http://www.igovernment.in/site/decks-clear-for-seaplane-operations-in-india/
June 18, 2008
By Shubhendu Parth
New Delhi: Ninety-eight years after the French engineer Henri Fabre invented the first seaplane, India on Tuesday announced a detailed operational and safety norm paving way for take off and landing of the ‘floating aircraft’ in the country.
The Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) issued by the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to boost tourism in the island territories of the country.
Besides, it would also help coral islands like Lakshadweep improve inter and intra-island connectivity without putting any additional pressure on their scarce land resource.
However, the DGCA notification bars operators from night operations of seaplanes or operations under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions at water aerodromes.
IFR are a set of regulations and procedures for flying aircraft in low visibility conditions using data provided by his instruments or by the Air Traffic Control.
The CAR, issued under Rule 133(B) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, mandates that an operator will need to obtain a permit for non-scheduled passenger services or for charter operations for offering the seaplane service in India.
With the country having no prior experience in running seaplane operation, the CAR also makes it necessary for the operators to obtain ‘airworthiness’ certificate for each seaplane from the DGCA.
Seaplane operation is unique in nature and has its peculiar specialisation. The take-off and landing operations from waterbed with varying winds and rapidly changing meteorological conditions pose a challenge to pilots operating seaplane.
“It is a specialised operation and therefore, pilots engaged in this role are required to be given specific role oriented training,” the CAR states.
According to the DGCA notification, while pilots would need to conduct a detailed check of the aircraft before take-off, a detailed pre-takeoff and pre-landing briefing for passengers has also been made mandatory.
“This is important to equip them with adequate information on survival techniques in case of deep impact with water,” a senior DGCA official said.
Besides the pre-takeoff briefing as mandatory even in the case of normal airplanes, the CAR mandates that seaplane operator shall set-up a passenger briefing room for a pre-boarding audio-visual briefing of passengers.
Seaplanes tend to come to rest inverted in water accidents or incidents but can remain afloat for long periods if the floats are not breached.
Specifying the pilot qualification the notification says that since seaplane services does not exist in the country, pilots with a general flying experience of over 250 hours would need to undergo a minimum 10 hours of special training programme.
The special seaplane training includes a minimum of five hours dual instruction experience, and another five hours of take-offs and landing experience as sole occupant of the seaplane.
The experience includes a certain minimum runs of taxiing, sailing and docking. However, in case of two crew aircraft, the pilot also needs takeoff and landing experience as pilot-in-command (PIC), the notification says.
It may be recalled that while recognising seaplane services as part of the civil aviation sector, the Government of India had recently increased the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the sector.