Global Navigation for Pilots: International Flight Techniques and Procedures

Global Navigation for Pilots: International Flight Techniques and Procedures

Third Edition

by Dale De Remer, Ph.D. / Gary M. Ullrich

Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.

7005 132nd Place SE

Newcastle, Washington 98059-3153

asa@asa2fly.com | www.asa2fly.com

© 2019 Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (1993-2018 by Dale De Remer)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

ASA-GNP-3-EB

eBook ePub ISBN 978-1-61954-890-9

Softcover ISBN 978-1-61954-889-3

Cover photo: ©iStock/Assanta

Photography and other illustration credits (page references based on print book): xiii—W.D. Van Wormer; xv—D. De Remer, Tyler Ingham/University of North Dakota; p.4—U.S. Army and Navy, Air Navigation, 1972; p.67—D. De Remer; p.73—American Avionics; p.77—Steven Fine (Wikimedia CC); p.78—D. De Remer; p.101—ICAO Doc. 007; p.109—Brazil AIP (DECEA); pp.115, 116, 123–138—ICAO Doc. 4444; p.140—GoogleEarth; pp.144–145, 151–156—OpsGroup; pp.157–164—NAV Canada; pp.165–197—ICAO NAT Doc. 007; p.200—Iceland AIP; pp.223–227—OpsGroup; p.256—A. Bernabeo; pp.264–266—reprinted with permission from World Meteorological Organization; p.290—W.D. Van Wormer; p.293—GPS.com; p.309—European Satellite Service Provider (ESSP) & GNS Systems Agency (GSA), used with permission; pp. 314–315—PilotWeb (faa.gov); p.331—Brazil AIP (DECEA); pp.345–348—ICAO Doc. 9613 Pt.B; p.357, 399—D. De Remer; p.405—Eurocontrol website; pp.406, 408–411, 416–419—OpsGroup.

Library of Congress record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044624

Foreword

This book is the result of Dr. De Remer’s many years of teaching an international procedures course at the University of North Dakota, during which time I enjoyed numerous discussions with him about how and what to teach in such a course, and lectured to his students on many occasions. Up until now there has been no single, all-inclusive book devoted to international and oceanic operations. Of the airlines flying internationally, each has worked up its own system of training courses for its pilots and dispatchers. Except for a few training courses for general aviation and ab-initio training, there have been no books devoted to the subject. So this text is a welcome addition to fill this important gap in the dissemination of aviation knowledge.

This text presents the background needed by pilots to learn the oceanic system. The book also gives listings of many original sources of information to allow even deeper study.

Oceanic operation with today’s equipment, from the light single-engine aircraft up through the B-747, is safe and efficient. In all cases, however, the system and the hazards must be well understood. All of the procedures described in this book are the result of input from present day users of the system. I am sure the reader will be ready to continue learning the system in the air if the basics, as presented in these chapters, are understood. We who do it every day, will be listening for your call on 131.8, if you ever need a relay.

—W. D. Van Wormer, Captain, B-747

Author’s Note: Captain Van Wormer’s piloting achievements are an inspiration for young pilots everywhere. And Van flies nearly every day. After retirement he continued flying the world, delivering large aircraft where needed, carrying out pilot and mechanic examinations, etc. Here is a list of his ratings:

ATP DC-9, B-727, B-767, B-757, L-1011; B-747 Part 121 Check Airman, Domestic & International; ETOPS: Simulator DC- 9, B-727; All Seats B-767, L-1011, B-747; Commercial ASES, Glider, Balloon; CFI, Airplane, Instrument, glider, renewals; Designated Examiner, Airplane—all ratings through ATP; Airframe and Powerplant with Inspection Authorization; NWS: Certified Weather Observer.

About the Authors

Dr. Dale De Remer was raised in Southern California and received his Bachelor of Science degree from California State Polytechnic University. While completing his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees at Utah State University, flying became a part of everyday life. During his career he has served as corporate pilot, agricultural pilot and chief pilot for his own and other companies as well as flight instructor, including instrument, multi-engine and seaplane and helicopter. He has over 24,000 hours flight time and over 20 years of experience teaching aviation at the university level.

For 18 years Dale taught advanced seaplane flight courses ranging from the Arctic to the boreal forests of Guatemala. He is recognized as a NAFI Master Flight Instructor and in 1998 he was inducted into the National Association of Flight Instructors Hall of Fame at Oshkosh. His navigational skills and interests include seven years as skipper of his own sailboat, logging over 90,000 miles of sea travel. He is the author of eight books including Aircraft Systems for Pilots, Global Navigation for Pilots, Water Flying Concepts, Human Factors and Crew Resource Management for Flight Instructors, Seaplane Operations, The Seaplane Pilot and The Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation (Chief Editor).

