CNS.OR.100 Technical and operational competence and capability

(a)In this AMC:

(1)SAR point of contact (SPOC)’ refers to a SAR point of contact that is designated by a State to receive COSPAS-SARSAT distress data in accordance with ICAO Annex 12;

(2)‘competent SPOC’ refers to the SAR point of contact that is competent for the SAR region(s) where an aircraft in distress is indicated to be by the transmitted information; and

(3)‘transmission service for locating an aircraft in distress’ refers to a service that transmits to the competent SPOC information that is contained in signals sent by an airborne system, to comply with point CAT.GEN.MPA.210 ‘Location of an aircraft in distress’ of Annex IV (Part-CAT) to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (‘Air OPS Regulation’).

(b)A surveillance service provider for which EASA is the competent authority pursuant to Article 80 of Regulation (EU) No 2018/1139 (‘Basic Regulation’) may provide the transmission service as per point (a) of this AMC; in that case, the surveillance service provider should:

(1)establish the performance specifications of the transmission service as per point (a);

(2)establish a list of airborne systems that are compatible with their use for locating an aircraft in distress as specified in the Certification Specifications for Airborne Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CS-ACNS), Subpart E, Section 3;

(3)demonstrate that the transmission service as per point (a) can:

(i)automatically process activation signals and deactivation signals that are received from any compatible airborne system that is listed as per point (b)(2) of this AMC in the conditions specified in the CS-ACNS Subpart E, Section 3; and

(ii)automatically transmit to the competent SPOC the information that is contained in those signals;

(4)demonstrate that the transmission service as per point (a) can process signals that are simultaneously transmitted by up to 15 compatible airborne systems as per point (b)(2);

(5)demonstrate that the total time from transmission of a signal by a compatible airborne system as per point (b)(2) to delivering the corresponding data to the competent SPOC does not exceed 20 minutes, with a probability of 95 %;

(6)demonstrate that the SPOC contact information that is used by the transmission service as per point (a) to meet point (b)(3) of this AMC is global and that there are processes to maintain this information up to date;

(7)deliver the data to the competent SPOC in plain text and in a format recognised by the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR Manual); and

(8)perform an operational record-keeping function that:

(i)integrally records data corresponding to signals transmitted by a compatible airborne system as per point (b)(2);

(ii)retains this data for at least 30 days; and

(iii)can retrieve data that is recorded in the preceding 48 hours within 30 minutes of receiving an appropriate request.

SURVEILLANCE SERVICES PROVIDERS The surveillance system should meet the performance requirements that are necessary to support the provision of air traffic services (ATS). Therefore, before commissioning a new or modified surveillance system, the surveillance services providers should develop a business case to demonstrate that the proposed surveillance system is the most effective solution that safely supports the required operations and, among other elements, considers efficiency issues (e.g. through-life cost (TLC) and the 1030/1090-MHz radio frequencies (RF) band usage). One option for the business case would be the use of ADS-B data. When comparing options regarding the 1030/1090-MHz RF band usage, surveillance services providers should consider the impact not only on their own surveillance systems but also on the neighbouring ones.

QUALITY LEVEL OF THE SERVICES — SURVEILLANCE SERVICES PROVIDERS

(a)Surveillance services providers should assess the level of performance of the ground-based surveillance chain regularly during the service.

(b)The assessment of the level of the ongoing performance of the ATM/ANS equipment referred to in point (a) should be performed in the volume of airspace where the corresponding provision of surveillance services utilising the ATM/ANS equipment is undertaken.

(c)Surveillance services providers should periodically check the system and its components and develop and enforce a performance validation regime. The periodicity should be agreed with the national supervisory authority taking into account the specificities of the ATM/ANS equipment.

(d)Before the implementation of airspace design modification the ATM/ANS equipment should be verified in order to check that it still meets the required performance in the new volume of operation.