EU-OPS General Requirements — Page 13, Lesson 24

I want to walk you through the EU-OPS General Requirements, starting with a critical emergency procedure: ditching. Ditching is the deliberate alighting of an aeroplane on the surface of the sea. This is a possibility when aircraft are operated over the sea at a distance where, in the event of an engine failure, the aircraft cannot reach land suitable for an emergency landing. To minimize the risk from ditching, operators are not to operate aeroplanes with a passenger seating capacity of more than 30 at a distance from land greater than 120 minutes flying time at cruising speed, or 400 nautical miles — whichever is less — unless the aeroplane complies with the requirements of the applicable airworthiness code. So, if you're flying an aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats, you have a hard limit: you cannot plan a route that takes you more than 120 minutes at cruising speed or 400 nautical miles from land, whichever is the smaller number, unless the aircraft itself is certified to a higher standard for overwater operations. Now, let's move to the Carriage of Persons. Operators must ensure that persons — both crew and passengers — are only carried in parts of aeroplanes that are designed for the accommodation of persons. However, the Commander may grant temporary access to other parts of the aeroplane for the purpose of taking action for the safety of the aeroplane, or persons, animals, or goods which are in such areas, providing that area is one to which designed access is possible. So, normally, everyone stays in the passenger cabin or crew compartment, but the Captain can authorise someone to go into a cargo hold or other area if it's necessary for safety, and if that area was built to be accessible. Next, Crew Responsibilities. Crew members are responsible for the discharge of their duties in respect of the safety of the aeroplane and its occupants. The discharge of such duties must be in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Operations Manual — the OM — including, where necessary, use of the Operator's occurrence reporting system. Specifically: - Any fault or malfunction, including an emergency situation, which could affect the airworthiness or safe operation of the aeroplane, is to be reported to the Commander. - Any incident that endangered, or could have endangered, the safety of operations is to be reported to the Commander. Crews must make use of the Operator's occurrence reporting schemes. A copy of that reporting scheme must be made available to the Commander. Clearly, if the occurrence mentioned above has already been reported to the Commander, duplication of the report is not necessary — you don't need to file a separate written report if you've already told the Captain. Finally, a crew member is not to present him or herself for duty on an aeroplane under any of these conditions: - If under the influence of any drug that may affect his/her faculties in a manner contrary to safety. - Until a reasonable period of time has elapsed after deep water diving. - Until a reasonable period of time has elapsed after blood donation. - If he or she is in any doubt as to his or her ability to accomplish the assigned duty. - If he or she knows or suspects that he or she is suffering from fatigue to the extent where safety may be endangered. So, as a crew member, you have a personal responsibility not to show up for duty if you're impaired by drugs, if you've recently been diving or donated blood, if you're unsure you can do the job, or if you know or even suspect you're fatigued to a point that could compromise safety. That's a very important self-assessment obligation.