91.509 Survival equipment for overwater operations.
(a) No person may take off an airplane for a flight over water more than 50 nautical miles from the nearest shore unless that airplane is equipped with a life preserver or an approved flotation means for each occupant of the airplane.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may take off an airplane for flight over water more than 30 minutes flying time or 100 nautical miles from the nearest shore, whichever is less, unless it has on board the following survival equipment:
(1) A life preserver, equipped with an approved survivor locator light, for each occupant of the airplane.
(2) Enough liferafts (each equipped with an approved survival locator light) of a rated capacity and buoyancy to accommodate the occupants of the airplane.
(3) At least one pyrotechnic signaling device for each liferaft.
(4) One self-buoyant, water-resistant, portable emergency radio signaling device that is capable of transmission on the appropriate emergency frequency or frequencies and not dependent upon the airplane power supply.
(5) A lifeline stored in accordance with §25.1411(g) of this chapter.
(c) A fractional ownership program manager under subpart K of this part may apply for a deviation from paragraphs (b)(2) through (5) of this section for a particular over water operation or the Administrator may amend the management specifications to require the carriage of all or any specific items of the equipment listed in paragraphs (b)(2) through (5) of this section.
(d) The required life rafts, life preservers, and signaling devices must be installed in conspicuously marked locations and easily accessible in the event of a ditching without appreciable time for preparatory procedures.
(e) A survival kit, appropriately equipped for the route to be flown, must be attached to each required life raft.
(f) As used in this section, the term shore means that area of the land adjacent to the water that is above the high water mark and excludes land areas that are intermittently under water.
[Doc. No. 18334, 54 FR 34314, Aug. 18, 1989, as amended by Amdt. 91–280, 68 FR 54561, Sept. 17, 2003]
§ 91.511 Communication and navigation equipment for overwater operations.
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (c), (d), and (f) of this section, no person may take off an airplane for a flight over water more than 30 minutes flying time or 100 nautical miles from the nearest shore unless it has at least the following operable equipment:
(1) Radio communication equipment appropriate to the facilities to be used and able to transmit to, and receive from, at least one communication facility from any place along the route:
(i) Two transmitters.
(ii) Two microphones.
(iii) Two headsets or one headset and one speaker.
(iv) Two independent receivers.
(2) Appropriate electronic navigational equipment consisting of at least two independent electronic navigation units capable of providing the pilot with the information necessary to navigate the airplane within the airspace assigned by air traffic control. However, a receiver that can receive both communications and required navigational signals may be used in place of a separate communications receiver and a separate navigational signal receiver or unit.
(b) For the purposes of paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (a)(2) of this section, a receiver or electronic navigation unit is independent if the function of any part of it does not depend on the functioning of any part of another receiver or electronic navigation unit.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, a person may operate an airplane on which no passengers are carried from a place where repairs or replacement cannot be made to a place where they can be made, if not more than one of each of the dual items of radio communication and navigational equipment specified in paragraphs (a)(1) (i) through (iv) and (a)(2) of this section malfunctions or becomes inoperative.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, when both VHF and HF communications equipment are required for the route and the airplane has two VHF transmitters and two VHF receivers for communications, only one HF transmitter and one HF receiver is required for communications.
(e) As used in this section, the term shore means that area of the land adjacent to the water which is above the high-water mark and excludes land areas which are intermittently under water.
(f) Notwithstanding the requirements in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a person may operate in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean west of a line which extends from 44°47'00" N / 67°00'00" W to 39°00'00" N / 67°00'00" W to 38°30'00" N / 60°00'00" W south along the 60°00'00" W longitude line to the point where the line intersects with the northern coast of South America, when:
(1) A single long-range navigation system is installed, operational, and appropriate for the route; and
(2) Flight conditions and the aircraft's capabilities are such that no more than a 30-minute gap in two-way radio very high frequency communications is expected to exist.
[Doc. No. 18334, 54 FR 34314, Aug. 18, 1989, as amended by Amdt. 91–249, 61 FR 7190, Feb. 26, 1996; Amdt. 91–296, 72 FR 31679, June 7, 2007]
§ 91.513 Emergency equipment.
(a) No person may operate an airplane unless it is equipped with the emergency equipment listed in this section.
(b) Each item of equipment—
(1) Must be inspected in accordance with §91.409 to ensure its continued serviceability and immediate readiness for its intended purposes;
(2) Must be readily accessible to the crew;
(3) Must clearly indicate its method of operation; and
(4) When carried in a compartment or container, must have that compartment or container marked as to contents and date of last inspection.
(c) Hand fire extinguishers must be provided for use in crew, passenger, and cargo compartments in accordance with the following:
(1) The type and quantity of extinguishing agent must be suitable for the kinds of fires likely to occur in the compartment where the extinguisher is intended to be used.
(2) At least one hand fire extinguisher must be provided and located on or near the flight deck in a place that is readily accessible to the flight crew.
(3) At least one hand fire extinguisher must be conveniently located in the passenger compartment of each airplane accommodating more than six but less than 31 passengers, and at least two hand fire extinguishers must be conveniently located in the passenger compartment of each airplane accommodating more than 30 passengers.
(4) Hand fire extinguishers must be installed and secured in such a manner that they will not interfere with the safe operation of the airplane or adversely affect the safety of the crew and passengers. They must be readily accessible and, unless the locations of the fire extinguishers are obvious, their stowage provisions must be properly identified.
(d) First aid kits for treatment of injuries likely to occur in flight or in minor accidents must be provided.
(e) Each airplane accommodating more than 19 passengers must be equipped with a crash axe.
(f) Each passenger-carrying airplane must have a portable battery-powered megaphone or megaphones readily accessible to the crewmembers assigned to direct emergency evacuation, installed as follows:
(1) One megaphone on each airplane with a seating capacity of more than 60 but less than 100 passengers, at the most rearward location in the passenger cabin where it would be readily accessible to a normal flight attendant seat. However, the Administrator may grant a deviation from the requirements of this subparagraph if the Administrator finds that a different location would be more useful for evacuation of persons during an emergency.
(2) On each airplane with a seating capacity of 100 or more passengers, one megaphone installed at the forward end and one installed at the most rearward location where it would be readily accessible to a normal flight attendant seat.