Gary Ullrich is an Associate Professor and Assistant Chair for General Academics in the Aviation Department at the University of North Dakota (UND). Professor Ullrich has over 38 years of world-wide flying experience in multiple types of transport category aircraft. He is also the prime instructor for the Aviation Department’s International Procedures and Long Range Navigation course.

Prior to joining the faculty at UND, Gary worked over 10 years with FlightSafety. Under FlightSafety’s training contract with the U.S. Air Force, Gary created courseware for the entire active duty, air national guard, and Air Force Reserve KC-135 fleet along with the B-2 pilot training in the KC-135R, which covered all NextGen training requirements as well as world-wide oceanic procedures. Additionally, he authored multiple computer-based training modules which were used for initial and recurring training. Prior to this, Gary was a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF and served as Chief of Safety. He managed an airfield in Portugal consisting of U.S. military, Portuguese military and civilian operations, and was responsible for all airfield ops, air traffic control, weather forecasting, ramp operations, and aircraft maintenance.

Chapter 1

Introduction and International Regulations

The Arrangement and Use of This Book

This book is for the pilot who wants to know more about making international flights, in order that such flights may be properly planned for and executed. It takes the reader from the basic knowledge of air navigation expected of an instrument-rated private pilot onward, well into the subjects necessary to understand the methods and systems used to accomplish flight over longer distances and across international borders.

In the pages ahead, the reader should be alert for bold words, as they are special words that should be part of the knowledgeable pilot’s vocabulary. The reader will find that the bold word will soon be defined or has already been defined. The bold word will be found in the index, which is a good place to determine if the word is used elsewhere in the book.

The term figures is used for all diagrams, photographs, and tables. Figures are numbered as follows: chapter number–figure number (within the chapter). For example, Figure 12-4 is the fourth figure in Chapter 12.

Some chapters have study questions at the end. It is suggested that these be used to further solidify the reader’s understanding gained in that chapter.

See the section below that explains the ASA Reader Resource Page which is housed on the ASA website for this book, and how it can be used to help the reader find internet resources referred to in the chapter discussions.

The main book Appendices follow the last chapter and contain a short bibliography of additional readings, as well as a handy glossary of acronyms and abbreviations used in global navigation practices. (Note: a dedicated aviation dictionary has a place on every aviator’s shelf and ASA’s Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms would prove helpful.)

Notes on the Book’s Contents

Pilots who must navigate over long distances must be able to plan flights covering all eventualities. In flight, pilots must evaluate the progress of the aircraft, determine the accuracy of the navigation systems in use, plan for the remainder of the flight, quickly detect and repair navigation errors and quickly deal with unexpected route changes. High speed flight demands that the pilot has the ability to anticipate changes in flight conditions, think ahead of the aircraft, and make correct decisions very quickly on the basis of anticipated changes. Many navigation methods and systems are available to the pilot for use in long-range navigation. Some of them, such as dead reckoning and pilotage (which is covered in Chapter 5), are relatively simple. Some are more complex, such as long-distance flight over featureless terrain (Chapter 5 contains the secrets that will allow you to do that). Others, such as INS and GPS (Chapters 11 and 12) are very complex but are simplified by modern, powerful computers.

All systems require the pilot/navigator to understand the errors and limitations of the systems in use, as well as the proper usage of the available tools to ensure the systems in use are correctly directing the aircraft (Chapter 16). The basics of charts (Chapter 3) and navigation instruments (Chapter 4) are provided so that you may skillfully practice the art of navigation.

Getting there is a big part of the task, which requires a sound understanding of international procedures (Chapters 8 and 9) and knowledge of international weather data presentations and how to utilize them (Chapter 10).

Time is a vital ingredient in any form of navigation, so it is discussed in detail in Chapter 15. Also, since we know better than to risk the safety of the souls aboard our airplane or the possibility of confiscation of our expensive aircraft, we surely must know the rules of the game we are playing. In the early days of aviation, there were no rules. Then, as time went on, each country made up their own rules. Fortunately, eventually those rules, by convention, became the international laws that all countries agreed to by convention. They are called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annexes and are discussed later on in this chapter.

Usually an adjective is used with the word navigation to indicate the type or primary method being used, such as dead reckoning navigation, pressure pattern navigation or inertial navigation. Global is one of those adjectives which, when used with navigation, indicates the ability or capability to manage movement (navigate) to anywhere on Earth. This process of managing travel to various parts of the globe must recognize that international boundaries are crossed, people of different cultures and languages are encountered and must be interacted with, and air and ground operating regulations must be known and complied with. Preflight planning, therefore, plays a major role in the successful execution of an international flight (Chapters 6 and 7).

As a pilot who can navigate all over this solid ball in space that spins, you will be expected by others to have knowledge of things like our spacial relationship to the sun, moon, stars and how they help you navigate, so celestial concepts are presented for your edification in Chapter 17.

