Regs for flight over water?

[rjakw]

I saw a post on the Flyer list that suggested the 3 points below are now required. Item 3 is OK (i.e. captain decides), but 1 would make my perfectly OK lifejacket illegal and 2 could be the financial straw that breaks the camels back - apart from being daft in the first place (portables are excluded)

Can anybody confirm or deny them, along with credible sources?

1. Life jacket: each person on board an aircraft, flying over the water and out of gliding distance from land, must wear a suitably equipped life jacket, ie fitted with whistle and sealight. Furthermore, the life jacket must be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

2. ELT: each aircraft must carry a CAA/EASA Approved ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter), fitted to the airframe, and which has both the emergency frequencies of 406MHz and 121.5MHz.

3. Life rafts: the carriage of life rafts is a very complicated issue, but for the purpose of our operations, is not a legal requirement, although the CAA recommends that PICs should consider the advisability of whether or not to carry a life raft on a case by case basis. Further information can be found in “Safety Sense Leaflet 21b - Ditching. In simple terms it is a matter to be decided by the PIC.

[Rod1]

>>1. Life jacket: each person on board an aircraft, flying over the water and out of gliding distance from land, must wear a suitably equipped life jacket, ie fitted with whistle and sealight. Furthermore, the life jacket must be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

This only applies to single engine aircraft, and I was unaware of the “serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations” and the whistle and sealight bit.

>>2. ELT: each aircraft must carry a CAA/EASA Approved ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter), fitted to the airframe, and which has both the emergency frequencies of 406MHz and 121.5MHz.

I think this is only required if you are more than 10 min flying time from a suitable landing area. I thought the regs had been amended to allow hand held units.

>>3. Life rafts: the carriage of life rafts is a very complicated issue, but for the purpose of our operations, is not a legal requirement, although the CAA recommends that PICs should consider the advisability of whether or not to carry a life raft on a case by case basis. Further information can be found in “Safety Sense Leaflet 21b - Ditching. In simple terms it is a matter to be decided by the PIC.

This is correct to the best of my knowledge.

I will try to dig out some references to the above when I get home.

Rod1

[IO540]

If it is in the ANO then it is legally required, otherwise it is recommended - AFAIK.