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3.6.2 Compatibility.
The manual should interface with all other manuals and not conflict with any other processes and procedures outlined in the certificate holder's system design.
3.6.3 Form and Signature.
The manual may be maintained in paper format or electronically. The AC entitled “Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping, and Electronic Manuals,” AC 120- 78A, provides additional guidance for electronic systems’ use. The requirement to provide a manual is an integral part of the certificate holder’s communication of its status as a “Will Carry” or “Will Not Carry” certificate holder and the processes and/or procedures adopted by the certificate holder.
3.6.4 Dangerous Goods Safety Analysis.
The processes and procedures contained in the manual are expected to be the result of an analysis on the part of the certificate holder, which demonstrates how the certificate holder will use its processes and procedures to ensure dangerous goods are properly and safely transported on board its aircraft, or rejected for transport.
• This analysis is part of the FAA baseline design analysis completed when reviewing the manual, prior to approval and issuing OpSpec. This analysis pertains to all processes and procedures regarding transport-related job functions.
• For certificate holders with an implemented SMS, the manual should contain a brief narrative of understanding that all processes, procedures, and operations regarding the transportation of dangerous goods are to be assessed under the certificate holder’s SMS for safety risks within the system, and how those risks identified are to be mitigated to the lowest levels. The safety analysis is expected to cover all relevant transport-related job functions performed by the certificate holder, its contractors, subcontractors, or affiliates, acting on behalf of the certificate holder including, but not limited to: acceptance, rejection, loading, storage incidental to transport, packaging, and transport, of dangerous goods.
1. Special considerations should be included for high-risk commodities such as lithium batteries and chemical oxygen generators;
2. All process and procedural changes should to be analyzed by the certificate holder for accepting any increased safety risk; and
3. The person accepting responsibility for identifying and/or mitigating the safety risk is expected to be identified in the analysis. This may be more than one person or business unit.
3.6.5 Safety Management System (SMS) as it Relates to Dangerous Goods.
Certificate holders with an approved and operational SMS are required to perform a safety risk analysis on their processes, and identify areas of risks and risk mitigation strategies, and continue to self-audit the design and performance elements of the system. The certificate holder should cover at a minimum the following items:
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• Identify areas that involve a safety risk (i.e., acceptance, loading, securing, packaging [e.g., COMAT]);
• Identify any hazards that exist within the established processes;
• Evaluate the level of the hazard (acceptable, non-acceptable);
• Verify whether the safety risk can be mitigated for non-acceptable hazards;
1. If yes, define mitigations necessary to eliminate or minimize the safety risk; and
2. With the mitigations in place, verify whether the risk is now acceptable.
• Self-Audit the process/system over time to determine if the mitigation is effective, and whether additional safety risks exist.
Note: Certificate holders not required to implement a SMS should demonstrate that they are aware of the hazards within their system, and have mitigated those hazards to the greatest extent possible, to be able to operate safely.
3.6.6 Undeclared Dangerous Goods.
3.6.6.1 Concept.
An “undeclared” or “hidden” shipment is a shipment (mail, cargo or baggage) of dangerous goods not declared, intentionally or unintentionally, by the offeror to contain dangerous goods, and there is no attempt to comply with the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods. The certificate holder should exercise reasonable care to recognize readily apparent facts to reject any shipment of dangerous goods not in full compliance with the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods.
• The certificate holder knowingly violates the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods when they accept or transport dangerous goods without taking into account readily apparent facts indicating a package or baggage may contain dangerous goods which is not properly packaged, marked, labeled, or described on a shipping paper.
• It would not represent reasonable care to ignore readily apparent facts indicating either:
1. A shipment declared to contain dangerous goods has readily apparent information indicating it is not properly packaged, marked, labeled, placarded, or described on a shipping paper; or
2. A shipment contains a regulated dangerous good and is not properly marked, labeled, placarded, or described on a shipping paper, as containing the dangerous good.
