Recently, the Ministry of Transport reviewed and adopted the fifth revised edition of the Regulations on Examination and Approval of Operational Qualification for Public Air Carriers of Large Aircraft (CCAR Part 121, referred to as the Regulations). The fifth revised edition of the Regulations is of far-reaching significance in further standardizing the safe operation and management of the public air carriers of larger aircraft, and in improving the overall safety of civil aviation.

The Regulations constitutes a basis for the operation certification and continuous oversight of public air carriers of large aircraft. Since the implementation of the Regulations in 1999, four amendments have been made which played positive roles in maintaining sustained safety of the industry. In order to meet the actual needs of civil aviation development of China, and keep aligned with the amendments of Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, CAAC, based on its survey and extensive study and in light of the regulatory experiences of developed countries in terms of civil aviation, initiated the amendment of the Regulations.

The fifth revised version of the Regulations contains major revisions to the crew fatigue risks management, crew qualification management and training management. Crew fatigue represents an important factor leading to unsafe events, therefore detailed amendments were made to relevant parts of the Regulations relating to crew fatigue risks management, highlighting the concepts such as the direct relationship between the flight fatigue and human physiological rhythm and crew duty time and lowering the ceiling requirements of total flight hours for flight crew and cabin crew. Crew qualification management has always been a key part in safety management. Therefore, for the flight crew, the Regulations has not only extended the age limits for the pilots involved in the operation in accordance with the requirements of relevant annexes of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, but also adjusted relevant requirements on training for pilots-in-command and relevant policies on flight instructor management. For the cabin crew, the Regulations has adjusted the training program and certification requirements which increases the time for initial and recurrent trainings and adds requirements on their recent experience.

In order to better align with relevant requirements of Chicago Convention, the fifth amendment to the Regulations has made adjustments to policies relating to fuel management, proposed the specific requirements for in-flight fuel check and fuel monitoring, and clarified the timing for the announcement of Minimum Fuel and Emergent Fuel. In addition, the fuel requirements for scheduled passenger transport operations were amended, the fuel requirements for domestic and international operations were unified, and regulatory basis was provided for air carriers to optimize their fuel policy.

In terms of improvements in aircraft continuous airworthiness, the Regulations has further clarified relevant requirements on aircraft continuous airworthiness and safety management, which will result in closed loop management and improve the operation safety for aircraft at the middle or late stage of their designed life cycle so as to enhance the safety management of aging aircraft.

Vigorous promotion of new air navigation technologies has been one of the key efforts of CAAC in recent years. In order to further standardize the operational management of new technology of certificate holders, the fifth revised version of the Regulations has added a chapter for special operations, laying down specific requirements for Performance Based Navigation (PBN), Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B), and Enhanced Vision System (EVS) among others. In the meantime, in light of the trend and the results of international studies on Portable Electronic Devices (PED), the amendment has loosened control of PED on-board aircraft, allowing airlines themselves to evaluate the effects of PED and develop relevant policies on PED management and use.

Besides, relevant requirements have also added to the Regulations, including those on personal creditability record, e-navigation data management, and safety responsibilities in the case of wet lease. The requirements on the flight plan and on the establishment of reliable voice communication within 4 minutes between the aircraft and dispatch office have been identified. The requirements for the minimum weather condition standards for alternate airports and qualification for maintenance personnel have been adjusted.

In the next step, CAAC will organize the implementation of important revisions to the Regulations, and hold industrial video conferences to publicize all clauses of the Regulations, which will be followed by on-site lecturing and explanation in various regions. Regional administrations of CAAC are required to review the transitional plans developed by airlines to ensure the full compliance with relevant requirements before the time limits prescribed in the fifth amendment to the Regulations.