Contains Guidance For States To Develop Regulations And Approval Processes

The safest way to secure an infant or child on board an aircraft is in a State-approved child restraint system (CRS), in a dedicated seat, and appropriate for that infant or child, based on guidance material recently published in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) new Manual on the Approval and Use of Child Restraint Systems (Doc  10049).

The new ICAO manual contains guidance for States to develop regulations and approval processes enabling the use of CRS. It also provides guidance for operators when identifying CRS for use on board an aircraft, recommended content of relevant policies, procedures, and training programmes, as well as guidelines for managing change through their safety management systems (SMS) to allow the use of CRS on board their aircraft.
 
“Proper use of occupant restraints is one of the most basic and important factors in surviving an accident. It is not possible for a parent to physically restrain an infant or child, especially during sudden accelerations and/or decelerations, unanticipated or severe turbulence or during impact,” stressed ICAO Council President, Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. “The use of CRS provides an equivalent level of safety to infants and children as that afforded to adult passengers wearing seat belts.”
 
Doc 10049 will facilitate the widespread use of CRS globally, providing guidance related to requirements for seats and restraints found in Annex 6 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
 
The new recommendations were developed by the ICAO Cabin Safety Group, featuring inputs from experts from civil aviation authorities, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, training organizations and international organizations. The provisions were then submitted for an extensive peer review to collect and take into account comments from further experts in the field.

FMI: www.icao.int