DGCA issues fresh guidelines on training of crew for carrying dangerous goods by aircraft

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, February 5

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued fresh guidelines on the training programme to be undertaken by aircraft operating personnel for carrying dangerous goods by air.

Dangerous goods are articles or substances which are capable of posing a hazard to health, safety, property or the environment. In order to ensure safe transport of dangerous goods by air, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has laid down the necessary measures that aviation agencies are required to comply with.

A detailed circular issued by DGCA in this regard this week states that ICAO technical instructions provide that all operators regardless of whether or not they are approved to transport dangerous goods as cargo must establish and maintain a “dangerous goods training programme” which is reviewed and approved by DGCA.

Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2003, requires that no person shall engage himself in any manner in the transport of dangerous goods unless he has undergone proper training commensurate with his responsibilities. “For this purpose, initial and recurrent dangerous goods training programmes are required to be established and maintained by all operators,” the circular states.

Dangerous goods may include explosives, compressed gases, flammable materials, medical related or infectious substances, radioactive materials and toxic substances, which have to be dealt with carefully in accordance with prescribed administrative, legal and handling procedures.

Pointing out that the primary objective of the training is promoting safety and placing a person in a better position to recognise hazards, appreciate risks involved in the carriage of dangerous goods by air and deal with them, the circular adds that this can be achieved by ensuring availability of competent workforce through establishment of training and assessment based defined principles.

According to DGCA, competencies are formulated in a way that ensures they can be trained for, observed and assessed consistently in a wide variety of work contexts for a given role, trainees successfully demonstrate competency by meeting the associated competency standards and each stakeholder in the process including the employer, instructor, trainee, training organisation and regulator has a common understanding of the competency standards.

DGCA has further stressed that while training and assessment for personnel may vary depending upon the requirements associated with the function of the person, the operator or employer, however, shall ensure that no person is engaged in any manner in the transport of dangerous goods unless he has undergone proper training in the requirements commensurate with the responsibilities.

The aspects of training listed out by DGCA for handling dangerous goods includes general awareness and familiarisation training, function-specific training, safety training and organisational policies and procedures.

Further, recurrent training and assessment shall take place within 24 months of the previous training and assessment cycle to ensure that competency of the personnel is maintained. No person shall be assigned to new function unless he has undergone appropriate training and assessment for the same.