CPL Air Law & Operational Procedures cheat sheet

Chicago Convention (1944) Article 1 recognises complete and exclusive sovereignty of each State over the airspace above its territory; Article 5 grants non-scheduled transit privileges subject to the right of the State flown over to require landing.

Article 6: scheduled international air services require special permission or authorisation; Article 3 excludes state aircraft (military, customs, police) from the Convention, which must still comply with Article 12 rules of the air.

The 19 ICAO Annexes: 1 Personnel Licensing, 2 Rules of the Air, 3 Meteorological Service, 4 Aeronautical Charts, 5 Units of Measurement, 6 Operation of Aircraft (Part I international commercial, II international general aviation, III helicopters), 7 Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks, 8 Airworthiness, 9 Facilitation, 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications, 11 Air Traffic Services, 12 Search and Rescue, 13 Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, 14 Aerodromes, 15 Aeronautical Information Services, 16 Environmental Protection, 17 Security, 18 Dangerous Goods, 19 Safety Management.

Annexes are Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs); Standards are mandatory (differences must be notified to ICAO under Article 38), Recommended Practices are desirable.

ICAO is not a regulator: it adopts SARPs and PANS (Doc 4444 for ATS, Doc 8168 for PANS-OPS) and audits States through USOAP; enforcement is by the State of Registry, Operator, or the State where the aircraft is used.

Freedom of the air: 1st overflight, 2nd technical stop, 3rd set down from home State, 4th take on for home State, 5th carry between two foreign States; 3rd-5th require specific grant, 1st and 2nd are typically granted through the International Air Services Transit Agreement.

Warsaw (1929) and Montreal (1999) Conventions govern carrier liability; Tokyo (1963) covers offences and powers of the aircraft commander; Rome (1952) covers surface damage; the 1944 Two Freedoms and Five Freedoms Agreements are separate from the Chicago Convention itself.

Article 12 requires each State to ensure that aircraft under its jurisdiction comply with rules of the air; over the high seas the Annex 2 rules apply without exception, and national rules must conform to them as far as practicable.

CPL privileges: act as PIC or co-pilot of aircraft engaged in operations other than commercial air transport, and as PIC of an aircraft in commercial air transport in single-pilot operations under the State's rules; CPL holders may be paid for flying.

Typical CPL requirements (ICAO Annex 1 minimum): age 18, Class 1 medical, knowledge and skill tests, at least 200 hours total flight time (or 150 hours in an approved integrated course), including 100 hours PIC and 10 hours instrument flight time, plus cross-country and night experience.

Ratings and endorsements extend privileges: type ratings for multi-pilot or complex aircraft, class ratings, instrument rating (IR), instructor rating, night rating; each rating carries a separate validity period and renewal/revalidation requirements.

Medical certificates: Class 1 for CPL/ATPL holders, Class 2 for PPL, Class 3 for ATC; validity shortens with age (commonly 12 months down to 6 months after age 40/60, depending on the State) and is reduced after significant illness, pregnancy, or medication.

Recency: a pilot may not act as PIC carrying passengers unless recent experience in the relevant type/class is met - typically 3 take-offs and landings in the preceding 90 days, and for night passenger carriage, night take-offs and landings.

Licence validity differs from rating validity differs from recency: the licence may remain valid while a rating has lapsed; operating without a valid rating or medical invalidates the flight and the insurance cover.

Logbook entries must be durable and traceable: date, aircraft type and registration, departure and destination, flight time, PIC name, and type of operation; instrument and night time are recorded separately.

A pilot whose licence is suspended, revoked, or whose medical is denied must not exercise the privileges; the State of Licence Issue may act against any holder regardless of where the flight occurred.

Right-of-way: converging aircraft of the same category - the one on the right has right-of-way; head-on - both alter course to the right; overtaking - the overtaking aircraft keeps clear, whether climbing, descending, or level.

Category order of right-of-way: balloon, glider, airship, aircraft towing or refuelling another, then all other aircraft; an aircraft landing or in the final approach has right-of-way over one on the ground or in the air, but not over an aircraft in distress.

Cruising levels follow the semicircular rule by magnetic track: 000-179 degrees use odd thousands (FL 10, 30, 50...) and 180-359 degrees use even thousands (FL 20, 40, 60...); in RVSM airspace 1000 ft intervals apply between FL 290 and FL 410.

Quadrantal rule (used in some States below the transition altitude): 000-089 odd thousands, 090-179 even thousands +500 ft, 180-269 odd thousands +500 ft, 270-359 even thousands.

Navigation lights: red on the left wingtip, green on the right wingtip, white at the tail; anti-collision strobes/beacons must be on whenever the aircraft is in operation on an aerodrome or in flight, except where they would dazzle or are hazardous.

