ANNEX I – Definitions

Regulation (EU) 2025/133

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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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);

(11)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(11a)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2018/1975]

(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;

(13)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(14)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(15)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(16)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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 or vertiport;

(27)‘continuous descent final approach (CDFA)’ means a technique, consistent with stabilised approach procedures, for flying the final approach segment (FAS) of an instrument nonprecision 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;

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

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

(30)‘critical phases of flight’ in the case of aeroplanes or gyroplanes 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;

(31)‘critical phases of flight’ means:

(a)for helicopters, taxiing, hovering, take-off, final approach, missed approach, landing and any other phases of flight as determined by the pilot-in-command or the commander;

(b)for VCA, ground taxiing with passengers for the purpose of flight or after landing, air taxiing, hovering, take-off, final approach, missed approach (go-around), landing and any other phase of flight as determined by the pilot-in-command;

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

(32)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2019/1387]

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

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

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

(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);

(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;

(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 3400 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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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 module which 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;

(48)‘final approach and take-off area (FATO)’ means a defined area for helicopter or VCA 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 and VCA operating in the category Enhanced or equivalent, the defined area includes the rejected take-off area available;

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

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

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

(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;

(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;

(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 operationalcontrol 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;

(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);

(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;

(c)for VCA, the total time between the moment the lift and thrust units are powered on for the purpose of taking off until the moment the aircraft finally comes to rest at the end of the flight and the lift and thrust units are powered off;

(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;

(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;

(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);

(53)‘ground emergency service personnel’ means any ground emergency service personnel, such as police officers, firefighters, etc., involved in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMSs) or in emergency medical services with VCA (VEMSs) and whose tasks are to any extent pertinent to the operation;

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

(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 goaround. It includes all the sensors, computers, power supplies, indications and controls;

(56)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(57)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2018/1975]

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

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

(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;

(61)‘HEMS flight’ means a flight by a helicopter operating under a HEMS approval, where immediate and rapid transportation is essential and the purpose of which is either of the following:

(a)to facilitate emergency medical assistance by carrying one or more of the following:

(i)medical personnel;

(ii)medical supplies (equipment, blood, organs, drugs);

(iii)ill or injured persons and other persons directly involved;

(b)to perform an operation where a person faces an imminent or anticipated health risk posed by the environment and either of the following conditions is met:

(i)that person needs to be rescued or provided with supplies;

(ii)persons, animals or equipment need to be transported to and from the HEMS operating site;

(61a)‘HEMS HEC operation’ means air and ground operations for the purpose of transporting one or more persons as human external cargo (HEC) within a HEMS flight;

(62)‘HEMS operating base’ means an aerodrome at which the crew members and the HEMS helicopter may be on standby for HEMS operations;

(63)‘HEMS operating site’ means a site that is selected by the commander during a HEMS flight for a HEMS HEC operation or a landing or a take-off;

(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;

(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;

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

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

(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;

(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 rotorcraft occupants or VCA 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;

(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;

(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 instructors which gives a score (or scores) of how much homogeneity, or consensus, there is in the ratings given by instructors (raters);

(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;

(70)‘landing decision point (LDP)’ means:

(a)for helicopters, the point used to determine landing performance from which, an engine failure having been recognised at this point, the landing may be safely continued or a balked landing initiated;

(b)for VCA, the point used to determine landing performance from which the landing may be safely continued or a balked landing initiated, following a CFP;

(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;

(71)‘landing distance available’ means:

(a)for aeroplanes (LDAA), 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;

(b)for helicopters (LDAH), the length of the FATO plus any additional area declared available by the State of the aerodrome and suitable for the helicopter to complete the landing manoeuvre from a defined height; and

(c)for VCA (LDAV), the length of the FATO plus any additional area declared available and suitable for the VCA to complete the landing manoeuvre from a defined height;

(71a)‘landing distance required (LDR)’ means:

(a)for helicopters (LDRH), the horizontal distance required to land and come to a full stop from a point of 15 m (50 ft) above the landing surface; and

(b)for VCA (LDRV), the horizontal distance required to land and come to a full stop from a point of 15 m (50 ft) above the landing surface;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(76)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;’

(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;

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

(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;

(82)‘non-hostile environment’ means an environment in which:

(a)a safe forced landing can be accomplished;

(b)the rotorcraft occupants or the VCA 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;

(83)[deleted with Reg. (EU) 2021/2237]

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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 Council³⁸ or Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council³⁹;

(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;

(96)‘pilot-in-command (PIC)’ 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 with aeroplanes and helicopters, the ‘pilot-in-command’ shall be termed ‘commander’;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

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

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

(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;

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

(102)‘rejected take-off distance available (RTODA)’ means:

(a)for helicopters (RTODAH), 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; or

(b)for VCA (RTODAV), the length of the final approach and take-off area declared available and suitable for VCA to complete a rejected take-off in accordance with the category in which they are operated;

(103)‘rejected take-off distance required (RTODR)’ means:

(a)for helicopters (RTODRH), 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;

(b)for VCA (RTODRV), the horizontal distance required from the start of the take-off to the point where the VCA comes to a full stop by completing a rejected take-off following a CFP being recognised at the take-off decision point;

(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;

(103b)‘rules of the air’ means the rules established in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012⁴⁰;

(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;

(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;

(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 or at an adequate vertiport or diversion location with no less than the final reserve fuel/energy remaining and in compliance with the applicable operational procedures and aerodrome operating minima;

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(111)‘take-off decision point (TDP)’ means:

(a)for helicopters, the point used to determine 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;

(b)for VCA, the first point defined by the combination of speed and height from which a continued take-off may be performed meeting the certified minimum performance (CMP) following a CFP and is the last point in the take-off path from which a rejected take-off is assured;

(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;

(113)‘take-off distance available (TODA)’ means:

(a)for helicopters (TODAH), the length of the final approach and take-off area plus, if provided, the length of the helicopter clearway declared available and suitable for the helicopter to complete the take-off;

(b)for VCA (TODAV), the length of the final approach and take-off area plus, if provided, the length of the clearway declared available and suitable for the VCA to complete the takeoff;

(114)‘take-off distance required (TODR)’ means:

(a)for helicopters (TODRH), the horizontal distance required from the start of the take-off to the point at which the take-off safety speed (VTOSS), the 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;

(b)for VCA (TODRV), the horizontal distance required from the start of the take-off to the point at which the safe obstacle clearance and a positive climb gradient are achieved, following a critical failure for performance (CFP) recognised at the TDP;

(115)‘take-off flight path’ means:

(a)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;

(b)for VCA, the vertical and horizontal path with a critical failure for performance (CFP), which extends from the take-off point to a point at which the VCA is at a height above the take-off elevation that is compatible with the en-route profile and not higher than 305 m (1 000 ft);

(116)‘take-off mass’ means the mass including everything and everyone carried on board at the commencement of the take-off for helicopters or for VCA, and during take-off run for aeroplanes;’

(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;

(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;

(118)‘technical crew member’ means a crew member in commercial air transport HEMS, VEMS, 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, VEMS, HHO or NVIS operations, which may require the operation of specialised on-board equipment;

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

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

(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;

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

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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.

(129)‘complex motor-powered aircraft’ shall mean:

(a)an aeroplane:

——with a maximum certificated take-off mass exceeding 5 700 kg, or

——certificated for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than nineteen, or

——certificated for operation with a minimum crew of at least two pilots, or

——equipped with (a) turbojet engine(s) or more than one turboprop engine, or

(b)a helicopter certificated:

(i)for a maximum take-off mass exceeding 3 175 kg, or

(ii)for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than nine, or

(iii)for operation with a minimum crew of at least two pilots, or

(c)a tilt rotor aircraft;

(130)‘ground movement’ means the movement of an aircraft on the movement area of an aerodrome or a vertiport with the aid of external equipment or accessory that is not powered by the aircraft;

[introduced by Regulation (EU) 2024/1111]

(130)‘ground supervision’ means a ground handling service consisting of activities related to the supervision of all ground handling services to an operator at an aerodrome. This service may be contracted to a ground handling organisation or performed by the aircraft operator itself, as self-handling;

[applicable from 27 March 2028 — Regulation (EU) 2025/24]

(131)‘ground personnel’ means the personnel other than flight crew members or technical crew members that are assigned to tasks related to the ground movement of the VCA or any other ground assistance provided to aircraft, and have received training in the relevant operational and safety procedures;

