EXEMPTION FROM SECTIONS 705.172 AND 705.174 OF THE CANADIAN AVIATION REGULATIONS AND PARAGRAPHS 725.135(uu) AND (vv) OF THE COMMERCIAL AIR SERVICE STANDARDS MADE PURSUANT TO SECTION 705.135 OF THE CARS

From: Transport Canada

Whereas section 705.171 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations defines the terms “interference with a crew member” as any action or statement set out in the levels listed in section 705.175 by a person on board or about to board an aircraft that distracts or prevents a crew member from the performance of their assigned safety responsibilities (entrave au travail d’un membre d’équipage).

Whereas section 705.171 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations defines the terms “operational personnel” as an air operator’s employees whose duties require that they interact directly with persons on board or about to board an aircraft, and includes crew members, gate and check-in staff and their immediate supervisors. (personnel d’exploitation)

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 Canadian air operators operating under subpart 705 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) from the requirements set out in sections 705.172 and 705.174 of theCARs and paragraphs 725.135(uu) and (vv) of the Commercial Air Service Standards (CASS) made pursuant to section 705.135 of the CARs, subject to the conditions set out below. 

The applicable sections of the CARs are set out in Appendix A.  Those of the CASS are set out in Appendix B.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this exemption is to exempt Canadian air operators operating under subpart 705 of the CARs from having to include in the company operations manual and in the flight attendant manual procedures pertaining to specific topics to prevent and manage incidents of interference with a crew member and procedures pertaining to the mandatory reporting of level 2, 3 and 4 incidents of interference with a crew member and the voluntary reporting of level 1 incidents.

APPLICATION

This exemption applies to Canadian air operators operating under subpart 705 of the CARs whom have not yet established procedures pertaining to the prevention, management and reporting of incidents of interference with a crew member in their company operations manual and flight attendant manual.

CONDITIONS

This exemption is subject to the following conditions:

  1. The air operator shall establish procedures pertaining to the reporting of incidents of interference with a crew member.
  2. The air operator shall establish procedures to ensure mandatory reporting of level 2, level 3 and level 4 incidents of interference with a crew member as set out in paragraphs 705.175(b), (c) and (d) of the CARs are reported to the air operator and to allow for the voluntary reporting of level 1 incidents.
  3. The air operator shall disseminate these procedures to crew members.
  4. Each report of an incident of interference with a crew member shall contain:
    1. flight information including aircraft type and flight identification;
    2. date and time of incident;
    3. names of crew members involved in the occurrence;
    4. a description of the incident;
    5. level of interference;
    6. any suspected causal factors, if known;
    7. nature of obvious injuries to any passenger onboard which resulted from the incident;
    8. nature of any injuries to any crew member on board which resulted from the incident;
    9. action(s) taken by pilot-in-command and crew member(s) during the incident and the level of success of those actions;
    10. involvement of police authorities;
    11. whether the incident occurred while the aircraft was on the ground or during flight and if so, what phase of flight;
    12. any available information on passenger identity; and
    13. any additional information which the crew member deems pertinent.
  5. The air operator shall retain each report for a period of three years after the date of the incident and make the report available to the Minister on request.
  6. The air operator shall submit to the Minister statistics relating to incidents of interference with a crew member bi-annually, which include the following data:
    1. the number of incidents and their level as defined in section 705.175;
    2. the number, severity and type of reported injuries to passenger(s) and crew member(s);
    3. the number of incidents that occurred while the aircraft was on the ground and the number of incidents that occurred during flight phase;
    4. the suspected causal factors if known; and
    5. the number and level of incidents where law enforcement was requested.

VALIDITY

This exemption is in effect until the earliest of:

  1. December 31, 2009 at 23:59 EST;
  2. the date on which the air operator has established procedures pertaining to the prevention and management of incidents of interference with a crew member specified in their company operations manual and in their flight attendant manual;
  3. the date on which any condition set out in this exemption is breached; or
  4. the date on which this exemption is canceled in writing by the Minister where he is of the opinion that it is no longer in the public interest or that it is likely to affect aviation safety.