3.6.6.2 Process.
3-11 Describe a plan to prevent packages or baggage containing undeclared dangerous goods from entering the air transportation system. The plan should include processes and procedures to:
• Prevent undeclared dangerous goods from being accepted, handled, loaded, and transported;
• Detect packages or baggage displaying readily apparent signs of containing undeclared dangerous goods, which may be included in the review of marks, labels, documentation, and any other readily apparent information;
• Prevent recurrences when a package or baggage containing undeclared dangerous goods is detected (evaluate internal process and contact shippers/offerors/passenger), including using the reporting process;
• Develop a preventive and continuous communication process to provide shippers/offerors/passenger information to understand the risk of undeclared dangerous goods in the transport system;
• Identify the personnel responsible for this function; and
• Describe how personnel should proceed when a package or an item contained in baggage does not comply with the regulatory requirements of dangerous goods or the certificate holder’s restrictions.
3.6.6.3 Automated Process.
Develop a plan to prevent packages or baggage containing undeclared dangerous goods from entering the air transportation system when that process does not require human intervention. The plan should include processes and procedures to:
• Identify the transport-related job functions replaced by mechanical/automated process;
• Develop process and procedures to prevent undeclared dangerous goods in the transport-related job functions replaced by mechanical/automated process;
• Detect packages displaying signs of containing undeclared dangerous goods, to include the review of marks, labels, and documentation, and any other readily apparent information;
• Develop process to prevent recurrences when a package containing undeclared dangerous goods is detected (evaluate internal process and contact shippers/offerors), including using the reporting process;
• Develop a preventive and continuous communication process to provide shippers/offerors/passengers information to understand the risk of undeclared dangerous goods in the transport system; and
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• Identify when a package or baggage does not comply with the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods.
3.6.6.4 Evaluation.
Describe the evaluation process performed, considering all sources of information and collected data, including:
• Self-audit processes and procedures in order to verify their effectiveness;
• Identify and analyze recurrences; and
• Analyze possible safety impacts when a process is intended to be modified.
Note: Appendix A of this AC provides information for preventing undeclared dangerous goods.
3.6.7 Dangerous Goods Manual Management and Interfaces.
The certificate holder is responsible for addressing safety risk management in the document control process, including responsibility, authority, distribution, accountability, and availability.
3.6.7.1 Responsibility/Authority.
Refer to other documents that identify or clearly delineate the accountable executive, by title or job description, who is responsible for the manual, and all management personnel with the authority to act on behalf of the accountable executive.
3.6.7.2 Revisions.
Define the title or job description of the person responsible for revising and maintaining the manual.
• Develop procedures to ensure that only authorized personnel revise the manual;
• Identify who, by title or job description, will be authorized to make revisions, and how that person is authorized to do so;
• Explain how the certificate holder ensures that the manual is current;
• Describe the process for making revisions; and
• Explain how the revisions are identified, distributed, and promoted, throughout the certificate holder’s transportation system.
3.6.7.3 Distribution, Availability/Publication.
Identify the process that verifies the manual is distributed to all remote station users/dangerous goods personnel (including contract personnel
3-13 acting on behalf of the certificate holder) who need it to perform their duties. Include in this process measures to ensure version control.
• Identify the title or job description of the person responsible for distribution and version control of the documents; and
• Document the current version in a master library and shop/office libraries located in the facility.
3.6.7.4 Manual Management.
Describe a procedure to ensure that only authorized dangerous goods documents are available:
• Identify who will be responsible, by title or job description, for ensuring the FAA is informed and provided the revised manual;
• Define the process to ensure that dangerous goods documents of external origin are identified and controlled;
• Describe procedures to prevent the use of obsolete dangerous goods documents; and
• Indicate the procedures needed to address system security to prevent inadvertent changes to the software manual.
