CAT.OP.MPA.192 Selection of aerodromes and operating sites – helicopters

PLANNING MINIMA AND SAFETY MARGINS FOR A DESTINATION AERODROME AND SELECTION OF ALTERNATE AERODROMES

(a)When selecting the destination aerodrome, the operator should ensure that one of the following conditions is met:

(1)for a land destination, the duration of the flight and the prevailing meteorological conditions are such that during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the aerodrome or operating site, an approach and landing is possible under VMC from the minimum safe altitude at the IAF or before;

(2)for a land destination:

(i)the available current meteorological information indicates that the following meteorological conditions at the destination aerodrome will exist from 2 hours before to 2 hours after the estimated time of arrival, or from the actual time of departure to 2 hours after the estimated time of arrival, whichever is shorter:

(A)a ceiling of at least 120 m (400 ft) above the DA/H or MDA/H of the instrument approach procedure; and

(B)visibility of at least 3 000 m;

(ii)a runway and two published instrument approaches with independent navigation aids are available at the aerodrome of intended landing; and

(iii)fuel planning is based upon the approach procedure that requires the most fuel, and 15-minute fuel is added to the trip fuel;

(3)one destination alternate aerodrome is selected, and the appropriate weather reports and/or forecasts indicate that during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the destination, the weather conditions at the destination will be at or above the applicable planning minima as follows:

(i)RVR or VIS specified in accordance with point CAT.OP.MPA.110; and

(ii)for type A instrument approach operations, ceiling at or above (M)DH;

(4)one destination alternate aerodrome is selected, and based on the meteorological information that is obtained in accordance with the procedures of the operations manual (OM), there is a reasonable probability of landing at the destination;

(5)two destination alternate aerodromes are selected; or

(6)the destination aerodrome is isolated, and the appropriate weather reports and/or forecasts indicate that during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the destination, the weather conditions at the destination will be at or above the applicable planning minima defined in Table 1.

(b)The operator should specify any alternate aerodrome(s) in the operational flight plan.

(c)If the site of intended landing is isolated and no alternate aerodrome is available, a PNR should be determined. PLANNING MINIMA FOR DESTINATION ALTERNATE AERODROMES AND ISOLATED AERODROMES

(d)The operator should select the destination alternate aerodrome(s) only if the appropriate weather reports and/or forecasts indicate that during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the aerodrome or operating site, the weather conditions will be at or above the applicable planning minima as follows:

(1)if the destination aerodrome is selected by meeting the conditions in points (a)(3) or (a)(5), the planning minima for the destination alternate aerodrome(s) and an isolated aerodrome are as shown in Table 1: Table 1 — Planning minima for a destination alternate aerodrome and an isolated aerodrome

or

(2)if the destination aerodrome is selected by meeting the condition in point (a)(4), the planning minima for the destination alternate aerodrome(s) are as shown in Table 2: Table 2 — Planning minima for a destination alternate aerodrome with a reasonable probability of landing at the destination

DETERMINATION OF THE METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR A SAFE LANDING AT THE DESTINATION

(e)To assess the probability of landing at the destination, when flying under IFR to heliports/operating sites without the meteorological information from a certified service provider, the operator should use supplemental meteorological information, or the operator should select two destination alternates. Such meteorological information is usually available at aerodromes. In Europe, the certification of service providers is based on Annex V (Part-MET) to Regulation (EU) 2017/373. In addition, all the following conditions should be met:

(1)The operator should establish a system for observing and assessing the weather, as well as for distributing meteorological information.

(2)The operator should describe in the OM the system defined in point (1).

(3)The operator should assess the weather at the destination aerodrome, and if different, also at the location of the instrument approach. The assessment should be based on the following:

(i)an appropriate weather forecast at an aerodrome where it is reasonable to expect that the local conditions are not significantly different from the conditions at the destination and the location of the instrument approach;

(ii)if the aerodrome described in point (e)(3)(i) is farther than 15 NM away from the location of the approach and the destination, the following conditions should be met:

(A)supplemental meteorological information should be available and confirm that the current weather conditions at destination and at the location of the instrument approach are expected to remain similar to the conditions at the aerodrome described in point (e)(3)(i); and

(B)low-level area forecasts should confirm that the weather is expected to remain similar at destination and at the aerodrome used for the weather assessment, at the expected time of landing; and

(iii)any risk of adverse local weather condition forecast in the low-level area forecasts and relevant to the destination and the location of the instrument approach.

(4)The following should qualify as supplemental meteorological information:

(i)a reliable, timestamped image from a serviceable digital camera of known location, bearing, and altitude, which shows the weather conditions in the approach path at destination;

(ii)a meteorological observation from a properly trained observer; and

(iii)a report from non-certified automatic weather observation systems to which the operator should apply relevant margins based on the reliability and precision of the system.

(5)The operator should establish that there is a reasonable probability of landing at the destination only if the flight time to the destination and then to the alternate aerodrome is less than 3 hours, and if according to the assessment described in point (e)(3), during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the location of the approach, the following conditions are met:

(i)the weather conditions will be at or above the planning minima for the approach; and

(ii)if the location of the approach is different from that of the destination aerodrome, the weather conditions will allow to continue the flight to the destination.

