| (1) | The operator shall ensure that, in the case of flights over water,— |
| (a) | the shore base or other flight-monitoring station shall maintain a means of flight monitoring with the helicopter as approved by the Director; |
| (b) | a full complement of crew members to operate the helicopter and its safety equipment under normal, abnormal or emergency conditions is carried on board; and |
| (c) | the helicopter is equipped for flights over water in terms of these Regulations. |
| (2) | The operator shall ensure that, in the case of a single-reciprocating-engine helicopter,— |
| (a) | other than an amphibian helicopter or a helicopter with approved flotation gear flights shall be limited to five nautical miles seaward from base; and |
| (b) | no flights shall be undertaken except by day and under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and no flight shall be commenced which cannot be completed at least one hour before night. |
| (3) | The operator shall ensure that, in the case of a single-turbine-engine helicopter,— |
| (a) | other than an amphibian helicopter or a helicopter with approved flotation gear flights shall be limited to 50 nautical miles seaward from base; |
| (b) | no flights shall be undertaken except by day and under VMC; |
| (c) | for flights over water from 5 up to 15 nautical miles, sufficient survival dinghies are carried in such a manner that they will be instantly accessible at the time of ditching; and |
| (4) | The operator shall ensure that, in the case of multi-engine helicopters, the provisions of subregulation (1) are complied with and, in addition, if a flight is to be undertaken by night or under IMC, that— |
| (a) | the helicopter is equipped for IFR operations; and |
| (b) | functioning area or on-board navigation aids are available. |
| (5) | An air service operator shall not consider offshore landing alternatives when planning a flight over-water, if it is possible to carry sufficient fuel for an alternate landing on-shore, unless— |
| (a) | exceptional circumstances exist; |
| (b) | payload enhancements exist in adverse weather conditions; and |
| (c) | the on-shore environment is hostile. |
[Regulation 127.07.8(5) substituted by regulation 17(d) of Notice No. R. 3170, GG48228, dated 17 March 2023 (Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023)]
| (6) | For the purposes of this regulation "shore base" means the site from which the flight over water is commenced or supported. |