3.7 Manual for Certificate Holders Authorized to Transport Passengers and Their Baggage
3.7.1 Passenger and Baggage Provisions.
In addition to the content described in sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6, of this chapter, the manual of a certificate holder authorized to transport passengers and their baggage in its OpSpec is required to contain procedures and information to ensure that:
• Dangerous Goods Passenger Notification System is implemented, at a minimum, in compliance with § 175.25 of the HMR, or the related ICAO Technical Instructions provisions, when applicable;
• Baggage containing dangerous goods are properly accepted, rejected, and handled, at a minimum, in compliance with § 175.10 of the HMR, or the related ICAO Technical Instructions provisions, when applicable; and
• Undeclared dangerous goods in baggage are identified and rejected.
3.7.2 Additional Provisions.
The certificate holder authorized to transport passengers and their baggage is also expected to follow the provisions described in section 3.8 of this chapter, if it is a “Will Not Carry” certificate holder, or section 3.9, if it is a “Will Carry” certificate holder according to Table 1.
3.7.3 Points of Entry.
3-14 Identify each point of entry for baggage into the certificate holder’s transport system.
• Identify locations that are responsible for acceptance of baggage, at a corporate level.
3.7.4 Personnel.
Identify who is responsible for overseeing the acceptance/rejection intake points.
• Identify the management personnel responsible for overseeing acceptance/rejection for each point of baggage acceptance; and
• Identify the responsible worker personnel, including any contractors, subcontractors, or affiliates acting on behalf of the certificate holder.
3.7.5 Passenger Notification.
Identify the process for complying with dangerous goods passenger notification system.
• Describe how passengers are made aware of the types of dangerous goods permitted in transport on an aircraft; and
• Describe acceptable passenger notification methods considering the following five scenarios.
1. Where tickets are issued;
2. Where boarding passes are issued;
3. Where passenger baggage is dropped off;
4. At aircraft boarding areas; and
5. Any other location where passengers are issued boarding passes and/or checked baggage is accepted.
Note: Appendix A of this AC provides information for preventing undeclared dangerous goods, including a guide for implementing a dangerous goods passenger notification system.
3.7.6 Baggage Acceptance Process.
Identify the process for intake of baggage.
• Identify the process for determining dangerous goods compliance at each point of baggage acceptance; and
• Describe the process for providing approval to a passenger for the carriage of baggage containing dangerous goods when certificate holder approval is required by § 175.10 of the HMR, or the related ICAO Technical Instructions provisions, when applicable.
3.7.7 Baggage Handling.
Include special handling requirements that may be necessary for baggage containing dangerous goods.
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3.7.8 Rejecting Baggage.
Describe procedures for rejecting dangerous goods in baggage not conforming to the exceptions of § 175.10 of the HMR, or the related ICAO Technical Instructions provisions, when applicable, or which appear to contain prohibited dangerous goods.
• Describe how the baggage containing forbidden dangerous goods is separated from other baggage continuing in transport;
• Describe what happens to the dangerous goods in baggage once it is rejected;
• Describe when and how the passenger is notified; and
• Specify the process for returning the baggage to the passenger, or other procedure to ensure the dangerous goods in baggage will not be transported by an aircraft.
3.7.9 Discrepancies Reporting.
Identify the process for reporting baggage containing dangerous goods that are damaged or found to be leaking, containing undeclared dangerous goods, or that are otherwise determined to be non-compliant.
• Specify the person, by title or job description, responsible for the report;
• Specify how the report is made (electronic, paper form);
• Describe what happens to the baggage once it is rejected, or detected as containing undeclared dangerous goods;
• Describe how the baggage subject to discrepancy reporting is separated from other baggage continuing in air transport, and
• Specify when and how the passenger is notified.
3.8 Manual for Will Not Carry Certificate Holders
3.8.1 Will Not Carry Definition.
“Will Not Carry” means that the certificate holder is prohibited from transporting dangerous goods in its OpSpec. Based on that, the certificate holder is permitted to transport cargo or COMAT that does not contain dangerous goods, with a general prohibition on transporting dangerous goods aboard the aircraft.