[introduced by Regulation (EU) 2024/1111]

(131)‘load control’ means a process under the responsibility of the aircraft operator, to ensure that the aircraft is safely and efficiently loaded before each flight;

[applicable from 27 March 2028 — Regulation (EU) 2025/24]

(132)‘category Enhanced’ means a category for VCA certification and operation according to which the aircraft meets the requirements for continued safe flight and landing following a critical failure for performance (CFP);

(133)‘certified minimum performance (CMP)’ means, in relation to VCA, the set of performance data obtained by considering the effect of single failures and combinations of failures that are not extremely improbable on nominal performance parameters;

(134)‘continued safe flight and landing (CSFL)’ means, in relation to a VCA operated in the category Enhanced, that the aircraft is capable of continued controlled flight and landing at a vertiport, possibly using emergency procedures, without requiring exceptional piloting skills or strength;

(135)‘critical failure for performance (CFP)’ means, in relation to VCA, a failure or a combination of failures that results in the maximum degradation for a given flight phase and performance parameter; the set of critical failures for performance is used to establish the certified minimum performance (CMP);

(136)‘limited overwater operation’ means an IAM operation with a VCA that is conducted for a limited flight time over water;

(137)‘VEMS technical crew member’ means a technical crew member (TCM) that is assigned to a VEMS flight for the purpose of assisting the pilot during the flight operation and attending to any person in need of medical assistance;

(138)‘VEMS operating base’ means a vertiport at which the VCA, its flight crew and VEMS crew members are on standby for VEMS operations;

(139)‘VEMS operating site’ means an operating site selected by the pilot-in-command for VEMS operations, landings and take-offs;

(140)‘vertiport’ means an area of land, water, or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and take-off of VCA, and for the movement of VCA;

(141)‘adequate vertiport’ means a vertiport at which the VCA may be operated, taking account of the aircraft dimensions, weight, approach and departure paths, and which is provided with services and facilities necessary for the intended operation and is available at the expected time of use;

(142)‘VTOL take-off safety speed (VTOSS)’ means the minimum speed at which climb shall be achieved with a CFP recognised at the TDP in the case of VCA operated in the category Enhanced;

(143)‘manned VCA’ means a VCA piloted by at least one pilot on board;

ED Decision 2025/023/R

DEFINITIONS FOR TERMS USED IN ACCEPTABLE MEANS OF COMPLIANCE AND GUIDANCE MATERIAL

For the purpose of Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, the following definitions should apply:

(a)‘Abnormal flight behaviour’ means, in the context of an aircraft tracking system, an event affecting a flight:

(1)which is outside of the parameters defined by the operator for normal operation or which indicates an obvious deviation from normal operation; and

(2)for which the operator has determined that it poses a risk for the safe continuation of the flight or for third parties.

(a)‘Accuracy’ means, in the context of PBN operations, the degree of conformance between the estimated, measured or desired position and/or the velocity of a platform at a given time, and its true position or velocity. Navigation performance accuracy is usually presented as a statistical measure of system error and is specified as predictable, repeatable and relative.

(b)‘Aircraft-based augmentation system (ABAS)’ means a system that augments and/or integrates the information obtained from the other GNSS elements with information available on board the aircraft. The most common form of ABAS is receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM).

(ba)‘Airport moving map display (AMMD)’ means a software application that displays an airport map on a display device and uses data from a navigation source to depict the aircraft current position on this map while the aircraft is on the ground.

(c)‘Area navigation (RNAV)’ means a method of navigation which permits aircraft operation on any desired flight path within the coverage of station-referenced navigation aids or within the limits of the capability of self-contained aids, or a combination of these.

(d)‘Availability’ means, in the context of PBN operations, an indication of the ability of the system to provide usable service within the specified coverage area and is defined as the portion of time during which the system is to be used for navigation during which reliable navigation information is presented to the crew, autopilot or other system managing the flight of the aircraft.

(e)‘Committal point’ means the point in the approach at which the pilot flying decides that, in the event of an engine failure being recognised, the safest option is to continue to the elevated final approach and take-off area (elevated FATO).

(f)‘Continuity of function’ means, in the context of PBN operations, the capability of the total system, comprising all elements necessary to maintain aircraft position within the defined airspace, to perform its function without non-scheduled interruptions during the intended operation.

