EXEMPTION FROM SUBPARAGRAPH 702.19(b)(ii) OF THE CANADIAN AVIATION REGULATIONS

From: Transport Canada

Pursuant to subsection 5.9(2) of the Aeronautics Act, and after taking into account that the exemption is in the public interest and is not likely to affect aviation safety, I hereby exempt helicopter pilots-in-command and helicopter air operators from the requirements as set out in Subparagraph 702.19(b)(ii) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), subject to the following conditions.

Section 702.19 of the CARs states in part:

 Entering or Leaving a Helicopter in Flight

702.19 For the purposes of paragraph 602.25(2)(b), the pilot-in-command of a helicopter may permit a person to enter or leave the helicopter in flight

  1. where
    1. the helicopter is operated at a low hover,
    2. the person is able to enter directly from or alight directly onto the supporting surface,
    3. the air operator is authorized to do so in its air operator certificate, and
    4. the air operator complies with the Commercial Air Service Standards; or
  2. where
    1. the helicopter is operated to enable hoisting or rappelling, and
    2. the air operator complies with Section 702.21.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this exemption is to permit helicopter pilots-in-command and helicopter air operators to conduct rappelling operations without having to comply with the standards for helicopter Class D external loads operations as per Section 722.21 of the Commercial Air Services Standards (CASS).

APPLICATION

This exemption applies to helicopter pilots-in-command and helicopter air operators when conducting rappelling operations pursuant to subpart 702 of the CARs.

CONDITIONS

This exemption is granted subject to the following conditions:

  1. operations shall be conducted under day Visual Flight Rule (VFR) only conditions while the helicopter maintains a stabilized hover;
  2. the longitudinal and lateral center of gravity shall be calculated for embarking and disembarking operations and shall not exceed the limitations of the applicable flight manual;
  3. the operating weight shall be calculated and shall not exceed the applicable weight/altitude/temperature (WAT) hover performance charts for the helicopter type and configuration at the operating altitude;
  4. a Spotter, trained in rappelling operations, shall be carried at all times during rappelling operations. This Spotter shall carry equipment that will allow the rappelling line(s) to be cut rapidly or released under tension in the event of emergency;
  5. after persons rappelling have disembarked, the aircraft shall remain in the hover and the Spotter will remove the rappel line(s) and drop it (them) to the ground or stow it (them) safely inside the helicopter before the helicopter leaves the stabilized hover;
  6. communication protocols for normal and emergency procedures shall be established between the Pilot-in-Command and the Spotter.  This shall include procedures to be followed in the event of an electrical communications failure;
  7. persons to be embarked or disembarked shall have been instructed on related hazards and techniques;
  8. crew members shall be trained in accordance with section 722.76 of the CASS;
  9. any equipment or cargo to be loaded or unloaded shall be secured to prevent shifting in flight except during loading and unloading;
  10. the rappelling procedures referred to in this section shall not be used or adapted for worksite positioning of personnel while they are suspended beneath a helicopter;
  11. rappelling operations shall not be conducted for any purpose other than law enforcement operations, forest fire suppression operations, urban fire fighting operations, rescue operations, or for the production of “Commercial Motion Pictures and Television”; and
  12. where therappelling is conducted for the production of “Commercial Motion Pictures and Television”, the authorization may be issued providing:
    1. the aircraft is operated within approved limitations;
    2. a co-ordinated plan for each complete operation is developed;
    3. all persons involved are knowledgeable of equipment to be used and pre-flight briefed; and
    4. only flight crew members and persons essential during flight are carried.

VALIDITY

This exemption is in effect until the earliest of the following:

  1. the date on which amendments to CAR 702.19 and its associated standard come into effect;
  2. the date on which any of the conditions set out in this exemption are breached; or
  3. the date on which this exemption is cancelled in writing by the Minister where he is of the opinion it is no longer in the public interest or that it is likely to effect aviation safety.

EXEMPTION CANCELLATION

The exemption from subparagraph 702.19(b)(ii) of the CARs, issued to Canadian helicopter pilots-in-command and helicopter air operators conducting rappelling operations, on the 3rd of June, 2003, at Ottawa, Ontario by the Director General Civil Aviation, is hereby cancelled because it is the opinion of the Minister that it is no longer in the public interest or is likely to affect aviation safety.

Dated at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this 24th day of April, 2006 on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

Original signed by Franz Reinhardt

for

M.R. Preuss
Director General
Civil Aviation

 

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