The ASA Reader Resource Webpage

Each passing year brings new technology to our field of endeavor, and with that comes new rules and regulations. The procedures and laws impacting flight grow more complex and so our profession as pilots grows more complex. This is especially true with international flight. Fortunately, we now have access to all of this information via the internet; thus, this book is full of URLs. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a web address used by your computer to locate a specific internet resource. But information available to us on the internet keeps changing, so URLs become obsolete and often the newest information (which we pilots need) will be available but at a different URL (or, link).

To best be able to find new URLs for links that lead to a dead-end, you can go to a webpage dedicated to this book that will provide lists of links by chapter, like an online bibliography: This is the Reader Resource page on the ASA website (see www.asa2fly.com/reader/gnp). The links will be periodically checked to update them to the newest information. Therefore when you come across an internet URL in the chapter text, keep in mind this Reader Resource page for any updated links.

Online international flight services are another type of valuable internet resource. Some publish up-to-date NOTAM-type information for pilots regarding places where things are happening and recently changed local regulations; others are flight planning services for flight plans, permits and parking arrangements, etc. For the pilot flying internationally, they are almost a must, and examples are mentioned in Chapters 6, 7 and 8.

Changing URLs and Resource Material on the Internet

So these needed source materials change often, as do URLs; therefore pilots need a strategy for searching the information they need. An FAA guide might be moved to a different web location; an older ICAO document still exists at a certain URL but the new information is located elsewhere—all kinds of scenarios like this are possible. You’re required by aviation laws worldwide to have the most recent regulatory and procedural knowledge at hand; how do you know you have the most up-to-date resource? Here are three tricks of the trade that can help:

Each state (country) is required by law to produce and make available on the internet their Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and it must be updated every 28 days. Each AIP has a find and replace table in its front section recording the date of each recently updated section, so you can check this table first to see what has changed.

The FAA and ICAO websites have excellent search engines that will lead you to the most up-to-date resource. Go to faa.gov and/or icao.int and use their search windows.

Even with the above, you’re far from being done with your preflight planning—some states are careless about producing a new AIP every 28 days, and some have immediate regulation changes such as closed airspace, etc., that are the result of emergencies and the like. Because of this, flight ops and international flight service providers become important for many reasons, and these are discussed in the flight planning chapters ahead.

What’s New in this Third Edition?

In addition to the updates already mentioned, we have included new procedures and references available to an international pilot, as follows below.

New and Updated Industry Publications

New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) document, The North Atlantic NAT Resource Guide for United States Operators. This reference material will be used as a source to get the most current information at time of publication and is discussed and referenced in Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 13.

New FAA document, Pacific Resource Guide for U.S. Operators—a great reference discussed in Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 13.

New FAA document, West Atlantic Route System Gulf of Mexico Caribbean Resource Guide for U.S. Operators. Discussed in Chapter 8.

Updated FAA Advisory Circular 91-70B, Oceanic and Remote Continental Airspace Operations. Covers the many changes at the ICAO, and is discussed and referenced in Chapters 1, 8 and 13.

ICAO North Atlantic Systems Planning Group (NAT GPG) has published a Sample Oceanic Checklist which is discussed and referenced in Chapters 7 and 8.

All ICAO Member States (countries) are now required to publish their Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) on the Internet—where to find these is discussed.

New ICAO GOLD Document. ICAO has transitioned from FANS 1/A Operations Manual (FOM) to the Global Operational Data Link Document (GOLD). GOLD monitoring is now being referred to as performance-based communication and surveillance (PBCS) monitoring under the new ICAO provisions.

New references and compliance requirements regarding infectious diseases are also discussed.

New focus on volcanic eruptions and ASHTAMs (Volcanic Ash Notice to Airmen).

New requirements for entering the United States, as well as added advanced notifications and NextGen Benefits.

Introduction to Global Navigation

Global navigation, to be defined, must be broken down into its two parts. Navigation comes from two Latin words navis, meaning ship, and agere, meaning to direct or move or manage the movement of. So navigation is defined as the process of directing or managing the movement of a craft from one place to another. A craft is any object requiring direction from one place to another, usually a sea craft, a land craft or an aircraft. Unlike surface navigation, air navigation involves movement above the surface of the earth, within or just above the atmosphere. Global denotes operations over the entire earth, giving the connotation of long-range flight navigation.

Earlier Days of Navigation

Early explorers were aided by the invention of the astrolabe (Figure 1-1), which will with reasonable accuracy determine latitude by measuring the altitude of the sun in the sky at local apparent noon, or the altitude of Polaris (the North Star) at night. They were also aided by the nocturnal (Figure 1-2), which will give a close approximation of the time. (These processes are explained in more detail in Chapter 17.)

