Within 6 Months

June 30, 2015

EASA To Clarify Private Flight Rules for AOC Holders

In a Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA), the EASA addresses what it calls “safety issues” related to the lack of regulations for non-commercial operations performed by air operator certificate (AOC) holders, such as when air-taxi and charter business aircraft are flown on private missions. The NPA contains a minimum list of elements to be considered in the risk-assessment process when the AOC holders follow operational procedures different from those normally used for their commercial air transportation. Comments are due by June 30, 2015. A final decision on the requirements is scheduled to be made by the third quarter of 2017.

September 2015 (tentative)

Position Reporting Proposal From ICAO

Member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommended the adoption of a tracking standard for aircraft crews that requires them to report their positions at 15-minute intervals. Adoption by the 36-state ICAO Council is expected this fall. Operators would be able to comply with the mandate using existing and planned technologies and procedures, ICAO said. The standard is considered a first step toward implementation of a more comprehensive three-tiered approach to tracking normal, abnormal and distress conditions.

Dec. 1, 2015 and Jan. 1, 2017

European Union Tcas Version 7.1 Directive

Turbine aircraft that are approved to carry at least 19 passengers, certified before April 1 last year and equipped with Tcas II version 7.0 must be upgraded to the latest version of 7.1 traffic alert and collision avoidance system software by Dec. 1, 2015. ICAO does not require that version 7.1 software be installed for international flights as a retrofit until Jan. 1, 2017. All other applicable airplanes were required to have 7.1 Tcas II software installed by April 1 last year. 

Dec. 31, 2015

Deadline to Meet Stage 3 Noise Levels

Eight months remain to the December 31 deadline after which jets with a mtow of up to 75,000 pounds may no longer operate in the contiguous U.S. unless they meet Stage 3 noise levels. When the rule was published on July 2, 2013, the FAA said the mandate affected 457 U.S.-registered owners of 599 principally Stage 2 business jets, though several models can now, or will be able to be, hushkitted or re-engined to meet Stage 3 before the deadline. The rule also applies to non-U.S.-registered aircraft. At the time the rule was proposed, there were at least 50 countries that have a total of 392 registered airplanes like those banned in the United States, according to the FAA.

Within 12 Months

March 4, 2016            FAA CORRECTION

Contract Maintenance Requirements Effective Date Corrected

Certain Part 135 on-demand operators have several more months to comply with new contract maintenance requirements, as a result of a recently released FAA correction. When the requirements were published last March, they showed an effective date of May 4, 2015. The actual compliance deadline is March 4, 2016. Under the new rules, Part 135 on-demand operations flying aircraft with 10 or more seats (excluding pilot seats) are required to develop FAA-acceptable policies, procedures, methods and instructions when using contract maintenance. These operators must also provide the FAA a list of all people with whom they contract their maintenance.

June 8, 2016 and June 7, 2020 

Europe ADS-B out Mandate

The earliest ADS-B out requirement in Europe is June 8, 2016, for new aircraft and June 7, 2020, for retrofit. The date for retrofits is about six months later than the U.S. ADS-B out mandate, which requires the equipment to be operational in aircraft that fly under IFR and where transponders are currently required starting Jan. 1, 2020.  

Apr. 22, 2016

Helicopter Ambulance Control Centers

New FAR Part 135.619 requires operators with 10 or more helicopter air ambulances to have operations control centers beginning April 22, 2016. Operational control specialists must undergo an FAA-approved initial training program and pass a knowledge and practical test. The operations control center must at a minimum maintain two-way communications with pilots, provide pilots with weather briefings, monitor the progress of the flight and participate in the preflight risk analysis required under recently revised Part 135.617.

Beyond 12 Months

April 24, 2017

Part 135 Rotorcraft Radio Altimeters

Under new Part 135.160 after April 24, 2017 rotorcraft must be equipped with an operable FAA-approved radio altimeter, or an FAA-approved device that incorporates a radio altimeter.. Deviations from this requirement may be authorized for helicopters in which radio altimeters cannot physically be installed in the cockpit. The request for deviation authority is applicable to rotorcraft with a maximum takeoff weight of no more than 2,950 pounds. The radio altimeter mandate is contained in the final rule upgrading private, air-taxi and air ambulance helicopter operations, published on Feb. 21, 2014.

Jan. 1, 2020

U.S. Installation Deadline for ADS-B out Avionics

A final FAA rule requires installation of ADS-B out equipment by Jan.1, 2020, for aircraft flying in Class A, B and C airspace. The equipment is designed to allow air traffic controllers to know where aircraft are with greater precision and reliability than current ATC radar provides.

February 2020

European Controller-Pilot Datalink Delayed

Europe will postpone requiring aircraft operators to equip for controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) for five years, until February 2020, to address technical problems. The European Commission expects the entity managing the Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) effort will recommend remedial actions for ground infrastructure issues next year. Additionally, European Commission figures showed that only 40 percent of operators would have been ready to use CPDLC by the original deadline of Feb. 5, 2015.