CS ACNS.E.LAD.010 Definitions

This CS contains definitions of terms that are only applicable to this Section and may differ from definitions of terms in CS ACNS.A.GEN.005 ‘Definitions’:

—         ‘accident during which the aircraft is severely damaged’ is an accident during which the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure that:

—          adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft; and

—          would normally require a major repair or replacement of the affected component,

except for an engine failure or damage to the engine, when the damage is limited to a single engine (including its cowlings or accessories), to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tyres, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes), or for minor damage to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, the landing gear, and minor damage resulting from hail or bird strike (including holes in the radome);

—         ‘activation of the system’ is the transition of the system from another state to the activated state;

—         ‘activation signals’ are signals transmitted by the system to enable determination of the location of the point of end of flight without sending mobile SAR facilities to the area of the transmitter;

—         ‘automatic activation of the system’ is activation of the system that is automatically triggered by airborne equipment;

—         ‘automatic triggering function’ is a function that is performed by airborne equipment, that monitors aircraft parameters, and that automatically activates the system when it detects conditions that are likely to result in an accident during which the aircraft is severely damaged;

—         ‘communication infrastructure’ is the network of sensors, repeaters, and stations that are used to detect activation signals and deactivation signals, to process into data the information contained in these signals, and further distribute this data to the intended recipients; this infrastructure typically includes satellites and ground stations;

—         ‘deactivation of the system’ is the transition of the system from the activated state to another state;

—         ‘deactivation signals’ are signals that are transmitted by the system to indicate its deactivation;

—         ‘distress situation’ is a situation wherein the aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and imminent danger or require immediate assistance;

—         ‘erroneous automatic activation’ is undesirable automatic activation that results from an equipment failure or from an error during the development of the equipment;

—         ‘functions of the system’ are the minimum set of functions performed by the system to comply with point CAT.GEN.MPA.210 of Annex IV (Part-CAT) to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (‘Air OPS Regulation’); they include: arming and disarming, detection of activation conditions, automatic activation and automatic deactivation, manual activation and manual deactivation, collection of the information to be transmitted, transmission of activation signals and transmission of deactivation signals, indication of activation to the flight crew, transmission of a homing signal, and means to determine the causes of undesirable automatic activation;

—         ‘homing signal’ is a signal that allows mobile SAR facilities in the vicinity of the transmitter to continuously proceed towards the transmitter;

—         ‘manual activation of the system’ is activation of the system that is manually triggered by a crew member;

—         ‘manual deactivation of the system’ is deactivation of the system that is manually triggered by a crew member;

—         ‘point of end of flight’ is, depending on the nature of the accident, the point where the aircraft crashed into land or water, or landed on land or water, or was destroyed;

—         ‘solution based on an ADFR’ is a solution using equipment that meets the requirements applicable to an automatic deployable flight recorder (ADFR), except those related to the recording and retrieval of data for accident investigation purposes;

—         ‘solution based on an ELT(DT)’ is a solution based on an automatic triggering function that is coupled with an emergency locator transmitter of a distress tracking type (ELT(DT));

—         ‘solution based on HRT’ is a solution based on an automatic triggering function that is coupled with airborne equipment other than an ELT and that frequently transmits the aircraft position and the information that an accident during which the aircraft is severely damaged is likely to occur;

—         ‘signals’ are the information that is transmitted by the system;

—         ‘survivable accident’ is an accident such that, if an automatic fixed emergency locator transmitter (ELT(AF)) were correctly installed on board the aircraft, the ELT(AF) would not be exposed to conditions exceeding the environmental test conditions applicable to an ELT(AF), specified in EUROCAE ED-62B (including Change 1), Chapter 4;

—         ‘system’ is the organised set of airborne applications and airborne equipment to comply with point CAT.GEN.MPA.210 of Annex IV (Part-CAT) to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (‘Air OPS Regulation’);

—         ‘the system is activated’ means that the system is transmitting activation signals;

—         ‘the system is armed’ means that all the functions of the system are operating or are ready to operate immediately (in particular, the detection of an accident condition and the signal transmission);

—         ‘the system is disarmed’ means that the system cannot be automatically activated but may be manually activated.

[Issue: CS-ACNS/3]