Figure 1-1. The astrolabe

Figure 1-2. The nocturnal

But it was not until the 1700s that an accurate chronometer (clock) made possible the determination of longitude, and the sextant or octant (instruments which more accurately measure the altitude of a celestial body) made it possible for navigators to accurately—within a mile or two—fix their position on the surface of the earth (celestial navigation), even when far from land.

The Science and Art of Navigation

Navigation is considered both an art and a science. Science is involved in the development of instruments and methods of navigation as well as in the computations involved. The skillful use of navigational instruments and the interpretation of available data may be considered an art. This combination has led some to refer to navigation as a scientific art.

As instruments and other navigational aids have become more complicated, an increasing proportion of their development has been shifted from practicing navigators to navigational scientists. These navigational scientists draw together the application of principles from such sciences as astronomy, cartography, electronics, geodesy, mathematics, meteorology, oceanography, and physics. Such applications help to explain navigational phenomena and aid in developing improvements in speed, accuracy, or routine actions, to perfect the scientific art of navigation.

Early navigators largely practiced the science of navigation; that is, they gathered data and used it to solve the navigation problem in a more or less mechanical manner. It is not until after many hours of flying that air navigators of more recent times began to realize that the navigator’s total role involves an integration based on judgment. Navigators build accuracy and reliability into their performance by applying judgment based upon experience.

Sources of Navigational Information

In addition to this text, several other sources provide partial references to all methods and techniques of navigation. Some of these are:

U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Air Navigation (HO Pub 216, 1963). This is a general reference book for air navigators.

U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office, American Practical Navigator (Bowditch, HO Pub 9, 1966). An epitome of navigation, this text provides a compendium of navigational material. Although designed primarily for the marine navigator, it has valuable application for the air navigator.

United States Naval Institute, Navigation and Piloting (Dutton; 1958). This is a teaching text for the elements of marine navigation.

Air Training Command, Navigation for Pilot Training (ATCP 51-16). This manual explains the basic principles and procedures of air navigation used by pilots.

USAF, Air Training Command, The Navigator (USAFRP 50-3), published three times per year by ATC, ~1953–1987. This magazine contained a variety of articles from worldwide sources that relate to navigation and advanced new and different means for accomplishing techniques of navigation.

The following United States Observatory and U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office publications are also available for use:

Air Almanac

American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac

HO Pub 9 (Part 11), Useful Tables for the American Practical Navigator

HO Pub 211, Dead Reckoning Altitude and Azimuth Tables

HO Pub 249, Sight Reduction Tables for Air Navigation

The Department of Defense (DOD) Catalog of Aeronautical Charts and Flight Publications, published by the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), contains information on the basis of issue of aeronautical charts.

The following publications from Jeppesen-Sanderson, Inc. will be of considerable value to the international navigator: airway manuals, including low and high altitude route charts, terminal charts, and J-Aid information, for Canada, Mexico, Latin America, South America, Caribbean, Pacific Basin, Australia, Far East, Hawaii, Europe, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Eastern Europe, Africa, China, and the Middle East. Jeppesen’s products and services catalog gives more details.

This is just a short list. Many more new references are to be found throughout the rest of this book.

A Historical Background of International Air Law

The Question of Sovereignty in Airspace

Two principal theories of national sovereignty of airspace have existed since the early days among international jurists. One side believed that the air was free and therefore individual states (nations) have no authority over it, either in time of peace or in time of war, except when necessary for self-preservation. The other side believed that individual states have the right of sovereignty over the airspace over their soil. This group held that aircraft flying only a few miles over the land would be in a position to observe, photograph, and otherwise obtain data that might be used to disadvantage the country overflown.

Airspace sovereignty law evolution started within just a few years of the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

The Paris Convention 1919

The International Air Navigation Code is usually referred to as the Paris Convention of 1919. The International Commission for Air Navigation drew up a list of the principles to govern the drafting of the convention that included the following:

The recognition of the principle of the full and absolute sovereignty of each state over the air above its territories and territorial waters, carrying with it the right to deny entry and regulate foreign flights and to otherwise impose jurisdiction over the air above its territories and territorial waters.

The recognition of the desirability of the greatest freedom of international air navigation subject to the principle of sovereignty, insofar as this freedom was consistent with the security of the state and with the enforcement of reasonable regulations relative to the admission and operation of aircraft of the imposing state.

The recognition that the admission and treatment of the imposing aircraft of the contracting state was to be governed by the recognition of the principle of the absence of all discrimination on grounds of nationality.

The recognition of the principle that every aircraft must possess the nationality of the contracting state only and that every aircraft must be entered upon the register of the contracting state whose nationality it possesses.

The following provisions were recognized as desirable from an international point of view to ensure the safe conduct of air navigation:

The requirement of a compulsory certificate of airworthiness and licenses for wireless equipment, at least of aircraft used for commercial purposes; mutual recognition of these certificates and licenses by the contracting states.