(fa)‘Controlled portable electronic device (C-PED)’ means a PED subject to administrative control by the operator that uses it. This includes, inter alia, tracking the allocation of the devices to specific aircraft or persons and ensuring that no unauthorised changes are made to the hardware, software, or databases. C-PEDs can be assigned to the category of non-intentional transmitters or T-PEDs.

(fb)‘EFB installed resources’ means certified EFB hardware components external to the EFB host platform itself, such as input/output components (installed remote displays, keyboards, pointing devices, switches, etc.) or a docking station.

(fc)‘EFB mounting device’ means an aircraft certified part that secures a portable or installed EFB, or EFB system components.

(fd)‘EFB system supplier’ means the company responsible for developing, or for having developed, the EFB system or part of it.

(g)‘Emergency locator transmitter’ is a generic term describing equipment that broadcasts distinctive signals on designated frequencies for the purpose of search and rescue (SAR). The ELT may be activated by various conditions (e.g. manual activation, automatic detection of a distress situation, automatic detection of a crash impact, automatic detection of aircraft immersion into water, etc.). The ELT signals usually include signals that are intended to be detected by the international COSPAS-SARSAT programme, and homing signals that are intended to guide SAR teams to the ELT.

(h)‘Exposure time’ means the actual period during which the performance of the helicopter with the critical engine inoperative in still air does not guarantee a safe forced landing or the safe continuation of the flight.

(i)‘Fail-operational flight control system’ means a flight control system with which, in the event of a failure below alert height, the approach, flare and landing can be completed automatically. In the event of a failure, the automatic landing system will operate as a fail-passive system.

(j)‘Fail-operational hybrid landing system’ means a system that consists of a primary fail-passive automatic landing system and a secondary independent guidance system enabling the pilot to complete a landing manually after failure of the primary system.

(k)‘Fail-passive flight control system’: a flight control system is fail-passive if, in the event of a failure, there is no significant out-of-trim condition or deviation of flight path or attitude but the landing is not completed automatically. For a fail-passive automatic flight control system the pilot assumes control of the aeroplane after a failure.

(l)‘Flight control system’ in the context of low visibility operations means a system that includes an automatic landing system and/or a hybrid landing system.

(m)‘HEMS dispatch centre’ means a place where, if established, the coordination or control of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) flight takes place. It may be located in a HEMS operating base.

(n)‘Hybrid head-up display landing system (hybrid HUDLS)’ means a system that consists of a primary fail-passive automatic landing system and a secondary independent HUD/HUDLS enabling the pilot to complete a landing manually after failure of the primary system.

(na)‘Installed EFB’ means an EFB host platform installed in an aircraft, capable of hosting type A and/or type B EFB applications. It may also host certified applications. It is an aircraft part, and, is therefore, covered by the aircraft airworthiness approval.

(o)‘Integrity’ means, in the context of PBN operations, the ability of a system to provide timely warnings to users when the system should not be used for navigation.

(p)‘Landing distance available (LDAH)’ means the length of the final approach and take-off area plus any additional area declared available by the State of the aerodrome and suitable for helicopters to complete the landing manoeuvre from a defined height.

(q)‘Landing distance required (LDRH)’, in the case of helicopters, means the horizontal distance required to land and come to a full stop from a point 15 m (50 ft) above the landing surface.

(r)‘Lateral navigation’ means a method of navigation which permits aircraft operation on a horizontal plane using radio navigation signals, other positioning sources, external flight path references, or a combination of these.

(ra)‘mass’ and ‘weight’: In accordance with ICAO Annex 5 and the International System of Units (SI), both terms are used to indicate the actual and limiting masses of aircraft, the payload and its constituent elements, the fuel load, etc. These are expressed in units of mass (kg), but in most approved flight manuals and other operational documentation, these quantities are published as weights in accordance with the common language. In the ICAO standardised system of units of measurement, a weight is a force rather than a mass. Since the use of the term ‘weight’ does not cause any problem in the day-to-day handling of aircraft, its continued use in operational applications and publications is acceptable.

(s)‘Maximum structural landing mass’ means the maximum permissible total aeroplane mass upon landing under normal circumstances.