Position lights indicate relative direction: seeing red and green means the other aircraft is approaching head-on; seeing red and white means it is crossing left to right ahead; seeing only white means it is moving away.

Signal square and light signals: a steady red light to an aircraft in flight means give way and continue circling; a steady green means cleared to land; a red flare means do not land for the time being; a green flare means cleared to land.

On the ground, a steady red light means stop; a flashing red means taxi clear of the runway in use; a flashing green means cleared to taxi; a white flashing light means return to starting point on the aerodrome.

Minimum safe altitudes: except for take-off and landing, an aircraft must not fly over congested areas below 1000 ft above the highest obstacle within 600 m, and elsewhere at least 500 ft above the surface, unless authorised.

FTL rules set maximum flight duty period (FDP), maximum flight time, minimum rest, and cumulative limits over 7, 14, 28 and 365 days; the operator's scheme must be approved by the State and be at least as protective as the prescribed rules.

FDP starts when the crew member reports for duty and ends at engines-off (or at the end of the last flight); positioning and standby count as duty and may be preceded by a shorter FDP limit.

Rest must be long enough to allow at least 8 hours of sleep opportunity in suitable accommodation, and must increase with time zone displacement and with the number of sectors flown.

WOCL (window of circadian low, roughly 02:00-06:00 body clock) reduces permissible FDP; duties encroaching on it require earlier report limits or reduced FDP.

Cumulative limits cap total duty and flight hours over rolling periods; the 28-day and annual limits cannot be reset by a single day off, and a minimum number of days off must be given in each 7-day and 14-day period.

Fatigue risk management (FRMS) is an alternative, data-driven system requiring a safety case, monitoring, and a State-approved process; it does not remove the underlying prescriptive limits unless approved.

Split duty: a break in suitable accommodation may extend the FDP, but only if it meets the minimum length specified in the scheme; short breaks and naps are not automatically rest.

Time zone displacement: crossing multiple zones shifts the body clock and requires adjustment of FDP and rest; the operator must account for the direction of travel and the resulting circadian disruption.

The operator holds the AOC and is responsible for the safety of the flight: the flight must be dispatched under operational control, with a flight plan, fuel, weather, NOTAM and performance assessment completed before departure.

PIC authority is final on the flight (Chicago Article 1 and Annex 2): in an emergency the PIC may deviate from rules to the extent necessary for safety and must report the deviation.

Fuel planning: taxi fuel, trip fuel, contingency (typically 5%), alternate fuel, final reserve (typically 30 minutes holding at 1500 ft), and additional fuel; in-flight replanning requires a decision point and adequate reserve.

MEL: the aircraft may be dispatched with specified equipment inoperative only if listed in the approved Minimum Equipment List, with the stated rectification interval and operational conditions; anything not listed must be rectified before flight.

Performance: take-off and landing distance, climb gradients, obstacle clearance, and the one-engine-inoperative case must be assessed; contaminated runways and high temperatures reduce performance.

Crew composition and duty: the operator must ensure the crew is qualified, current, and rested; multi-pilot operations require defined crew resource management and standard operating procedures.

Operational control includes flight watch, weather monitoring, and a means to communicate with the flight; the operator must have a dispatch or flight-following system appropriate to the operation.

Carriage of documents and records: the operator retains flight, duty, and maintenance records for the period required by the State, and the PIC carries the documents listed in the aircraft documents domain.

Aircraft nationality marks are allocated by the State of Registry (Annex 7); the registration mark and nationality mark must be displayed on the aircraft and appear on the Certificate of Registration.

An aircraft cannot be validly registered in more than one State at a time; transfer of registration requires deregistration in the old State and a new Certificate of Registration.

Airworthiness: the Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) is issued by the State of Registry after type certification and continued compliance with the maintenance programme; the C of A remains valid only if maintenance, modifications, and airworthiness directives are complied with.

Documents to be carried on board (Annex 6): Certificate of Registration, Certificate of Airworthiness, crew licences, journey logbook, aircraft radio station licence, and, where required, the operations manual, MEL, and noise certificate.

Additional documents for international flights: passenger and cargo manifests, dangerous goods documentation, and the general declaration where required by customs; the operator's AOC copy may also be required.

The Certificate of Airworthiness is not a guarantee of airworthiness at the moment of flight: the PIC must satisfy themselves that the aircraft is airworthy and that all required maintenance has been certified.

Markings: the aircraft must carry the nationality and registration marks, and the operator's name may be required to be displayed; the marks must be visible and not obscured.

Radio station licence: issued for the aircraft's radio equipment; the operator must ensure frequencies and equipment are approved for the airspace and route flown.

Before take-off: complete the before-take-off checklist, confirm take-off performance, brief the departure and emergency actions, and confirm the take-off clearance and runway.

