Stage: Final Publications

Regulatory Agency Final Publications

FAA Order_1240.16 FAA Participation in ICAO Panels and Technical Groups

. This order establishes the policy on Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) participation in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) panels and technical
groups. It provides procedures and guidance regarding the nomination and selection of U.S.
Members and advisors from the FAA as well as their overall roles and responsibilities. This
order supports an integrated cross-FAA approach to international engagement in accordance with
the FAA’s international governance structure

FAA AC_150_5390_2D_Heliports

This advisory circular (AC) provides standards for the planning, design and
construction of heliports serving helicopters with single, tandem (front and rear) or dual
(side by side) rotors.

FAA Order 8000_377 Flight Standards Safety Management System (FSSMS) Requirements

This order defines the requirements to be met by Flight Standards (FS) organizations in support
of the Aviation Safety Safety Management System (AVSSMS). The focus of this order is
aviation safety. It does not address occupational safety, health, or personnel safety issues, unless
those issues affect aviation safety. Each FS functional organization plays a role in the FSSMS.
Functional offices’ processes must ensure full conformance and alignment with this order. This
order enables FS to continue its proactive approach to improving safety performance through its
requirement to:
• Maintain organizations capable of overseeing aviation safety;
• Identify hazards that can impact the safety of the aerospace system and establish
controls/mitigations to reduce safety risk in a prioritized manner;
• Identify and manage FS-system-level organizational risk(s) that pose effects of
uncertainty on the achievement of objectives; and
• Track identified hazards to ensure that risk remains known and acceptable.

FAA AC_120-102B Incorporation of Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems Instructions for Continued Airworthiness into an Operator’s Maintenance Program

This AC provides guidance for Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 121 certificate holders (CH) and part 129 operators (part 129, § 129.14) of U.S.-registered airplanes (hereafter both are referred to as “operators”) regarding electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) requirements for compliance with the Enhanced Airworthiness Program for Airplane Systems/Fuel Tank Safety (EAPAS/FTS) Rule.

Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Parts I and VI – Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder): SOR/2019-130

Objectives

The objectives of the regulatory amendments and associated standards are

  • to enhance the time period capture of CVR information, by extending the recording time from 30 minutes to 2 hours for those aircraft manufactured before 2003;
  • to ensure the continued function of the CVR system in the case of a total aircraft power failure by requiring the use of a RIPS that will last for a 10-minute period for those aircraft manufactured after 2002 and already required to have a 2-hour CVR;
  • to fully implement the ICAO standards with respect to CVR and to align the CARs with the U.S. FAA standards in Title 14 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. The amendments will capture all Canadian in-service aeroplanes over 5 700 kg and transport helicopters over 7 000 kg; and
  • to clarify that a CVR is required anytime a multi-engine turbine powered aircraft capable of carrying six passengers or more is operated by two pilots.

The changes will be applicable to aircraft currently in operations. These aircraft will be required to be retrofitted if not already compliant, so they have updated CVR recording duration and a 10-minute RIPS. The operators impacted by the amendments operate aircraft as summarized in the following table.

Size, Engine Type and Number of Passengers

Cut-in Date

Current Requirement

New Requirement
Turbine-powered aeroplanes over 27 000 kg Type certificated after September 30, 1969, and manufactured before January 1, 1987 30-minute CVR Two-hour CVR
10-minute RIPS
All aeroplanes over 5 700 kg Manufactured after 1987, but before 2003 30-minute CVR Two-hour CVR
10-minute RIPS
All aeroplanes over 5 700 kg Manufactured after 2002 2-hour CVR No
RIPSfootnote2		 No change to CVR
10-minute RIPS
Helicopters over 7 000 kg Manufactured after 2002 2-hour CVR No
RIPSfootnote2		 No change to CVR
10-minute RIPS

[…]

The costs are estimated at $27.1 million present value (PV) over a 10-year period with an annualized value of $3.8 million (approximately, based on a 7% discount rate, over 10 years). These costs are based on the implementation for the 996 affected aircraft over a 4-year period (249 per year over the 4 years). Therefore, the total industry costs in the first 4 years of implementation will be approximately $7.5 million per year.

[…]

Transport Canada believes that a 4-year implementation time frame is acceptable given it is assumed that within 4 years other maintenance work will also likely be done on the applicable aircraft at which time a CVR could be installed and that the FAA has already set a precedent of 4 years. Moreover, the cost of a CVR and installation is a fraction of the cost compared to maintaining the aircraft over its lifecycle. Depending on the model of the aircraft, some engine overhauls can cost $250,000 to $2.1 million.

ED Decision 2022/022/R AMC and GM to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/664 — Issue 1

The objective of Decisions 2022/022/R, 2022/023/R and 2022/024/R is to maintain a high level of safety for unmanned and manned aircraft operations in the U-space airspace.
The Decisions propose acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) to the U-space regulatory package (i.e. Commission Implementing Regulations (EU) 2021/664, 2021/665 and 2021/666).
Due to the novelty of the subject, it is important to provide the necessary means for the implementation of the above-mentioned Regulations as regards:

  • the concept of the U-space airspace and its management by the Member States in terms of risk assessment and responsibilities;
  • the dynamic reconfiguration of the U-space airspace, when applied;
  • the operational functioning of the common information service and the certification process for both the providers of this service and the U-space service providers (USSPs);
  • the set of performance requirements to be determined for the different U-space services;
  • the exchange of all data and available information among the participants of the U-space airspace;
  • the definition of relevant standard(s) for the connection to the common information service provider(s) to ensure interoperability and uniform implementation across the EU;
  • detailed procedures for the flight authorisation service;
  • the acceptable means for manned aircraft to be conspicuous when entering the U-space airspace in uncontrolled airspace;
  • the expected coordination with local authorities, the security aspects to be covered in a specific U-space airspace, and the authorities’ oversight programme as well as any other task related to the management of the U-space airspace under their responsibility.

The Decisions are expected to help in maintaining safety as regards operations of unmanned and manned aircraft in the U-space airspace and improve harmonisation among the Member States as regards the provision of U-space services.