ICAO Annex 6 — Page 8, Lesson 15

I want to walk you through the start of ICAO Annex 6, which is the foundation for how we operate aircraft safely in commercial air transport. Let's begin with flight safety and accident prevention. The State of the Operator — that's the country that has granted the airline its operating certificate — is required to establish a safety programme. This programme sets an acceptable level of safety that all certified operators must achieve. The key point here is that the required safety level is defined by the State, not by the operator itself. The operator then has to establish a Safety Management System, which we call an SMS, throughout its entire operation. The safety programme has four specific tasks. First, it must identify safety hazards — anything that could cause harm. Second, it must ensure that remedial action is implemented to maintain the standard — so when a problem is found, you fix it and keep things at the required level. Third, it must provide continuous monitoring and assessment of the level achieved — you don't just set it and forget it, you keep checking. Fourth, it must make continuous improvement of the overall level of safety — you're always looking to get better. As part of the SMS, the operator has to establish a flight safety document system. This system relates to all the documents used by operations personnel — that means pilots, dispatchers, and anyone involved in flight operations. The system must specify which documents are applicable, and it must specify the means by which amendments and changes are notified to those staff. So when a procedure changes, there's a formal way to tell everyone who needs to know. As far as is practicable, these documents should be published to a standard format, using standardized phraseology and language — no room for confusion. Now, there's a specific threshold for larger aircraft. If the operator uses aeroplanes with a maximum certificated take-off mass — that's MTOM — greater than 27,000 kilograms, a flight data analysis programme is required as part of the safety programme. That means they have to analyse data from flight recorders to identify trends and risks. Let's move to maintenance release. The operator is required to determine that any aircraft used in Commercial Air Transport — CAT — is airworthy. The Commander, also called the Pilot in Command or PIC, is required to check the necessary forms and documentation to confirm that airworthiness. One of the key forms checked is the maintenance release. This certificate certifies that the maintenance work performed has been completed satisfactorily and in accordance with approved data and the procedures described in the maintenance organization's procedures manual. The maintenance release certificate contains four specific items. First, basic details of the maintenance carried out, including detailed references to the approved data used. Second, the date the maintenance was completed. Third, the identity of the approved maintenance organization that did the work. Fourth, the identity of the person signing the release — that's the individual who takes personal responsibility for certifying the work. Finally, let's look at lighting of aircraft. The Rules of the Air, which you'll cover in your Air Law subject, cover the instances where aircraft are required to show lights. These required lights include navigation lights — which indicate the course of the aircraft — and anti-collision lights. Other lights, such as landing lights, ice detection lights, instrument panel lights, and cabin lighting, are not subject to statutory use and are not covered in this section. So when we talk about mandatory lighting under Annex 6, we're focused on navigation lights and anti-collision lights only.