AMC 27.1415  Ditching equipment

ED Decision 2018/007/R

This AMC replaces FAA AC 27.1415.

(a)      Explanation

(1)      Additional safety equipment is not required for all rotorcraft overwater operations. However, if such equipment is required by the applicable operating rule, the equipment supplied should satisfy this AMC.

         NOTE: Although the term ‘ditching’ is most commonly associated with the design standards related to CS 27.801 (ditching approval), a rotorcraft equipped to the less demanding requirements of CS 27.802 (emergency flotation approval), when performing an emergency landing on to water, would nevertheless be commonly described as carrying out the process of ditching. The term ‘ditching equipment’ is therefore to be considered to apply to any safety equipment required by operational rule for operation over water.

         It is a frequent practice for the rotorcraft manufacturer to provide the substantiation for only those portions of the ditching requirements relating to rotorcraft flotation and emergency exits. Completion of the ditching certification to include the safety equipment installation and stowage provisions is then left to the affected operator to arrange via a modifier so that those aspects can best be adopted to the selected cabin interior. In such cases, the ‘Limitations’ section of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM) should identify the substantiations yet to be provided in order to justify the full certification with ditching provisions. The modifier performing these final installations is then concerned directly with the details of this AMC. Any issues arising from aspects of the basic rotorcraft flotation and emergency exits certification that are not compatible with the modifier’s proposed safety equipment provisions should be resolved between the type certificate (TC) holder and the modifier prior to the certifying authority’s certification with ditching provisions (see AMC 27.801(b)(12) and AMC 27.1415(a)(2)(ii)).

(2)      Compliance with the requirements of CS 27.801 for rotorcraft ditching requires compliance with the safety equipment stowage requirements and ditching equipment requirements of CS 27.1411 and CS 27.1415, respectively.

(i)       Ditching equipment, installed to complete ditching certification, or required by the applicable operating rule, should be compatible with the basic rotorcraft configuration presented for ditching certification. It is satisfactory if the operating equipment is not incorporated at the time of the original rotorcraft type certification provided that suitable information is included in the ‘Limitations’ section of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM) to identify the extent of ditching certification not yet completed.

(ii)      When ditching equipment is being installed by a person other than the applicant who provided the rotorcraft flotation system and emergency exits, special care should be taken to avoid degrading the functioning of those items, and to make the ditching equipment compatible with them (see AMC 27.801(b)(12)).

(b)     Procedures

All ditching equipment, including life rafts, life preservers, immersion suits, emergency breathing systems etc., should be of an approved type. Life rafts should be chosen to be suitable for use in all sea conditions covered by the certification with ditching provisions.

(1)      Life rafts

(i)      Life rafts are rated during their approval according to the number of people that can be carried under normal conditions and the number that can be accommodated in an overload condition. Only the normal rating may be used in relation to the number of occupants permitted to fly in the rotorcraft.

(ii)      Where two life rafts are installed, they should deploy on opposite sides of the rotorcraft in order to minimise the probability that both will be damaged during water entry/impact, and to provide the maximum likelihood that at least one raft will be useable in any wind condition.

(iii)     Successful deployment of life raft installations should be demonstrated in representative orientations. Testing should be performed, including underwater deployment, if applicable, to demonstrate that life rafts sufficient to accommodate all rotorcraft occupants, without exceeding the rated capacity of any life raft, will deploy reliably with the rotorcraft in any reasonably foreseeable floating attitude, including capsized. It should also be substantiated that reliable deployment will not be compromised by inertial effects from the rolling/pitching/heaving of the rotorcraft in the sea conditions chosen for the demonstration of compliance with the flotation/trim requirements of CS 27.801(e), or by intermittent submerging of the stowed raft location (if applicable) and the effects of wind. This substantiation should also consider all reasonably foreseeable rotorcraft floating attitudes, including capsized. Reasonably foreseeable floating attitudes are considered to be, as a minimum, upright, with and without loss of the critical emergency flotation system (EFS) compartment, and capsized, also with and without loss of the critical EFS compartment. Consideration should also be given towards maximising, where practicable, the likelihood of life raft deployment for other cases of EFS damage.

