start an operation after having submitted a declaration to the competent authority. Moreover, the Opinion proposes the introduction of two new Parts in the Annex to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945, including the technical requirements that UAS need to meet in order to be operated in the STSs, and establishing two new UAS classes — classes C5 and C6. The conditions to conduct the STSs are based on the in-service experience of some Member States (MSs) and they have been validated through the application of the specific operations risk assessment (SORA).

The proposed changes are expected to increase the cost-effectiveness for UAS operators, manufacturers and competent authorities, and to improve the harmonisation of UAS operations in the MSs.

ED Decision 2019/023/R AMC to Annex I (Part ATCO) to Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340 — Update of the air traffic controllers’ initial training content

The objective of this Decision is to maintain a high and uniform level of safety by providing a set of harmonised
measures for the initial training of air traffic controllers (ATCOs). This will be achieved through continued
alignment of the qualification scheme for ATCOs with the evolution of the regulatory framework, the state of
the art and the recognised best practices in aviation.
This Decision proposes an update of the training objectives in the ATCO basic and rating training syllabi in order
to ensure maintenance and improvement of the harmonised initial training content by aligning it with EU
regulations and ICAO provisions. Most of the amendments are of editorial nature and updates of regulatory
references.
More precisely, this Decision proposes amendments to the set of the acceptable means of compliance (AMC)
to Annex I (Part ATCO) to Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340. It will facilitate the ATCO training organisations
to align the training content with EU regulations that have been published after the first issue of the AMC in
2015.