(6)Weather observations from the aerodrome described in point (e)(3)(i), or the supplemental meteorological information that is described in point (e)(4), should be available, be no more than 30 minutes old, and be used to assess approach and landing conditions in accordance with point CAT.OP.MPA.300.

(7)The weather observations or information that are described in point (e)(6) may be transmitted to the flight crew using installed equipment, a T-PED, radio communication with trained personnel, or any equivalent means.

(8)The operator should store the weather assessments established in point (e)(3) and the weather observations referred to in point (e)(6) for a period of 3 months.

(9)In case a landing at the destination is not possible due to the weather, even though it was assessed that it would be, the operator should investigate and take all necessary measures to improve future weather assessments.

PLANNING MINIMA FOR TAKE-OFF ALTERNATE AERODROMES The operator should select an aerodrome or landing site as a take-off alternate aerodrome or landing site only when the appropriate weather reports and/or forecasts indicate that during a period commencing 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at the take-off alternate aerodrome or landing site, the weather conditions will be at or above the applicable landing minima specified in accordance with point CAT.OP.MPA.110. The ceiling should be taken into account when the only available approach operations are type A. Any limitations related to OEI operations should be also taken into account.

GM1 CAT.OP.MPA.192(c)&(d) Selection of aerodromes and operating sites — helicopters

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

(a)Meteorological data conforms to ICAO Annex 3 and to Annex V (Part-MET) to Regulation (EU) 2017/373. As the following meteorological data is point specific, caution should be exercised when associating it with nearby aerodromes (or helidecks).

(b)METARs

(1)Routine and special meteorological observations at offshore installations should be made during periods and at a frequency agreed between the competent authority of the meteorological services provider and the operator concerned. They should conform to points MET.TR.200 and MET.TR.205 of Part-MET, including the desirable accuracy of observations, which is specified in GM2 MET.TR.210.

(2)Routine and selected special reports are exchanged between meteorological offices in the METAR (aerodrome routine meteorological report) or SPECI (aerodrome special meteorological report) code forms that are prescribed by the World Meteorological Organization.

(c)Aerodrome forecasts (TAFs)

(1)The aerodrome forecast consists of a concise statement of the expected meteorological conditions at an aerodrome and any significant changes expected to occur during a specified period of validity, which is usually not less than 9 hours, and not more than 30 hours. The forecast includes surface wind, visibility, weather and cloud, and expected changes of one or more of these elements during the period. Additional elements may be included as agreed between the meteorological authority and the operators concerned. Where these forecasts relate to offshore installations, barometric pressure and temperature should be included to facilitate the planning of helicopter landing and take-off performance.

(2)Aerodrome forecasts are most commonly exchanged in the TAF code form, and the detailed description of an aerodrome forecast is promulgated in point MET.TR.220 of Part-MET, together with the operationally desirable accuracy elements that are specified in GM3 MET.TR.220.

(d)Landing forecasts (TRENDS)

(1)The landing forecast consists of a concise statement that indicates any significant changes expected to occur at an aerodrome during the 2-hour period immediately following the time of the observation to which it is appended. It contains one or more of the following meteorological elements: surface wind, visibility, weather phenomena, clouds, and other significant information, such as barometric pressure and temperature, as may be agreed between the meteorological authority and the operators concerned.

(2)The detailed description of the landing forecast is promulgated in point MET.TR.225 of Part-MET, together with the operationally desirable accuracy of the forecast elements. In particular, the value of the observed cloud height and visibility elements should remain within ± 30 % of the forecast values in 90 % of the cases.

(3)Landing forecasts most commonly take the form of a TREND forecast appended to a local routine report, local special report, METAR, or SPECI.

GM2 CAT.OP.MPA.192(c)&(d) Selection of aerodromes and operating sites — helicopters SUPPLEMENTAL METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION USING DIGITAL IMAGERY

(a)One or more digital images from a digital camera may be considered as supplemental meteorological information if the following criteria are met:

(1)the camera has a known altitude, azimuth, elevation, and field of view; if pan, tilt or zoom functions are available, the image includes the elevation, azimuth, and an indication of how much the image is zoomed;

(2)the camera is robustly fixed to a solid surface and protected from deliberate or accidental interference; it is secured from the effects of wind and precipitation;

(3)the digital image contains date and timestamp information or other means to ensure that the image is up to date; and

(4)the digital image has a clearly specified update frequency.

(b)If the operator uses the digital image to assess ceiling and visibility, the operator should document the height, bearing, and distance of clearly distinguishable features, and provide a reference image taken on a clear day with negligible cloud or mist.

(c)The operator may achieve the purpose of point (b) with a selectable reference image or a selectable data layer to be superposed on the image. Any selectable reference image should clearly indicate that it is a reference image, and not a current image.

