| (1) | For the purposes of this regulation, any reference to— |
| (a) | a specified date upon which an application for the type certification is submitted to a Contracting State means the date such application is made for a new aircraft type, not the date of certification of particular aircraft variants or derivative models; and |
| (b) | a specified date upon which an individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued means the first time a certificate of airworthiness is issued for a new individual aircraft serial number that has just come off the assembly line. |
[Regulation 91.04.10(1) substituted by regulation 9(b) of Notice No. R. 432, GG 40846, dated 19 May 2017 (Sixteenth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2017)]
| (2) | No owner or operator shall operate an aircraft engaged in international general aviation operations which— |
| (a) | is an aeroplane with a MTOW exceeding 5700 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 2005 unless such aeroplane is equipped with a Type 1A FDR that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91; |
| (b) | is an aeroplane with a MTOW exceeding 27000 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 1989 unless such aeroplane is equipped with a Type 1 FDR that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91; |
| (c) | is a helicopter with a MTOW exceeding 3180 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 2016 unless such helicopter is equipped with a Type IVA FDR that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91; or |
| (d) | is a helicopter with a MTOW exceeding 7000 kg or having a passenger seating configuration of more than 19, for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 1989 unless such helicopter is equipped with a Type IV FDR that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (3) | A turbine-engine aeroplane with an MCM exceeding 27 000 kg of which the prototype was type certificated by an appropriate authority after 30 September 1969, may not be operated in general aviation operations within the Republic unless such aeroplane is equipped with a Type II FDR that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (4) | A person shall not, unless if such aircraft is equipped with a CVR which complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91, operate— |
| (a) | a turbine-engine aeroplane with a MTOW exceeding 5 700 kg for which the application for type certification was submitted to a Contracting State on or after 1 January 2016 and required to be operated by more than one pilot; |
| (b) | an aeroplane with a MTOW exceeding 27000 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 1987; |
| (c) | a helicopter with a MTOW exceeding 7000 kg; or |
| (d) | an aircraft with a MTOW exceeding 5 700 kg up to 27 000 kg, for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 1987, shall be equipped with a CVR: Provided that for helicopter not equipped with an FDR, at least a main rotor speed shall be recorded on the CVR. |
| (5) | A person shall not operate a turbine engine aeroplane for which a type certificate was first issued on or after 1 January 2016 and required to be operated by more than one pilot unless such aeroplane is equipped with either a CVR or a CARS. |
| (6) | A person shall not operate an aircraft for which the individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued on or after 1 January 2016 and which i s required to be fitted with a CVR or for aeroplanes, a CARS, unless the CVR or CARS, as applicable, is provided with an independent power source that complies with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (7) | A person shall not operate an aircraft for which the individual certificate of airworthiness was first issued on or after 1 January 2016, which utilises any data link communications and is required to carry a CVR, unless all data link communications messages to and from the aircraft are recorded on a data link recorder (DLR) or other flight recorder. The minimum recording duration shall be equal to the duration of the CVR and shall be correlated to the recorded cockpit audio. |
| (8) | A person shall not operate an aircraft which is modified on or after 1 January 2016 to install and utilise any data link communications and is required to carry a CVR, unless the data link communications messages are recorded on a DLR or other flight recorder. |
| (9) | An FOR required in terms of this Part shall be prescribed in Document SA CATS 91 and shall be capable of retaining the information recorded during at least— |
| (a) | in the case of an aeroplane, the last 25 hours of its operation; or |
| (b) | in the case of a helicopter, the last 10 hours of its operation. |
| (10) | The CVR or CARS required by this regulation shall meet the specific recorded information time as prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
[Regulation 91.04.10(10) substituted by regulation 8(a) of Notice No. R. 3169, GG 48228, dated 17 March 2023 (Twenty-Fifth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023)]
| (11) | A person shall not use the following mediums to record any information or data required to be recorded in terms of this Part: |
| (a) | engraving metal foil, photographic film and analogue using frequency modulation (FM) in FDRs; |
| (b) | from 1 January 2016, magnetic tape in FDRs and magnetic tape and wire in CVRs. |
| (12) | A flight recorder shall not be switched off during flight. |