Engine failure after V1: continue the take-off, climb to the acceleration altitude, clean up, and follow the engine-out procedure; below V1, reject the take-off and stop on the runway or overrun as necessary.

Emergency priority: aviate, navigate, communicate; declare an emergency with MAYDAY (distress) or PAN-PAN (urgency), state callsign, nature of problem, position, altitude, and intentions.

Depressurisation: don oxygen masks, establish communication, initiate emergency descent to the lowest safe altitude or 10,000 ft, and turn away from terrain and traffic.

Fire: identify the source, discharge the appropriate extinguisher, isolate the system, and land as soon as practicable; do not delay landing to troubleshoot.

Unreliable airspeed: maintain attitude and power, use the pitch/power table, and cross-check with GPS, standby instruments, and AOA; do not chase the airspeed indicator.

Abnormal landing gear or flap conditions: follow the QRH, consider a low pass for visual confirmation, and brief the cabin and ATC; use the longest suitable runway.

Go-around: apply take-off power, establish climb attitude, retract drag devices as appropriate, and follow the published missed approach; do not retract gear until a positive rate is confirmed.

Read-back is mandatory for clearances and instructions that affect safety: route, altitude, heading, speed, frequency, squawk, runway, and conditional clearances.

Standard phraseology: "line up and wait", "cleared for take-off", "cleared to land", "hold short", "go around", "say again", "standby", "roger", "wilco", "affirm", "negative"; avoid non-standard words.

Clearance limit is normally the destination aerodrome or a fix; a clearance does not authorise deviation from terrain clearance or from the rules of the air.

Position reporting: identify the station called, own callsign, position, time, altitude, and next position with ETA; on initial contact include callsign and, where required, altitude.

Frequency transfer: acknowledge the instruction, change frequency, and report on the new frequency with callsign and altitude; if contact is not established, return to the previous frequency.

Lost communication: squawk 7600, fly the last acknowledged clearance route and altitude, and follow the published lost-communication procedure; for IFR, continue to the destination or alternate as cleared.

Emergency squawks: 7700 general emergency, 7600 radio failure, 7500 unlawful interference; these are set only when the situation applies.

Phraseology errors and blocked transmissions: use "say again", "blocked", or "correction" and confirm the corrected read-back; never assume a clearance was received.

ICAO airspace classes A-G: A only IFR, all aircraft separated; B IFR and VFR, all separated; C IFR separated from all, VFR separated from IFR and given traffic information about other VFR; D IFR separated from IFR, traffic information to all; E IFR separated from IFR, VFR given traffic information; F and G are advisory/uncontrolled with no separation service.

Class G: no ATC clearance required, no separation provided, but flight information and alerting service are available where provided; VMC minima apply and see-and-avoid is the pilot's responsibility.

VMC minima vary with altitude and airspace: typically 5 km flight visibility and 1500 m horizontal/300 m vertical cloud distance in Class C-E above 3050 m, reducing at lower levels; national differences apply.

Separation: vertical separation is 1000 ft below FL 290 and 2000 ft above (or 1000 ft in RVSM airspace); lateral separation uses routes, radials, or distance; longitudinal separation uses time or distance.

ATS services: air traffic control (area, approach, aerodrome), flight information service, alerting service, and advisory service; ATC provides separation, FIS provides information, alerting initiates SAR.

Transponder and SSR: Mode C provides altitude; RVSM requires height-monitoring approval; squawk allocation is by ATC and must be read back.

Special VFR and SVFR clearances allow VFR flight in controlled airspace below VMC; they are subject to ATC and to the pilot's ability to remain clear of cloud and terrain.

Transition altitude and level: below the transition altitude altitudes are used (QNH), above it flight levels (standard 1013.25 hPa); the transition layer separates them.

Annex 13 definitions: an accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure, or the aircraft is missing or inaccessible; an incident is an occurrence that affects or could affect safety.

The State of Occurrence is responsible for the investigation; it may delegate to the State of Registry, Operator, Design, or Manufacture; the investigation is independent and its sole objective is prevention, not blame.

Serious incidents must be reported and investigated like accidents; examples include near collisions, engine failure, runway incursion, and crew incapacitation.

The PIC must report an accident or serious incident as soon as practicable to the nearest ATS unit and the operator; reports include position, time, injuries, damage, and assistance required.

Occurrence reporting systems are non-punitive and confidential where the State provides a just culture; mandatory reporting covers accidents, serious incidents, and specified occurrences.

Safety Management System (SMS): four components - safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion; operators, maintenance organisations, and ATS providers must implement an SMS.

Safety risk management uses hazard identification, risk assessment (severity x likelihood), and mitigation; safety assurance monitors through audits, data analysis, and change management.

The final investigation report is published by the investigating authority; it contains findings, causes, and safety recommendations, and States must respond to recommendations.