NCO.IDE.A.100 Instruments and equipment – general
Regulation (EU) 2019/1384
(a) Instruments and equipment required by this Subpart shall be approved in accordance with the applicable airworthiness requirements if they are:
(1) used by the flight crew to control the flight path;
(2) used to comply with NCO.IDE.A.190;
(3) used to comply with NCO.IDE.A.195; or
(4) installed in the aeroplane.
(b) The following items, when required under this Subpart, do not need an equipment approval:
(1) spare fuses;
(2) independent portable lights;
(3) an accurate time piece;
(4) first-aid kit;
(5) survival and signalling equipment;
(6) sea anchor and equipment for mooring;
(7) child restraint device;
(8) a simple PCDS used by a task specialist as a restraint device.
(c) Instruments and equipment not required under Annex VII (Part-NCO) as well as any other equipment that is not required under this Regulation, but is carried on a flight, shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) the information provided by those instruments or equipment shall not be used by the flight crew members to comply with Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 or points NCO.IDE.A.190 and NCO.IDE.A.195 of Annex VII;
(2) the instruments and equipment shall not affect the airworthiness of the aeroplane, even in the case of failures or malfunction.
(d) Instruments and equipment shall be readily operable or accessible from the station where the flight crew member that needs to use it is seated.
(e) All required emergency equipment shall be easily accessible for immediate use.
NCO.IDE.A.170 Emergency locator transmitter (ELT)
Regulation (EU) No 800/2013
(a) Aeroplanes shall be equipped with:
(1) an ELT of any type, when first issued with an individual CofA on or before 1 July 2008;
(2) an automatic ELT, when first issued with an individual CofA after 1 July 2008; or
(3) a survival ELT (ELT(S)) or a personal locator beacon (PLB), carried by a crew member or a passenger, when certified for a maximum passenger seating configuration of six or less.
(b) ELTs of any type and PLBs shall be capable of transmitting simultaneously on 121,5 MHz and 406 MHz.
TYPES OF ELTs AND GENERAL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
(a) The ELT required by this provision should be one of the following:
(1) Automatic fixed (ELT(AF)). An automatically activated ELT that is permanently attached to an aircraft and is designed to aid search and rescue (SAR) teams in locating the crash site.
(2) Automatic portable (ELT(AP)). An automatically activated ELT that is rigidly attached to an aircraft before a crash, but is readily removable from the aircraft after a crash. It functions as an ELT during the crash sequence. If the ELT does not employ an integral antenna, the aircraft-mounted antenna may be disconnected and an auxiliary antenna (stored on the ELT case) attached to the ELT. The ELT can be tethered to a survivor or a life-raft. This type of ELT is intended to aid SAR teams in locating the crash site or survivor(s).
(3) Automatic deployable (ELT(AD)). An ELT that is rigidly attached to the aircraft before the crash and that is automatically deployed and activated by an impact, and, in some cases, also by water sensors. This type of ELT should float in water and is intended to aid SAR teams in locating the crash site. The ELT(AD) may be either a stand-alone beacon or an inseparable part of a deployable recorder.
(4) Survival ELT (ELT(S)). An ELT that is removable from an aircraft, stowed so as to facilitate its ready use in an emergency and manually activated by a survivor. An ELT(S) may be activated manually or automatically (e.g. by water activation). It should be designed either to be tethered to a life-raft or a survivor. A water-activated ELT(S) is not an ELT(AP).
(b) To minimise the possibility of damage in the event of crash impact, the automatic ELT should be rigidly fixed to the aircraft structure, as far aft as is practicable, with its antenna and connections arranged so as to maximise the probability of the signal being transmitted after a crash.
(c) Any ELT carried should operate in accordance with the relevant provisions of ICAO Annex 10, Volume III, and should be registered with the national agency responsible for initiating search and rescue or other nominated agency.
NCO.IDE.A.175 Flight over water
Regulation (EU) No 800/2013
(a) The following aeroplanes shall be equipped with a life-jacket for each person on board, or equivalent individual floatation device for each person on board younger than 24 months, that shall be worn or stowed in a position that is readily accessible from the seat or berth of the person for whose use it is provided:
(1) single-engined landplanes when:
(i) flying over water beyond gliding distance from land; or
(ii) taking off or landing at an aerodrome or operating site where, in the opinion of the pilot-in-command, the take-off or approach path is so disposed over water that there would be a likelihood of a ditching;
(2) seaplanes operated over water; and
(3) aeroplanes operated at a distance away from land where an emergency landing is possible greater than that corresponding to 30 minutes at normal cruising speed or 50 NM, whichever is less.
(b) Seaplanes operated over water shall be equipped with:
(1) one anchor;
(2) one sea anchor (drogue), when necessary to assist in manoeuvring; and
(3) equipment for making the sound signals, as prescribed in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, where applicable.
(c) The pilot-in-command of an aeroplane operated at a distance away from land where an emergency landing is possible greater than that corresponding to 30 minutes at normal cruising speed or 50 NM, whichever is the lesser, shall determine the risks to survival of the occupants of the aeroplane in the event of a ditching, based on which he/she shall determine the carriage of:
(1) equipment for making the distress signals;
(2) life-rafts in sufficient numbers to carry all persons on board, stowed so as to facilitate their ready use in emergency; and
(3) life-saving equipment, to provide the means of sustaining life, as appropriate to the flight to be undertaken.
NCO.IDE.A.180 Survival equipment
Regulation (EU) No 800/2013
Aeroplanes operated over areas in which search and rescue would be especially difficult shall be equipped with such signalling devices and life-saving equipment, including means of sustaining life, as may be appropriate to the area overflown.
GENERAL
(a) Aeroplanes operated across land areas in which search and rescue would be especially difficult should be equipped with the following:
(1) signalling equipment to make the distress signals;
(2) at least one ELT(S) or a PLB, carried by the pilot-in-command or a passenger; and
(3) additional survival equipment for the route to be flown, taking account of the number of persons on board.
(b) The additional survival equipment specified in (a)(3) does not need to be carried when the aeroplane remains within a distance from an area where search and rescue is not especially difficult, that corresponds to:
(1) 120 minutes at one-engine-inoperative (OEI) cruising speed for aeroplanes capable of continuing the flight to an aerodrome with the critical engine(s) becoming inoperative at any point along the route or planned diversion routes; or
(2) 30 minutes at cruising speed for all other aeroplanes.
ADDITIONAL SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT
(a) The following additional survival equipment should be carried when required:
(1) 500 ml of water for each four, or fraction of four, persons on board;
(2) one knife;
(3) first-aid equipment; and
(4) one set of air/ground codes.
(b) If any item of equipment contained in the above list is already carried on board the aeroplane in accordance with another requirement, there is no need for this to be duplicated.
SIGNALLING EQUIPMENT
The signalling equipment for making distress signals is described in ICAO Annex 2, Rules of the Air.
AREAS IN WHICH SEARCH AND RESCUE WOULD BE ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT
The expression ‘areas in which search and rescue would be especially difficult’ should be interpreted, in this context, as meaning:
(a) areas so designated by the competent authority responsible for managing search and rescue; or
(b) areas that are largely uninhabited and where:
(1) the authority referred to in (a) has not published any information to confirm whether search and rescue would be or would not be especially difficult; and
(2) the authority referred to in (a) does not, as a matter of policy, designate areas as being especially difficult for search and rescue.