CAT.IDE.A.285 Flight over water

(a)The following aeroplanes shall be equipped with a life-jacket for each person on board or equivalent flotation device for each person on board younger than 24 months, stowed in a position that is readily accessible from the seat or berth of the person for whose use it is provided:

(1)landplanes operated over water at a distance of more than 50 NM from the shore or taking off or landing at an aerodrome where the take-off or approach path is so disposed over water that there would be a likelihood of a ditching; and

(2)seaplanes operated over water.

(b)Each life-jacket or equivalent individual flotation device shall be equipped with a means of electric illumination for the purpose of facilitating the location of persons.

(c)Seaplanes operated over water shall be equipped with the following:

(1)a sea anchor and other equipment necessary to facilitate mooring, anchoring or manoeuvring the seaplane on water, appropriate to its size, mass and handling characteristics;

(2)equipment for making the sound signals as prescribed in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, where applicable.

(d)Aeroplanes operated over water at a distance away from land suitable for making an emergency landing, greater than that corresponding to:

(1)120 minutes at cruising speed or 400 NM, whichever is the lesser, in the case of aeroplanes capable of continuing the flight to an aerodrome with the critical engine(s) becoming inoperative at any point along the route or planned diversions; or

(2)for all other aeroplanes, 30 minutes at cruising speed or 100 NM, whichever is the lesser, shall be equipped with the equipment specified in (e).

(e)Aeroplanes complying with (d) shall carry the following equipment:

(1)life-rafts in sufficient numbers to carry all persons on board, stowed so as to facilitate their ready use in an emergency, and being of sufficient size to accommodate all the survivors in the event of a loss of one raft of the largest rated capacity;

(2)a survivor locator light in each life-raft;

(3)life-saving equipment to provide the means for sustaining life, as appropriate for the flight to be undertaken; and

(4)at least two survival ELTs (ELT(S)).

(f)By 1 January 2019 at the latest, aeroplanes with an MCTOM of more than 27 000 kg and with an MOPSC of more than 19 and all aeroplanes with an MCTOM of more than 45 500 kg shall be fitted with a securely attached underwater locating device that operates at a frequency of 8,8 kHz ± 1 kHz, unless:

(1)the aeroplane is operated over routes on which it is at no point at a distance of more than 180 NM from the shore; or

(2)the aeroplane is equipped with robust and automatic means to accurately determine, following an accident where the aeroplane is severely damaged, the location of the point of end of flight.