ICAO Council adopts new SARPs for remotely piloted aircraft systems
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says it has adopted new aviation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for the integration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).
The President of the ICAO Council, Salvatore Sciacchitano, said this in a statement on Friday evening, obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Sciacchitano said that the adopted SARPs would help to enhance safety, accelerate transformation of global air navigation system and the integration of RPAS.
“The sustainable development of aviation worldwide requires a performance-driven and service-oriented advanced global air navigation system.
“Today, we have taken significant steps towards achieving this.
“The Council of ICAO approved amendments to 15 of the 19 Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, and approved a new ‘Procedure for Air Navigation Services (PANS) on Information Management’ during its recently concluded 231st Session,” he said.
According to Sciacchitano, with the Council’s adoption of the new Part IV International Operations, RPAS to Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft, the basic building blocks for a regulatory framework to enable the international operation of RPAS are now in place.
He said RPAS operators will be required to hold a specific operator certificate (ROC), akin to the traditional air operator certificate (AOC), as this is a considerable step towards integration of RPAS into the aviation system.
The Council had previously agreed to the regulatory structure for the issuance of remote pilot licences, RPAS-specific airworthiness requirements, and provisions for C2 Links frequency bands, procedures and systems.
Together, these provisions satisfy three key requirements for international air navigation: a remote pilot licence, a certificate of airworthiness, and an RPAS operator certificate.
ICAO’s Secretary General, Juan Salazar said: “A sustainable future for air navigation depends on further enhancements to the accuracy and consistency of flight information.
“These new ICAO Standards are pivotal to progress towards this goal, as they provide for system-wide information services that prioritise quality and secure data exchanges.”
The enhanced information sharing enabled by these Standards will also facilitate the optimisation of air routes and networks, contributing to a reduction in aviation CO2 emissions.
Also, the ICAO tackled the safety issue created by multiple aircraft being assigned identical 24-bit aircraft addresses, which has in the past led to inaccurate aircraft information in air-ground and air-air surveillance systems.
The Council has also updated standards for helicopter chart development for performance-based navigation, enhancing the safety of helicopter operations.
The statement said that enhancing data gathering and sharing is crucial for the aviation community, not only to prevent accidents and incidents, but also to respond effectively when such events occur.
Key among the new Standards adopted by the Council are those that complete the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS).
Developed as part of the response to the loss of flights AF 447 in 2009 and MH 370 in 2014, GADSS requires enhancements to aircraft tracking and distress systems.
Expansion of the Flight Data Analysis Programme (FDAP) now ensures that most large commercial air transport aeroplanes are included.
The broader scope of safety data collection aims to identify precursor events and facilitate proactive safety management.
New investigation Standards will require accident investigation authorities to inform the public about progress earlier and more frequently, ultimately providing the final report in an electronic format to ICAO for improved access and data analysis.
The Council also decided to enhance current search and rescue (SAR) SARPs to expedite response times and facilitate assistance from other States during operations.
This, the council said, will reduce risks to personnel at accident sites, and provide better information to rescue coordination centres.
