Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Submission of Safety Case for Approval

700.232 The air operator shall submit the validated safety case to the Minister for approval along with a statement that the initial audit has been conducted in accordance with section 700.231 and that the fatigue risk management system meets the requirements of this Division.

Approval of the Safety Case

700.233 The Minister shall approve the safety case of an air operator if the Minister determines, on the basis of the information provided by the operator, that the conditions of subsection 700.225(3) are met and that the initial audit has been conducted.

Continuing Exemption

• 700.234 (1) An air operator and a flight crew member who are exempt under section 700.200 from the application of certain provisions in respect of a flight continue, on receipt of the approval of the safety case by the air operator, to be exempt from the application of the same provisions for that flight and, if applicable, for any other flight described in the notice of intent under section 700.206.

• (2) The exemption referred to in subsection (1) continues to have effect as long as

  • (a) the air operator maintains the fatigue risk management system in accordance with the applicable conditions of this Division;

  • (b) the air operator monitors the effectiveness of the safety case in managing the fatigue and alertness of the flight crew members in accordance with section 700.248; and

  • (c) the air operator remedies any adverse effects of the variance on the flight crew members’ levels of fatigue and alertness no later than 60 days after the date on which the adverse effect is identified in the course of monitoring.

[700.235 to 700.239 reserved]

Exemption for Other Flights

• 700.240 (1) An air operator and flight crew members who are exempt under section 700.234 from the application of certain provisions in respect of a flight on the basis of an approved safety case are exempt from the application of the same provisions, on the basis of the same approved safety case, in respect of another flight if

  • (a) the air operator has provided the Minister a letter of confirmation in accordance with subsection (2);

  • (b) the duration of the flight duty period for the other flight is not longer than the duration of the flight duty period of the flight;

  • (c) the number of consecutive flight duty periods for the other flight does not exceed the number of consecutive flight duty periods for the flight;

  • (d) each flight duty period for the other flight starts within 60 minutes of each corresponding flight duty period for the flight;

  • (e) the other flight is conducted in the same time zone or across the same number of time zones in the same direction as the flight and is conducted by flight crew members who are all acclimatized to the same time zone;

  • (f) any part of the flight duty period for the other flight that occurs within the flight crew members’ window of circadian low does not exceed the duration of the flight duty period for the flight that occurs within the flight crew members’ window of circadian low;

  • (g) the other flight is conducted using aircraft of the same type as that used to conduct the flight;

  • (h) the other flight is conducted with the same number of flight crew members on board as the flight;

  • (i) the operating environment of the other flight is similar to the operating environment of the flight;

  • (j) the hazards and risks associated with the other flight are similar to those of the flight;

  • (k) the duration of each rest period before and after each flight duty period associated with the other flight is not shorter than each rest period associated with the flight;

  • (l) the time of day of each rest period of the other flight is similar to the time of day of each rest period of the flight; and

  • (m) the number of consecutive flight duty periods occurring during any part of each flight crew member’s window of circadian low for the other flight does not exceed the number of such consecutive flight duty periods for the flight.

• (2) The air operator shall provide the Minister a letter of confirmation for the other flight that will be conducted under an exemption referred to in subsection (1) that sets out

  • (a) a description of the other flight that will be subject to the exemption on the basis of the approved safety case;

  • (b) the provisions of these Regulations from which the air operator and flight crew members will be exempt in respect of the other flight;

  • (c) a description of the manner in which the other flight will be conducted results in a variance from the requirements of the provisions referred to in paragraph (b) in respect of the other flight;

  • (d) a statement that the conditions in paragraphs (1)(a) to (m) are met; and

  • (e) the date on which the exemption will apply to the other flight for the first time.

• (3) An approved safety case in respect of a flight shall not be used for another flight unless

  • (a) the provisions of these Regulations from which the air operator is exempted are the same for all the flights; and

  • (b) the manner in which the flights are conducted results in a variance from the requirements of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a) is the same for all the flights.

• (4) The exemption referred to in subsection (1) continues to have effect as long as

  • (a) the air operator maintains the fatigue risk management system in accordance with the applicable conditions of this Division;

  • (b) the air operator monitors the effectiveness of the safety case in managing the fatigue and alertness of the flight crew members in accordance with section 700.248; and

  • (c) the air operator remedies any adverse effects of the variance on the flight crew members’ levels of fatigue and alertness no later than 60 days after the date on which the adverse effect is identified in the course of monitoring.