The requirement of compulsory licenses for pilots and other personnel in charge of aircraft; mutual recognition of these licenses by the contracting states.

International rules of the air, including international rules for signals, lights, and the prevention of collisions; regulations for landing and for procedures on the ground.

Among the principles adopted to guide the convention were the following:

Special treatment for the military, naval, and state aircraft when they are in government service.

The right to transit without landing for international traffic between two points outside of the territory of a contracting state, subject to the right of the state transversed to reserve to itself its own commercial traffic and to compel landing of any aircraft flying over it by means of appropriate signals.

The right of use, by the aircraft of all contracting states, of all public airports, on the principle that charges for landing facilities should be imposed without discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

The principle of mutual indemnity between the contracting states to cover damage done in another state.

The necessity of a permanent international aeronautical commission.

The obligation of each contracting state to give effect to the provisions of the convention by its domestic legislation.

The principle that the convention does not affect the rights and duties of belligerents or neutrals in time of war.

The Havana Convention 1928

At the fifth Pan-American Conference in 1923, an Intra-American Commercial Aviation Commission was appointed to draft a code of laws and regulations, the adoption of which was recommended to all the American nations. These rules dealt with commercial aviation, the determination of air routes, the establishment of special customs procedures for aviation, the determination of adequate landing policies, and recommendations with respect to the establishment of landing facilities.

The Commercial Aviation Commission met in May 1927 and prepared a draft of the code, which was revised by the director-general of the Union and submitted to the sixth Pan-American Conference, which met at Havana in 1928. The Havana Convention included most of the basic tenets established by the Paris Convention. The draft was adopted, with some minor modifications, and signed by representatives of the 29 states of the Pan-American Union.

Worldwide International Law

With the expansion of commercial aviation after World War I, the need became obvious for drafting an international code of regulations linking the continents, to govern commercial aviation. Commercial aviation, like all other means of transportation, involves many difficult legal problems, including the rights and duties of shippers and carriers and the questions of carrier liability. These questions were handled at the outset by applying the laws of the several nations, but the lack of uniformity among the commercial laws of different countries constituted a formidable obstacle to international commerce and transportation by air. In response to this need, several important international organizations sponsored movements seeking the international codification of commercial aviation law.

The first organized need for the promotion of an international conference to draft a code of private international aviation law was recognized publicly by the International Chamber of Commerce. In its conferences in 1923 and 1925, a resolution was adopted calling the attention of the public to the need for the establishment of a uniform code of international control over private and commercial air navigation.

The Warsaw Convention 1929

This convention for the unification of certain rules relating to international transportation by air applies to any international transportation of persons, baggage, or merchandise by aircraft for compensation. It is commonly called the Warsaw Convention of 1929. The United States has been a party to it since 1934.

This convention defined international transportation as any transportation between two points in different contracting countries, irrespective of an interruption of the transportation or trans-shipment, and as any transportation between two points in the territory of one state when a stop is made in another country or countries en route.

The Warsaw Convention provided that an air carrier was liable for damages sustained by (1) death or injury to passengers; (2) destruction, loss, or damage to baggage or goods; or (3) loss resulting from delay in the transportation of passengers, baggage, or merchandise.

Signed on October 12, 1929, the Warsaw Convention has become one of the most important documents in international commercial air transportation. The convention was amended on September 28, 1955, at The Hague, Netherlands, where a diplomatic conference was held primarily to discuss the limit of liability.

A diplomatic conference, held in Guatemala City in 1971, adopted a far-reaching revision of the provisions of the Warsaw Convention and The Hague Protocol. Among other things, the Guatemala City Protocol provided for absolute liability (no proof of negligence) on the part of the air carrier, and an unbreakable limit of the carrier’s liability of a maximum amount of $100,000 per person.

The Chicago Conference 1944

World War II had a tremendous impact on the technical development of air transportation. A vast network of passenger and freight carriage was set up, but there were many problems, both political and technical, for which solutions had to be found for the benefit and support of a world at peace. There was the question of commercial rights. What arrangements would be made for airlines of one country to fly into and through the territories of another? There were other concerns with regard to the legal and economic conflicts that might come with peacetime flying across international borders, such as how to maintain existing air navigation facilities, many of which were in sparsely settled areas.

The difficulty of carrying on specific negotiation for each new route was one of many reasons the United States and some other nations were anxious for the ratification of international law for civil aviation. In early 1944, the United States government issued invitations to the International Conference on Civil Aviation, often called the Chicago Conference. Representatives of 52 nations assembled in Chicago in November 1944. Although invited, the Soviet Union did not send representatives to the conference.