(iv)     Rotorcraft fuselage attachments for the life raft retaining lines should be provided.

(A)     Each life raft must be equipped with two retaining lines to be used for securing the life raft to the rotorcraft. The short retaining line should be of such a length as to hold the raft at a point next to an upright floating rotorcraft such that the occupants can enter the life raft directly without entering the water. If the design of the rotorcraft is such that the flight crew cannot enter the passenger cabin, it is acceptable that they would need to take a more indirect route when boarding the life raft. After life raft boarding is completed, the short retaining line may be cut and the life raft then remain attached to the rotorcraft by means of the long retaining line.

(B)     Attachments on the rotorcraft for the retaining lines should not be susceptible to damage when the rotorcraft is subjected to the maximum water entry loads established by CS 27.563.

(C)     Attachments on the rotorcraft for the retaining lines should be structurally adequate to restrain a fully loaded life raft.

(D)     Life rafts should be attached to the rotorcraft by the required retaining lines after deployment without further action from the crew or passengers.

(E)     It should be verified that the length of the long retaining line will not result in the life raft taking up a position which could create a potential puncture risk or hazard to the occupants, such as directly under the tail boom, tail rotor or main rotor disc.

(v)      Life raft stowage provisions should be sufficient to accommodate rafts for the maximum number of occupants for which certification for ditching is requested by the applicant.

(vi)     Life raft activation

The following should be provided for each life raft:

(A)     primary activation: manual activation control(s), readily accessible to each pilot on the flight deck whilst seated;

(B)     secondary activation: manual activation control(s) accessible from the passenger cabin; if any control is located within the cabin, it should be protected from inadvertent operation; and

(C)     tertiary activation: manual activation control(s) accessible to a person in the water, with the rotorcraft in all foreseeable floating attitudes, including capsized.

It is acceptable for two or more of the above functions to be incorporated into one control.

Automatic life raft activation is not prohibited (e.g. it could be triggered by water immersion). However, if such a capability is provided, it should be in addition to the above manual activation controls, not instead of them, and issues such as inadvertent deployment in flight and the potential for damage from turning rotors during deployment on the water should be mitigated.

Placards should be installed, of appropriate size, number and location, to highlight the location of each of the above life raft activation controls. All reasonably foreseeable rotorcraft floating attitudes should be considered.

(vii)    Protection of life rafts from damage

Service experience has shown that following deployment, life rafts are susceptible to damage while in the water adjacent to the rotorcraft due to projections on the exterior of the rotorcraft such as antennas, overboard vents, unprotected split-pin tails, guttering, etc. and any projections sharper than a three-dimensional right angled corner. Projections likely to cause damage to a deployed life raft should be avoided by design, or suitably protected to minimise the likelihood of their causing damage to a deployed life raft. In general, projections on the exterior surface of the helicopter, that are located in a zone delineated by boundaries that are 1.22 m (4 ft) above and 0.61 m (2 ft) below the established static water line should be assessed. Relevant maintenance information should also provide procedures for maintaining such protection for rotorcraft equipped with life rafts. Furthermore, due account should be taken of the likely damage that may occur (e.g. disintegration of carbon-fibre panels or structure) during water entry and its potential hazard to deployed life rafts.

(2)     Life preservers.

         No provision for the stowage of life preservers is necessary if the applicable operating rule mandates the need for constant-wear life preservers.

(3)     Emergency signalling equipment.

         Emergency signalling equipment required by the applicable operating rule should be free from hazards in its operation, and operable using either bare or gloved hands. Required signalling equipment should be easily accessible to the passengers or crew and located near an emergency exit or included in the survival equipment attached to the life rafts.

[Amdt No: 27/5]