(d)If the operator uses night-time digital images, the quality of those images should remain sufficient to be compared to the reference image, and the darkness should not obscure the distinguishable features described in point (b). This may be achieved by adapting the camera to the current luminosity.

(e)If the digital image is stamped with the value of one or more weather parameters, there should be a means to ensure that each parameter is up to date and provided by a reliable and functional sensor; otherwise, that parameter should not be displayed.

(f)If the camera is exposed to local meteorological conditions such as the foehn effect, the operator should document these local conditions, or the supplemental meteorological information should only be valid in the immediate vicinity of the camera.

PBN OPERATIONS

(a)To comply with CAT.OP.MPA.192(d), when the operator intends to use PBN, the operator should either:

(1)demonstrate that the GNSS is robust against loss of capability; or

(2)select an aerodrome as a destination alternate aerodrome only if an instrument approach procedure that does not rely on a GNSS is available either at that aerodrome or at the destination aerodrome. GNSS ROBUSTNESS AGAINST LOSS OF CAPABILITY — HELICOPTERS

(b)The operator may demonstrate robustness against the loss of capability of the GNSS if all of the following criteria are met:

(1)At flight planning stage, SBAS or GBAS are expected to be available and used.

(2)The failure of a single receiver or system should not compromise the navigation capability required for the intended instrument approach.

(3)The temporary jamming of all GNSS frequencies should not compromise the navigation capability required for the intended route. The operator should establish a procedure to deal with such cases unless other sensors are available to continue on the intended route.

(4)The duration of a jamming event should be determined as follows:

(i)Considering the average speed and height of a helicopter flight, the duration of a jamming event may be considered to be less than 2 minutes.

(ii)The time needed for the GNSS system to re-start and provide the aircraft position and navigation guidance should also be considered.

(iii)Based on (i) and (ii) above, the operator should establish the duration of the loss of GNSS navigation data due to jamming. This duration should be no less than 3 minutes, and may be no longer than 4 minutes.

(5)The operator should ensure resilience to jamming for the duration determined in (4) above, as follows:

(i)If the altitude of obstacles on both sides of the flight path is higher than the planned altitude for a given segment of the flight, the operator should ensure no excessive drift on either side by relying on navigation sensors such as an inertial system with performance in accordance with the intended function.

(ii)If (i) does not apply and the operator cannot rely on sensors other than GNSS, the operator should develop a procedure to ensure that a drift from the intended route during the jamming event has no adverse consequences on the safety of the flight. This procedure may involve air traffic services.

(6)The operator should ensure that no space weather event is predicted to disrupt the GNSS reliability and integrity at both the destination and the alternate aerodrome.

(7)The operator should verify the availability of RAIM for all phases of flight based on GNSS, including navigation to the alternate aerodrome.

(8)The operator’s MEL should reflect the elements in points (b)(1) and (b)(2).

OPERATIONAL CREDITS

(c)To comply with point CAT.OP.MPA.192(d), when the operator intends to use ‘operational credits’ (e.g. EFVS, SA CAT I, etc.), the operator should select an aerodrome as destination alternate aerodrome only if an approach procedure that does not rely on the same ‘operational credit’ is available either at that aerodrome or at the destination aerodrome.

DESTINATION AND DESTINATION ALTERNATE AERODROMES — PBN OPERATIONS

(a)AMC1 CAT.OP.MPA.192(d) applies only to destination alternate aerodromes in flights that require a destination alternate aerodrome. A take-off or ERA aerodrome with instrument approach procedures that rely on a GNSS may be planned without restrictions. A destination aerodrome with all instrument approach procedures that rely solely on a GNSS may be used without a destination alternate aerodrome if the conditions for a flight without a destination alternate aerodrome are met.

(b)The term ‘available’ means that the procedure can be used in the planning stage and should comply with planning minima requirements.

GNSS ROBUSTNESS AGAINST LOSS OF CAPABILITY — HELICOPTERS

(a)Redundancy of on-board systems ensures that no single on-board equipment failure (e.g. antenna, GNSS receiver, FMS, or navigation display failure) results in the loss of the GNSS capability.

(b)Any shadowing of the GNSS signal or jamming of all GNSS frequencies from the ground is expected to be of a very short duration and affect a very small area. Additional sensors or functions, such as inertial coasting, may be used during jamming events. Jamming should be considered on all segments of the intended route, including the approach.

(c)The availability of GNSS signals can be compromised if space weather events cause ‘loss of lock’ conditions and more than one satellite signal may be lost on a given GNSS frequency. Until space weather forecasts are available, the operator may use ‘nowcasts’ as short-term predictions for helicopter flights of short durations.

(d)SBAS also contributes to the mitigation of space weather effects, by both providing integrity messages and correcting ionosphere-induced errors.

(e)Even though SBAS should be available and used, RAIM should remain available autonomously. In case of loss of SBAS, the route and the approach to the destination or alternate aerodrome should still be flown with an available RAIM function.

(f)When available, GNSS based on more than one constellation and more than one frequency may provide better integrity and redundancy regarding failures in the space segment of GNSS, jamming, and resilience to space weather events.