GM1 Annex I Definitions

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.