 

Dated at Ottawa, Canada on this 10th day of July 2009, on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

Original signed by:  dated July 10, 2009

Martin J. Eley
Director General
Civil Aviation

 

Appendix A

Canadian Aviation Regulations

DIVISION XI – Interference with a Crew Member

Preventing and Managing Incidents of Interference with a Crew Member

705.172 (1) An air operator shall establish procedures to prevent and manage incidents of interference with a crew member covering the topics set out in section 725.172 of Standard 725 — Airline Operations — Aeroplanes of the Commercial Air Service Standards.

(2) An air operator shall specify in the company operations manual and in their flight attendant manual the procedures established in accordance with subsection (1).”

Reporting Incidents of Interference with a Crew Member

705.174 (1) An air operator shall establish procedures to ensure that level 2, level 3 and level 4 incidents of interference with a crew member are reported to the air operator and to allow for the reporting of a level 1 incident.

(2) An air operator shall specify in the company operations manual and in their flight attendant manual the procedures established under subsection (1).

(3) A report of an incident of interference with a crew member shall contain the information set out in section 725.174 of Standard 725 — Airline Operations — Aeroplanes of the Commercial Air Service Standards.

(4) An air operator shall ensure that reports are retained for a period of three years after the date of the incident and are made available to the Minister on request.

(5) An air operator shall submit to the Minister statistics relating to incidents of interference with a crew member, the content of which is set out in section 725.174 of Standard 725 — Airline Operations — Aeroplanes of the Commercial Air Service Standards, every six months.”

Levels of Interference with a Crew Member

705.175  The levels of interference with a crew member are as follows:

  1. a level 1 incident, which is an incident of a minor nature that either requires no action of the crew member beyond heightened awareness or is effectively and quickly resolved by a crew member and which includes but is not limited to
    1. the use of unacceptable language towards a crew member,
    2. unacceptable behaviour towards a crew member, and
    3. a display of suspicious behaviour;
  2. a level 2 incident, which is an incident of a moderate nature that is resolved by a crew member only after some difficulty and which includes but is not limited to
    1. the repetition of a level 1 incident,
    2. the continuation of a level 1 incident by a passenger after being warned by a crew member,
    3. the repeated failure of a passenger to comply with a crew member’s safety instructions, and
    4. belligerent, obscene or lewd behaviour towards a crew member;
  3. a level 3 incident, which is an incident where there are serious safety concerns for passengers or crew members and which includes but is not limited to
    1. threatening a person on board or about to board the aircraft or making threats in an attempt to board the aircraft,
    2. the continuation of a level 2 incident that was unresolved,
    3. tampering with any emergency or safety equipment on board the aircraft,
    4. deliberate damage of any part of the aircraft or any property on board the aircraft,
    5. injuring a person on board the aircraft, and
    6. violent, argumentative, threatening, intimidating or disorderly behaviour, including harassment and assault; and
  4. a level 4 incident, which is an incident that constitutes a security threat and which includes but is not limited to
    1. an attempted or unauthorized intrusion into the flight deck,
    2. a credible threat of death or serious bodily injury in an attempt to gain control over the aircraft,
    3. the display or use of a weapon,
    4. the sabotage of, or the attempt to sabotage, an aircraft that renders it incapable of flight or that is likely to endanger its safety in flight,
    5. any attempt to unlawfully seize control of the aircraft, and
    6. an incident that is required to be reported under section 64 of the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations.