| (13) | A flight recorder installed in an aircraft shall meet the installation, crashworthiness and fire protection specifications prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91 and shall be located and installed in such a manner that maximum practicable protection is provided, in order that, in the event of an accident or incident, recorded data may be recovered in a preserved and intelligible state. |
| (14) | An owner or operator of an aircraft shall ensure that retrieving the recorded data from the storage medium will be readily possible. |
| (15) | A PIC, owner or operator of an aircraft shall ensure, to the extent possible, in the event an aircraft becomes involved in an accident or incident, that— |
| (a) | all related flight recorder records, and if possible the associated flight recorders, are preserved and retained in safe custody pending their disposition to the accident or incident investigation team; |
| (b) | a flight recorder is deactivated upon completion of flight time following an accident or incident; and |
| (c) | a flight recorder is not reactivated before their disposition to the accident or incident investigation team. |
| (16) | An owner or operator of an aircraft shall ensure that the quality assurance programme of an organisation responsible for the maintenance of his or her aircraft includes verification of the measurement range, recording interval and accuracy of parameters on installed flight recorder equipment. |
| (17) | An owner or operator of an aircraft shall ensure that documentation concerning parameter allocation, conversion equations, periodic calibration and other serviceable or maintenance information is maintained by the organisation responsible for [the] maintenance of his or her aircraft. The documentation shall be sufficient to ensure that accident investigation authorities have necessary information to read out the data in engineering units. |
| (18) | An owner or operator of an aircraft shall— |
| (a) | conduct daily and annual inspections of each flight recorder as specified in Document SA-CATS 91; and |
| (b) | record and retain the results of such check for a period of 5 years calculated from the date of such check. |
| (19) | CVR and FOR referred to in this Part may be combined. |
| (20) | An aircraft may commence a flight with the FDR inoperative: Provided that— |
| (a) | such aircraft shall not depart from an aerodrome where repairs or replacements to such FOR can be made; |
| (b) | such aircraft does not exceed six further consecutive flights with an FOR unserviceable; |
| (c) | not more than 48 hours have elapsed since such FOR became unserviceable; |
| (d) | such FDR is not combined with CVR and an aircraft is equipped with CVR that is serviceable and functioning in accordance with the requirements prescribed in Document SA-CATS 127; and |
| (e) | for aircraft with an approved MEL, such aircraft is operated in accordance with that MEL. |
| (21) | An aircraft may commence a flight with the CVR or CARS inoperative: Provided that— |
| (a) | such aircraft shall not take-off from an aerodrome where repairs or replacements to such CVR can be made; |
(b) such aircraft does not exceed six further consecutive flights with CVR unserviceable;
(c) not more than 48 hours have elapsed since such CVR became unserviceable;
| (d) | any FDR required to be carried is operative, unless such FDR is combined with a CVR; and |
| (e) | for aircraft with an approved MEL, such aircraft is operated in accordance with such MEL. |
| (22) | An operator shall not use the recordings or transcripts of CVR, CARS, Class A AIR, and Class A AIRS for purposes other than the investigation of an accident or incident in terms of Part 12, except where the recordings or transcripts are: |
| (a) | related to a safety-related event identified in the context of an SMS and are: |
| (i) | restricted to the relevant portions of a de-identified transcript of the recording; and |
| (ii) | subject to the protections stipulated in Part 140; |
| (b) | sought for use in criminal proceedings not related to an event involving an aircraft accident or incident investigation and are subject to the protections stipulated in Part 140; or |
| (c) | used for inspections of flight recorder systems as provided in Part 91 and its associated Document SA CATS 91. |
[Regulation 91.04.10(22) inserted by regulation 11(b) of Notice No. R. 3170, GG48228, dated 17 March 2023 (Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023)]
| (23) | An operator shall not use the recordings or transcripts of an FDR, an Aircraft Data Recording System as well as Class B and Class C AIR and AIRS for purposes other than the investigation of an accident or incident in terms of Part 12, except where a recording or a transcript is subject to the protections accorded by Part 140 and are: |
| (a) | used by an operator for airworthiness or maintenance purposes; |
| (b) | used by an operator in the operation of a flight data analysis programme required in this Part; |
| (c) | sought for use in proceedings not related to an event involving an accident or incident investigation; |
| (e) | disclosed under secure procedures. |
Note: Provisions on the protection of safety data, safety information and related sources are contained in Part 140.
[Regulation 91.04.10(23) inserted by regulation 11(b) of Notice No. R. 3170, GG48228, dated 17 March 2023 (Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023)]
[Regulation 91.04.10 substituted (from (2)(d) onwards) by regulation 21(h) of Notice No. R.1503, GG45491, dated 15 November 2021 (Twenty-First Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2021)]
