(1)
These Regulations are applicable to the establishment, maintenance and operation of search and rescue services in Uganda and to the coordination of such services between States.
(2)
Subsidiary procedures of regional application shall be found in the Regional Supplementary Procedures Search and Rescue, Doc 7030.
3. Interpretation In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires-
"accident" means an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time a person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time the person disembarks or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of
flight until such time as it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shutdown, in which-
(a)
a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of-
(i)
_ being in the aircraft;
(ii)
direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft; or
(iii)
direct exposure to jet blast, except when the injuries are from natural causes, self- inflicted or inflicted by other persons or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew; or
(b)
the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which-
(i)
adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft: and
(ii)
would normally require major repair or replacement ofthe affected component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to a single engine, (including its cowlings or accessories), to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear, doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes), or for minor damages to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, landing gear, and those resulting from hail or bird strike (including holes in the radome); or
(c)
the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.
"Act" means the Civil Aviation Authority Act, Cap. 354;
"aircraft" includes all flying machines, aeroplanes, seaplanes, flying boats, helicopters, gliders and other aircraft designed to be heavier than air, all airships and balloons and other aircraft designed to be lighter than air; "alerting post" means any facility intended to serve as an intermediary between a person reporting an emergency and a rescue coordination centre or rescue sub-centre; "alert phase" means a situation wherein apprehension exists as to the safety of an aircraft and its occupants; "Authority" means the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority established under section
3
of the Act; "automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue (Amver)" means a world-wide ship reporting system operated exclusively to support search and rescue and make information available to all rescue coordination centres. "Committee" means the Search and Rescue Committee; "craft" means an aircraft or a vessel;
"currency point" has the meaning assigned to it in Schedule 1;
"Director General" means the Director General of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority;
"distress phase" means a situation wherein there is a reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and imminent danger and require immediate assistance, "ditch" means the forced landing of an aircraft on water, "emergency phase" is a generic term meaning, as the case may be, uncertainty phase, alert phase or distress phase; "facility" means any mobile resource including designated search and rescue units used to conduct search and rescue operations;
"flight information region" means an airspace of defined dimensions within which flight information service and alerting service are provided;
"incident" means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft which affects or could affect the safety of operation; "joint rescue coordination centre" means a rescue coordination centre responsible for both aeronautical and maritime search and rescue operations;
"Minister" means the minister responsible for civil aviation; "operator" means a person, organisation or enterprise engaged in or offering to engage in an aircraft operation; "Person" means any institution or organisation equipped to assist in a search and rescue operation, an organ of state, a government and an agency of the government of a foreign country; "Pilot-in-Command" means the pilot designated by the operator, or in the case of general aviation, the owner, as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of a flight; "rescue" means an operation to retrieve persons in distress, provide for their initial medical or other needs, and deliver them to a place of safety: "Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC)" means a unit responsible for promoting efficient organisation of search and rescue services and for coordinating the conduct of search and rescue operations within a search and rescue region;
"Rescue sub-centre (RSC)" means a unit subordinate to a rescue coordination centre, established to complement the latter according to particular provisions of the responsible authorities; "search" means an operation normally coordinated by a rescue coordination centre or rescue sub-centre using available personnel and facilities to locate persons in distress; "search and rescue aircraft" means an aircraft provided with specialized equipment suitable for the efficient conduct of search and rescue missions; "search and rescue region (SRR)" means an area of defined dimensions, associated with a rescue coordination centre, within which search and rescue services are provided;
"search and rescue service" means the performance of distress monitoring, communication, coordination and search and | rescue functions, initial medical assistance or medical evacuation, through the use of public and private resources, including cooperating aircraft, vessels and other craft and installations;
"search and rescue service provider" means the entity responsible for coordinating and directing provision of search and ' rescue services in Uganda;
"search and rescue unit" means a mobile resource composed of trained personnel and provided with equipment suitable for the expeditious conduct of search and rescue operations;
"State of Registry' means the State on whose register the aircraft 2
"The Convention" means the Convention on International Civil Aviation adopted at Chicago on 7" December 1944;
"uncertainty phase" means a situation wherein uncertainty exists as to the safety of an aircraft and its occupants;
"vessel" means any water-navigable craft of any type, whether self-propelled or not.
