On May 19, 2020, the National Civil Aviation Agency (“ANAC”) published Resolution n. 559 (“Resolution”), authorizing, on an exceptional and temporary basis, the performance of landings and take-offs of helicopters in places not registered by ANAC by air operators regulated under the aegis of the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulation (“RBAC”) 135, during the period of the Declaration on Public Health of National Importance.
Non-registered sites are considered to be those not registered with ANAC and any site in Brazilian territory or territorial sea used for landing and/or take-off of helicopters to fight the pandemic caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus (“COVID-19”).
In order to perform the maneuvers, the control of risk inherent in the operation must be within the acceptable level of operational safety performance, including the protection of the helicopters, crew, other persons with duties on board, passengers, and third parties. Besides this initial requirement, a series of other operational safety rules were established in art. 5 of the Resolution, some of them being:
- Be the operation conducted for the purpose of assisting in addressing the public health emergency arising from the COVID-19 pandemic;
- The helicopters are authorized in the company’s Operational Specifications;
- Be under Visual Flight Weather Conditions – Daytime VMC;
- The site must be adequately sized for safe landing and takeoff according to the helicopter’s operational envelope and proper risk management;
- Conduct safety briefing with health professionals and others involved in the operation on normal and emergency procedures, as well as guidance on the proper way to board and disembark the aircraft;
- The helicopter’s landing, take-off, and approach be conducted at a safe distance from public roads and facilities, including those created to deal with the pandemic of COVID-19, in order to eliminate the risks related to the impact of debris, propelled by the airflow of the rotors, on these facilities and/or third parties.
The pilot, besides having to avoid prolonged flights within the restriction area imposed by the height diagram versus speed, foreseen in the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (“RFM”) of the aircraft, may not perform landings and takeoffs at night, in Instrument Flight Meteorological Conditions (“IMC”) or under Instrument Flight Rules (“IFR”).
The Resolution took effect from the date of its publication, and can already be applied in situations in the manner it states.
The Aeronautical Law team at DDSA – De Luca, Derenusson, Schuttoff & Advogados will continue to monitor the exposed topic and will update its clients and collaborators in case of any news.