CAT.GEN.MPA.200 Transport of dangerous goods

CHANGES TO THE LOADING POSITION OF DANGEROUS GOODS If a change to the loading position of dangerous goods is necessary, it should be made in accordance with the operator’s instructions and segregation of dangerous goods should be ensured in accordance with the Technical Instructions. The NOTOC should be amended and given to the commander before departure. The commander should confirm that the amendment has been received. A copy of this information should be kept on the ground and be accessible to the operational control personnel responsible for flight operations until after the arrival of the flight. [applicable from 27 March 2028 — ED Decision 2025/008/R]

GENERAL

(a)The requirement to transport dangerous goods by air in accordance with the Technical Instructions is irrespective of whether:

(1)the flight is wholly or partly within or wholly outside the territory of a State; or

(2)an approval to carry dangerous goods in accordance with Annex V (Part-SPA), Subpart G is held.

(b)The Technical Instructions provide that in certain circumstances dangerous goods, which are normally forbidden on an aircraft, may be carried. These circumstances include cases of extreme urgency or when other forms of transport are inappropriate or when full compliance with the prescribed requirements is contrary to the public interest. In these circumstances, all the States concerned may grant exemptions from the provisions of the Technical Instructions provided that an overall level of safety which is at least equivalent to that provided by the Technical Instructions is achieved. Although exemptions are most likely to be granted for the carriage of dangerous goods that are not permitted in normal circumstances, they may also be granted in other circumstances, such as when the packaging to be used is not provided for by the appropriate packing method or the quantity in the packaging is greater than that permitted. The Technical Instructions also make provision for some dangerous goods to be carried when an approval has been granted only by the State of origin and the State of the operator.

(c)When an exemption is required, the States concerned are those of origin, transit, overflight and destination of the consignment and that of the operator. For the State of overflight, if none of the criteria for granting an exemption are relevant, an exemption may be granted based solely on whether it is believed that an equivalent level of safety in air transport has been achieved.

(d)The Technical Instructions provide that exemptions and approvals are granted by the ‘appropriate national authority’, which is intended to be the authority responsible for the particular aspect against which the exemption or approval is being sought. The Instructions do not specify who should seek exemptions and, depending on the legislation of the particular State, this may mean the operator, the shipper or an agent. If an exemption or approval has been granted to other than the operator, the operator should ensure a copy has been obtained before the relevant flight. The operator should ensure all relevant conditions on an exemption or approval are met.

(e)The exemption or approval referred to in (b) to (d) is in addition to the approval required by Annex V (Part SPA), Subpart G.

DANGEROUS GOODS ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING

(a)Any type of dangerous goods accident or incident, or the finding of undeclared or misdeclared dangerous goods should be reported, irrespective of whether the dangerous goods are contained in cargo, mail, passengers’ baggage or crew baggage. For the purposes of the reporting of undeclared and misdeclared dangerous goods found in cargo, the Technical Instructions considers this to include items of operators’ stores that are classified as dangerous goods.

(b)The first report should be dispatched within 72 hours of the event. It may be sent by any means, including e-mail, telephone or fax. This report should include the details that are known at that time, under the headings identified in (c). If necessary, a subsequent report should be made as soon as possible giving all the details that were not known at the time the first report was sent. If a report has been made verbally, written confirmation should be sent as soon as possible.

(c)The first and any subsequent report should be as precise as possible and should contain the following data, where relevant:

(1)date of the incident or accident or the finding of undeclared or misdeclared dangerous goods;

(2)location, the flight number and flight date;

(3)description of the goods and the reference number of the air waybill, pouch, baggage tag, ticket, etc.;

(4)proper shipping name (including the technical name, if appropriate) and UN/ID number, when known;

(5)class or division and any subsidiary risk;

(6)type of packaging, and the packaging specification marking on it;

(7)quantity;

(8)name and address of the shipper, passenger, etc.;

(9)any other relevant details;

(10)suspected cause of the incident or accident;

(11)action taken;

(12)any other reporting action taken; and

(13)name, title, address and telephone number of the person making the report.

(d)Copies of relevant documents and any photographs taken should be attached to the report.

(e)A dangerous goods accident or incident may also constitute an aircraft accident, serious incident or incident. Reports should be made for both types of occurrences when the criteria for each are met.

(f)The following dangerous goods reporting form should be used, but other forms, including electronic transfer of data, may be used provided that at least the minimum information of this AMC is supplied:

Notes for completion of the form:

1.A dangerous goods accident is as defined in Annex I. For this purpose, serious injury is as defined in Regulation (EU) No 996/2010.

2.This form should also be used to report any occasion when undeclared or misdeclared dangerous goods are discovered in cargo, mail or unaccompanied baggage or when accompanied baggage contains dangerous goods which passengers or crew are not permitted to take on aircraft.

3.The initial report should be dispatched unless exceptional circumstances prevent this. This occurrence report form, duly completed, should be sent as soon as possible, even if all the information is not available.

4.Copies of all relevant documents and any photographs taken should be attached to this report.

5.Any further information, or any information not included in the initial report, should be sent as soon as possible to the authorities identified in CAT.GEN.MPA.200(e).

6.Providing it is safe to do so, all dangerous goods, packaging, documents, etc., relating to the occurrence should be retained until after the initial report has been sent to the authorities identified in CAT.GEN.MPA.200(e) and they have indicated whether or not these should continue to be retained.