(t)‘Maximum zero fuel mass’ means the maximum permissible mass of an aeroplane with no usable fuel. The mass of the fuel contained in particular tanks should be included in the zero fuel mass when it is explicitly mentioned in the aircraft flight manual.

(ta)‘Miscellaneous (non-EFB) software applications’ means non-EFB applications that support function(s) not directly related to the tasks performed by the flight crew in the aircraft.

(u)‘Overpack’, for the purpose of transporting dangerous goods, means an enclosure used by a single shipper to contain one or more packages and to form one handling unit for convenience of handling and stowage.

(v)‘Package’, for the purpose of transporting dangerous goods, means the complete product of the packing operation consisting of the packaging and its contents prepared for transport.

(w)‘Packaging’, for the purpose of transporting dangerous goods, means receptacles and any other components or materials necessary for the receptacle to perform its containment function.

(x)‘Personal locator beacon (PLB)’ is an emergency beacon other than an ELT that broadcasts distinctive signals on designated frequencies, is standalone, portable and is manually activated by the survivors.

(xa)‘Ramp inspection tool’ means the IT application including a centralised database used by all stakeholders to store and exchange data related to ramp inspections.

(y)‘Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM)’ means a technique whereby a GNSS receiver/processor determines the integrity of the GNSS navigation signals using only GNSS signals or GNSS signals augmented with altitude. This determination is achieved by a consistency check among redundant pseudo-range measurements. At least one satellite in addition to those required for navigation has to be in view for the receiver to perform the RAIM function.

(z)‘Rotation point (RP)’ means the point at which a cyclic input is made to initiate a nose-down attitude change during the take-off flight path. It is the last point in the take-off path from which, in the event of an engine failure being recognised, a forced landing on the aerodrome can be achieved.

(za)‘Runway condition assessment matrix (RCAM)’ means a matrix that allows the assessment of the runway condition code (RWYCC), using associated procedures, from a set of observed runway surface condition(s) and pilot report of braking action.

(zaa)‘Rotorcraft’ includes helicopters, gyroplanes and tiltrotors.

(zb)‘Runway condition code (RWYCC)’ means a number, to be used in the runway condition report (RCR), that describes the effect of the runway surface condition on aeroplane deceleration performance and lateral control.

(zc)‘Runway surface condition’ means a description of the condition of the runway surface used in the RCR which establishes the basis for the determination of the RWYCC for aeroplane performance purposes.

(zd)‘Runway surface condition descriptors’ means one of the following elements on the surface of the runway:

(1)‘compacted snow’: snow that has been compacted into a solid mass such that aeroplane tyres, at operating pressures and loadings, will run on the surface without significant further compaction or rutting of the surface;

(2)‘dry snow’: snow from which a snowball cannot readily be made;

(3)‘frost’: ice crystals formed from airborne moisture on a surface whose temperature is at or below freezing; frost differs from ice in that the frost crystals grow independently and, therefore, have a more granular texture;

(4)‘ice’: water that has frozen or compacted snow that has transitioned into ice in cold and dry conditions;

(5)‘slush’: snow that is so water-saturated that water will drain from it when a handful is picked up or will splatter if stepped on forcefully;

(6)‘standing water’: water of depth greater than 3 mm;

(7)‘Wet ice’: ice with water on top of it or ice that is melting.

(8)‘wet snow’: snow that contains enough water to be able to make a well compacted, solid snowball, but water will not squeeze out.

(aaa)‘Slippery wet runway’ means a wet runway where the surface friction characteristics of a significant portion of the runway have been determined to be degraded.

(ab)‘Touch down and lift-off area (TLOF)’ means a load-bearing area on which a helicopter may touch down or lift off.

(ac)‘Transmitting PED (T-PED)’ means a portable electronic device (PED) that has intentional radio frequency (RF) transmission capabilities.

(ad)‘Vertical navigation’ means a method of navigation which permits aircraft operation on a vertical flight profile using altimetry sources, external flight path references, or a combination of these.

(ae)‘Viewable stowage’ means a non-certified device that is attached to the flight crew member (e.g. with a kneeboard) or to an existing aircraft part (e.g. using suction cups), and is intended to hold charts or to hold low-mass portable electronic devices that are viewable by the flight crew members at their assigned duty stations.