The preamble of this conference stated that the purpose of the document was to foster development of international civil aviation in a safe and orderly manner and to establish international air transport service on the basis of equality of opportunity and sound and economical operation. The first of the 96 articles of the conference made the usual grant to each state of complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory. The right of transit over the contracting sites and the right to land in a foreign state is made available to aircraft on nonscheduled flights, while scheduled services must secure prior authorization. Each state was granted the right to reserve to its own airline aviation traffic exclusively within its own borders.

The conference established the application of customs regulations and national traffic rules to aircraft in international flight, bound the states to take effective measures to prevent the spread of disease by air, and granted to each nation the right of reasonable search of arriving and departing aircraft. Among the measures provided to facilitate air navigation were rules for avoiding delays in immigration, quarantine, customs, and clearance. Aircraft in transit and their normal supplies of fuel and oil were made safe from seizures on patent claims. Each state undertook so far as it may find practicable to adopt such standard procedures on airport control, radio services, navigational facilities, use of signals, publication of maps, and similar matters as it was contemplated would be recommended under the terms of the conference.

The conference specified that an aircraft engaged in international flight must carry certain documents, including certificates of registration and airworthiness, licenses for crew members, a logbook, and passenger or cargo manifests. The carriage of munitions was prohibited, and it was specified that a state might restrict the carriage of other articles but that these regulations should be applied uniformly to the aircraft of all states.

The contracting states were required to undertake to secure the highest degree of uniformity in complying with international standards and practices, as might from time to time seem appropriate, with respect to the following:

Communications systems and air navigation aid, including ground marking.

Characteristics of airports and landing areas.

Rules of the air and air traffic control practices.

Licensing of operating and mechanical personnel.

Airworthiness of aircraft.

Registration and identification of aircraft.

Collection and exchange of meteorological information.

Logbooks.

Aeronautical maps and charts.

Customs and immigration procedures.

Aircraft in distress and investigation of accidents, and other matters concerning the safety, regularity, and efficiency of air navigation.

The History of ICAO

The Chicago Conference in 1944 established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), composed of an Assembly, a Council, and such other bodies as may be necessary to foster the planning and development of international air transport in accordance with certain enumerated principles. Permanently headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ICAO is charged with administration of the articles under the conference. In 1947, ICAO became a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The ICAO Assembly is composed of one representative from each contracting state. At its annual meetings, it may deal with any matter within the scope of the organization not specifically assigned to the Council. There were 193 Member States as of April 2019.

The Council members, composed of 33 contracting states, are elected by the Assembly for three-year terms. The Council is charged with the establishment of an air transport committee and an air navigation commission, with the collection and publication of information on international air services, the reporting of infractions of the conference, and the adoption of international standards and practices to be designated as annexes to the conference.

The Chicago Conference of 1944 specifically stated that it superseded Havana and Paris conventions. It also provided that all existing aeronautical agreements and those subsequently contracted should be registered with the Council of ICAO and that those that are inconsistent with the terms of the convention should be abrogated.

Disputes may be settled by reference to the Permanent Court of International Justice or a special arbitration tribunal. Enforcement of the conference is founded on the power to suspend an airline from international operation or to deprive a state of its voting power. The conference does not deprive a state of its freedom of action in the event of war.

The Chicago Conference provided two other significant documents: the International Air Services Transit Agreement, which became known as the Two Freedoms Agreement, and the International Air Transport Agreement, or the Five Freedoms Agreement.

The Two Freedoms Agreement provided that each contracting state grant the other contracting states the following freedoms of the air with respect to scheduled international air services: (1) the privilege of flying across its territory without landing, and (2) the privilege of landing for non-traffic purposes. The International Air Transport Agreement (Five Freedoms Agreement) also included (3) the privilege of putting down passengers, mail, and cargo taken on, in the territory of the state whose nationality the aircraft possesses; (4) the privilege of picking up passengers, mail, and cargo destined for the territory of the state whose nationality the aircraft possesses; (5) the privilege of picking up passengers, mail, and cargo destined for the territory of another contracting state; and the privilege of putting down passengers, mail, and cargo coming from any such territory.

These latter freedoms would have in effect eliminated the need for special negotiations in the conduct of international air transportation. Unfortunately, the Five Freedoms Agreement did not receive support from the representatives. The United States was among the original signers of the Five Freedoms document, but the State Department subsequently gave notice of the United States’ withdrawal. The Two Freedoms Agreement, on the other hand, received fairly wide acceptance by various nations.

The Bermuda Agreement 1946

Although a number of countries were willing to conclude bilateral arrangements with the United States based on the Chicago format, there were fundamental differences of opinion between some of the countries represented at the Chicago Conference as to how international air transportation should be developed. The United States and certain other countries favored a relatively liberal approach to the problem, without any arbitrary restrictions or predetermined formulas on capacity of aircraft, number of frequencies, carriage of so-called fifth-freedom traffic, and fixing of rates. Another group of countries, led by the United Kingdom (U.K.), was not prepared to go this far and wanted these matters regulated to such an extent that, in the opinion of the United States and other countries, the full development of air transportation would be hampered.