Appendix B

Commercial Air Service Standards

Division XI – Interference with a Crew Member

Preventing and Managing Incidents of Interference with a Crew Member

725.172 (1) The air operator’s procedures to prevent and manage incidents of interference with a crew member shall:

  1. include a statement of the air operator’s policy on unruly passengers and interference with a crew member;
  2. identify the procedures to be followed when a risk to safety is detected;
  3. identify the criteria that will be used in determining the acceptance or refusal to transport a passenger or a person about to board an aircraft who may be considered a risk to safety;
  4. identify the means by which operational personnel will be notified when an incident of interference has occurred and indicate the importance of notifying other operational personnel of the occurrence of such an incident when it may expose them to the same risk;
  5. identify the factors which may contribute to unruly passenger behaviour and the means by which to eliminate them where feasible;
  6. include the means by which operational personnel can detect early indications of unruly passenger behaviour which may lead to interference with a crew member;
  7. include the methods available to prevent or defuse volatile situations or aggressive behaviour;
  8. identify the ways in which unruly passenger behaviour can constitute interference with crew members;
  9. identify the responsibilities of the operational personnel, when an incident occurs;
  10. identify when and how to determine if overriding safety of flight considerations exist and who is responsible to make this determination;
  11. identify methods of maintaining personal security during an incident;
  12. include the methods of restraining passengers including maintaining the safety of the restrained passenger;
  13. identify which authorities must be notified when an incident occurs and the procedures for notification;
  14. identify the procedures for debriefing following an incident including the personnel that should be debriefed; and
  15. identify what assistance is available to the affected employee(s) involved in an incident.
    (Information Note:  an air operator should review and coordinate these procedures internally to ensure there is not conflict between these procedures and their security procedures.  Nothing in this standard is intended to supersede or conflict with any requirements outlined in the Aeronautics Act, the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations or in any Aviation Security Measures.)

 

Reporting Incidents of Interference with a Crew Member

725.174 (1) For the purposes of subsection 705.174(3), the report for each occurrence to the air operator must include but is not limited to the following information:

  1. flight information including aircraft type and flight identification;
  2. date and time of incident;
  3. name(s) of crew members involved in the occurrence;
  4. a description of the incident;
  5. category of level of interference;
  6. any suspected causal factors, if known;
  7. nature of obvious injuries to any passenger onboard which resulted from the incident;
  8. nature of any injuries to any crew member on board which resulted from the incident;
  9. action(s) taken by pilot-in-command and crew member(s) during the incident and the level of success of those actions;
    Information Note:  This normally includes the methods and time used to resolve the incident.
  10. involvement of police authorities;
  11. whether the incident occurred while the aircraft was on the ground or during flight and if so, what phase of flight;
  12. any available information on passenger identity; and
  13. any additional information which the crew member deems pertinent.

Information Note: A crew member could offer their opinion as to what went well and what could be improved for future incidents. This could also include any available information that the crew member may have regarding the identity of the passenger, however does not obligate a crew member to attempt to obtain this information as such action could exacerbate an on board situation.

(2) For the purposes of subsection 705.174(5), the statistics shall be reported bi-annually and shall include the following data:

  1. the number of incidents and their level as defined in section 705.175;
  2. the number, severity and type of reported injuries to passenger(s) and crew member(s);
    Information Note:  The injuries can be categorized as a serious injury where medical attention is required or any injury that is likely to require admission to a hospital.  Any broken limbs or lacerations requiring stitches is considered severe. Any other injury can be categorized as “Minor/Other/None”.
  3. the number of incidents that occurred while the aircraft was on the ground and the number of incidents that occurred during flight phase;
  4. the suspected causal factors if known; and
  5. the number and level of incidents where law enforcement was requested.

(3) For the purposes of subsection 705.174(5), the statistics shall be forwarded to the Director, Policy and Regulatory Services, Transport Canada, 330 Sparks Street, Tower C, Place de Ville, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N8.

Division IX – Manuals

Contents of Company Operations Manual

725.135

The Company Operations Manual shall contain at least the following, as applicable to the operation:

(a) to (tt)……….

(uu) procedures for preventing and managing incidents of interference with a crew member; and

(vv) procedures for denying transportation to persons whose actions or statements indicate they may pose a risk to safety.”

 

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