[700.241 to 700.245 reserved]

Non-availability of Exemption

700.246 An air operator who was exempt from the application of provisions in respect of a flight under section 700.200 and who has not validated a safety case in the period set out in paragraph 700.200(3)(b) shall not be exempted from the application of the same provisions and in respect of the same flight for a period of two years after the expiry of that period.

Fatigue Risk Management System — Audit

700.247 The air operator who has implemented a fatigue risk management system in accordance with this Division shall ensure that an audit of its system is conducted, in accordance with the process referred to in subsection 700.219(1),

• (a) within 12 months after the day on which the initial audit is completed under subsection 700.231(1);

• (b) within 12 months after the day on which the previous audit was completed;

• (c) after an incident or accident; and

• (d) after a major change in the air operator’s activities that could affect the levels of fatigue or alertness of the flight crew members.

Variance — Monitoring of Effects

• 700.248 (1) The air operator shall monitor, in accordance with the procedures referred to in subsection 700.219(3), the effects of the variance described in the approved safety case on the flight crew members’ levels of fatigue and alertness for each period of six months during which the flight that is subject to the exemption referred to in section 700.234 is conducted.

• (2) The air operator shall collect data in respect of a representative number of flights conducted over each period of six months in accordance with the methodology set out in the approved safety case.

• (3) If the monitoring shows that the variance described in the approved safety case has an adverse effect on the flight crew members’ levels of fatigue or alertness, the air operator shall develop and take corrective actions to remedy the adverse effect of the variance.

• (4) If corrective actions are taken, the air operator shall assess their effectiveness.

• (5) If the corrective actions remedy the adverse effect of the variance, the air operator shall modify the safety case to take into account the corrective actions and inform the Minister of the modification within 60 days after it is made.

Fatigue Risk Management System — Review

• 700.249 (1) The air operator shall conduct a review of its fatigue risk management system, in accordance with the procedures referred to in subsection 700.219(2), at least once every 12 months after the initial audit required by subsection 700.231(1) is conducted.

• (2) The review of the fatigue risk management system shall assess

  • (a) the fatigue risk management process;

  • (b) the reliability of the safety performance indicators; and

  • (c) the attainment of the safety objectives.

• (3) The air operator shall

  • (a) determine what corrective actions are necessary to remedy any deficiency identified by the review and take those actions;

  • (b) keep a record of any determination made under paragraph (a) and the reason for it; and

  • (c) if the air operator has assigned management functions to another person, provide that person with a copy of the determination.

• (4) An air operator shall not assign a duty relating to the quality assurance program for the fatigue risk management system to a person who is responsible for carrying out a task or an activity evaluated by that program unless

  • (a) owing to the size, nature and complexity of the air operator’s operations and activities, it is impractical to assign the duty to a person who is not responsible for carrying out the task or activity;

  • (b) based on a risk analysis, assigning the duty to a person who is responsible for carrying out the task or activity will not result in an increased risk to aviation safety; and

  • (c) the audit of the fatigue risk management system will not be compromised.

[700.250 to 700.254 reserved]

Training

• 700.255 (1) The air operator shall ensure that training is provided to its employees every 12 months and covers the subjects set out in section 700.218.

• (2) The air operator shall ensure that there is a training record that includes

  • (a) a description of all the training that each employee has received in accordance with this section; and

  • (b) evaluation results for each employee who has received training in accordance with this section.

Documentation — Keeping up to Date

• 700.256 (1) The air operator shall ensure that the fatigue risk management system documentation reflects the procedures and processes that have been established and implemented.

• (2) The air operator shall notify the Minister of any changes to the fatigue risk management system within 60 days after the change is made.

Data and Documentation

• 700.257 (1) The air operator shall collect data in respect of flight crew members on the following:

  • (a) the fatigue model used to assess the levels of fatigue and alertness of the flight crew members;

  • (b) records of testing for fatigue and alertness;

  • (c) the evaluation of the level of fatigue against the baseline level established for comparative analysis.

• (2) The air operator shall keep the following documentation:

  • (a) records and documents created in the course of conducting an audit or a review under this Division; and

  • (b) any other material created under the fatigue risk management system.