However, as the airlines of the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries became better prepared to offer services to each other’s territories, it became obvious that these fundamental differences in air policy should be reconciled. Accordingly, representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom met at Bermuda in 1946 and negotiated a bilateral understanding that is generally known as the Bermuda Agreement.

In addition to incorporating the Chicago standard clauses, the Bermuda Agreement provided that disputes that could not be settled through bilateral consultation were to be referred to ICAO for an advisory opinion and also that the agreement should be revised to conform with any subsequent multilateral air pact that might be subscribed to by both countries.

The Bermuda Agreement also included a number of collateral understandings on the operation and development of air transportation services between the two countries. No arbitrary restrictions were placed on capacity, number of frequencies, or fifth-freedom traffic, but it was stipulated that the airline of one country would not treat the airline of the other unfairly.

ICAO—The Organization Described

The Assembly

The Assembly is composed of 191 Member States who meet once every 3 years in order to discuss matters of importance and elect Member States to the Council.

The Council

Thirty-six states are members for three years, whose representatives work full-time in the headquarters of ICAO in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their job is to establish international standards for recommendation to Member States and the world. It is the principal executive body of ICAO. Under the council and reporting directly to it are the following:

Council Committees

Air Transport

Joint Support Finance

Unlawful Interference

Other miscellaneous

Air Navigation Commission (15 Aeronautical Specialists)—

   a. Air Navigation Conference

   b. Divisional Meetings

Under the Council and reporting directly to it is the Secretariat, the main functional organization that does the day-to-day operations of ICAO.

The Secretariat

Headed by the Secretary General, the Secretariat is divided up into bureaus as follows:

Air Transport Bureau

Technical Assistance

Air Navigation

Legal Bureau

Administration

These bureaus contain the workers from Member States who accomplish the tasks specified by the Council. The Secretariat has regional offices in the following locations:

Dakar, Senegal (Western Africa)

Bangkok, Thailand (Asia and Pacific)

Nairobi, Kenya (Eastern Africa)

Paris, France (European and North Atlantic)

Cairo, Egypt (Middle East)

Mexico City, Mexico (North and Central America, Caribbean)

Lima, Peru (South America)

ICAO Rules

Reproduced below is an FAA advisory circular that explains the pertinent ICAO rules for U.S. pilots. (You can see the original in its entirety at faa.gov.)

Excerpt from Advisory Circular 91-70B

CHAPTER 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR OPERATIONS IN OCEANIC AND REMOTE CONTINENTAL AIRSPACE

2.1 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): Its Relationship to U.S. Aviation. As a charter member of ICAO, the United States has fully supported the organization’s goals from its inception in 1947. ICAO works to achieve the highest level of standards and procedures for aircraft, personnel, airways, and aviation services throughout the world. ICAO oversees the international standards ascribed to by its more than 190 Member States for navigation facilities, airports, weather, and radio services. Through active support and participation in ICAO, the FAA strives to improve worldwide safety standards and procedures. ICAO’s strategic objectives are to continue to establish and maintain Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) for the safe and orderly development of international aviation. You should be familiar with the 19 ICAO Annexes, which contain more than 10,000 adopted SARPs.

Note: ICAO Member States are obligated to comply with the international SARPs contained in the 19 Annexes and supporting ICAO documents such as the Procedures for Air Navigation Services—Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM) (ICAO Document 4444) and Regional Supplementary Procedures (ICAO Document 7030).

2.2 ICAO Annexes.

2.2.1 Annex 1, Personnel Licensing. Provides information on licensing of flightcrews, air traffic controllers, and aircraft maintenance personnel, including medical standards for flightcrews and air traffic controllers.

2.2.2 Annex 2, Rules of the Air. Contains visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) for all operators.

2.2.3 Annex 3, Meteorological Services for International Air Navigation. Provides for meteorological services for international air navigation and reporting of meteorological observations from aircraft.

2.2.4 Annex 4, Aeronautical Charts. Contains specifications for aeronautical charts used in international aviation.

2.2.5 Annex 5, Units of Measurement to be Used in Air and Ground Services. Lists dimensional systems used in air and ground operations.

2.2.6 Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft (3 parts). Specifies minimum standards for below-listed operations throughout the world:

1. Part I: International Commercial Air Transport—Aeroplanes.

2. Part II: International General Aviation—Aeroplanes.

3. Part III: International Operations—Helicopters.

2.2.7 Annex 7, Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks. Specifies requirements for registration and identification of aircraft.

2.2.8 Annex 8, Airworthiness of Aircraft. Specifies uniform procedures for certification and inspection of aircraft.

2.2.9 Annex 9, Facilitation. Provides for the standardization and simplification of border-crossing formalities.

2.2.10 Annex 10, Aeronautical Telecommunications:

1. Volume I, Radio Navigation Aids. Provides for standardizing communications equipment and systems.

2. Volume II, Communications Procedures. Standardizes communications procedures.

3. Volume III, Communications Systems. Standardizes communications systems.

4. Volume IV, Surveillance and Collision Avoidance Systems. Standardizes surveillance radar and collision avoidance.

5. Volume V, Aeronautical Radio Frequency Spectrum Utilization. Standardizes aeronautical radio spectrum utilization.

2.2.11 Annex 11, Air Traffic Services. Includes information on establishing and operating air traffic control (ATC), flight information, and alerting services.

2.2.12 Annex 12, Search and Rescue. Provides information on organization and operation of facilities and services necessary for Search and Rescue (SAR).

2.2.13 Annex 13, Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. Provides for uniformity in notifying, investigating, and reporting on aircraft accidents.

2.2.14 Annex 14, Aerodromes:

1. Volume I, Aerodrome Design and Operations. Contains specifications for the design and equipment of aerodromes.

2. Volume II, Heliports. Contains specifications for the design and equipment of heliports.

2.2.15 Annex 15, Aeronautical Information Services. Includes methods for collecting and disseminating aeronautical information required for flight operations.

2.2.16 Annex 16, Environmental Protection:

1. Volume I, Aircraft Noise. Contains specifications for aircraft noise certification, noise monitoring, and noise exposure units for land-use planning.

2. Volume II, Aircraft Engine Emissions. Contains specifications for aircraft engine emissions.

2.2.17 Annex 17, Security. Specifies methods for safeguarding international civil aviation against unlawful acts of interference.

2.2.18 Annex 18, The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. Contains specifications for labeling, packing, and shipping dangerous cargo.

2.2.19 Annex 19, Safety Management. Describes Safety Management System (SMS) development, regulatory framework, and supporting guidance.

2.3 Applicability of U.S. and International Regulations.

2.3.1 Regulatory Obligations. You must adhere to U.S. regulations, ICAO SARPs, and the flight and maneuver regulations of the countries you overfly or in which you land. The Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) from each country is an important source of information and reference. The U.S. AIP, for example, includes a detailed description of where U.S. aviation regulations differ from ICAO standards and recommended practices and procedures. You will see similar listings of differences in other State AIPs.

2.3.1.1 You should be especially familiar with ICAO Annex 2, Rules of the Air, and whichever part of ICAO Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft, that applies to your operation.

2.3.1.2 Title 14 CFR part 91, § 91.703 stipulates that you are bound by ICAO Annex 2 if you operate your U.S.-registered aircraft outside the United States.

2.3.1.3 In all cases, § 91.703 requires that you follow the rules of the countries that you overfly and those in which you intend to land. If the part of 14 CFR under which you operate conflicts with the rules of the country you are operating over/in, you must follow the rules of that country.

2.3.1.4 According to 14 CFR part 121, § 121.11 and part 135, § 135.3(a)(2), for operations under each respective part, when operating within a foreign country, you must comply with the air traffic rules of the country concerned and any local airport rules that may be in force. You must also follow all rules of that part that are more restrictive than the rules of the foreign country in which you are operating, as long as you can do so without violating the rules of that country.

2.3.2 Differing Airspace Requirements. It is quite possible to transit regions with significantly different procedures in one long-range flight. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with the equipment and procedural requirements to file and fly in each segment of foreign airspace in which you intend to operate by referencing, for example, the appropriate State’s AIP.

2.4 ICAO Guidance Documents and Reference Material.

2.4.1 Guidance Documents. We developed much of the material in this AC from these foundational documents: ICAO Annexes, other ICAO guidance documents, related sections of 14 CFR, and other FAA guidance material.

2.4.2 The Convention on International Civil Aviation. We single out the following articles of ICAO Document 7300/9, Convention on International Civil Aviation, because of their importance in regulating international aviation. If you operate in oceanic and remote continental airspace, you should thoroughly understand them.

• Article 1, Sovereignty.

• Article 12, Rules of the Air.

• Article 29, Documents Carried in Aircraft.

2.4.3 ICAO Recommended Guidance Documents. Similar to our ACs, ICAO’s Recommended Guidance Documents provide guidance and information intended to facilitate the uniform application of SARPs contained in the 19 Annexes to ICAO Document 7300/9. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with the following documents (current editions) prior to undertaking operations in oceanic and remote continental airspace.

Note: Ensure you understand the primacy relationship between the various ICAO documents. For example, ICAO Annex 2, Rules of the Air, details loss of communications procedures, which it points out you are expected to follow unless amended by regional agreement. In this case, you would then consult ICAO Document 7030, Regional Supplementary Procedures, to review the loss of communications guidance for a