3.8.2 Will Not Carry Provisions.
In addition to the content described in sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6, of this chapter, the manual of a Will Not Carry certificate holder is expected to contain procedures and information to ensure that:
• Packages containing declared and undeclared dangerous goods are rejected;
• Packages containing dangerous goods are not accepted, handled, stored, packaged, loaded, or carried on board an aircraft; and
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• COMAT containing dangerous goods (i.e., aircraft replacement parts, lithium batteries, chemical oxygen generators, consumable materials or other items regulated by the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods) are properly prepared and offered to other authorized certificate holders for transport.
3.8.3 Additional Provisions.
The Will Not Carry certificate holder authorized to transport passengers and their baggage in its OpSpec is also expected to follow the provisions described in section 3.7 of this chapter according to Table 1.
3.8.4 Corporate Overview.
Include a corporate overview of certificate holder’s operations, especially as it relates to prohibitions on dangerous goods.
• Define the scope of operations for the certificate holder.
1. Refer to other documents, where identified, or identify certificate holder’s routes, if possible;
2. Identify corporate policy on the prohibition for acceptance and transport of dangerous goods; and
3. Identify whether the certificate holder is scheduled or unscheduled.
• Describe the Safety Risk Management structure of the certificate holder.
1. Refer to other documents, where identified, or identify the corporate chain of authority for safety management, include those responsible for budget and workforce decisions;
2. Identify all management personnel, by title or job description, who perform risk acceptance functions within the certificate holder’s system; and
3. Identify whether certificate holder has an operating Safety Management System, and how many years SMS has been operational.
• Describe the corporate structure for special policy, information, and communication, identifying, by title or job description, the management personnel responsible for items such as, but not limited to, the following:
1. Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO);
2. FAA Notices applicable to certificate holders;
3. Information for Operators (InFO);
4. Advisory Circulars;
5. Reporting Procedures; and
6. Emergency Orders.
3.8.5 Certificate Holder’s Process for Rejection of Dangerous Goods.
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3.8.5.1 Points of Entry.
Identify the points of entry for packages into the certificate holder’s transport system.
• Identify each location responsible for “acceptance” of cargo.
3.8.5.2 Personnel.
Identify who is in charge of overseeing the acceptance/rejection intake points.
• For each point of cargo acceptance, identify the management personnel responsible for overseeing acceptance/rejection; and
• Worker personnel, including any contractors, subcontractors or affiliates acting on behalf of the certificate holder.
3.8.5.3 Certificate Holder’s Process.
From points of cargo acceptance, identify the process for intake of cargo and the process for rejecting dangerous goods. If the same process is not used in all acceptance, describe the process. The process should cover at a minimum the following items:
• Identify signage required by the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods;
• Verify there are no indications on documentation that declared dangerous goods are present (e.g., shipping documentation, shipper’s certifications, UN numbers, proper shipping name, limited quantity markings, etc.);
• Observe any packaging bearing dangerous goods markings or labels is rejected;
• Verify packaging does not contain markings or indications of declared dangerous goods or indicate the presence of undeclared dangerous goods; and
• Verify whether there are any special considerations for the package:
1. Verify if the material is excepted from the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods; and
2. Verify if the package contains lithium batteries or equipment containing lithium batteries. If it does, ensure that it is rejected.
3.8.5.4 Rejecting Packages.
Describe the process for rejecting dangerous goods as cargo.
• Identify factors used to determine the presence of a compliant, noncompliant, or hidden shipment of, dangerous goods;
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• Provide the process for separating rejected packages from those that will be transported on an aircraft;
• Identify the person who is responsible for rejected packages;
• Specify the process for returning rejected packages to the shipper/offeror or otherwise disposing of the packages; and
• Describe the process to notify the shipper/offeror that dangerous goods shipments have been rejected.
3.8.6 Special Considerations for COMAT.
Will Not Carry certificate holders are expected to establish a process for preparing COMAT containing dangerous goods and offering those shipments to a certificate holder authorized to carry dangerous goods. At a minimum, the process should:
• Identify the persons responsible for classifying, packaging, labeling, marking, completing the shipping paper, and offering the shipment for transport;
• Identify the person responsible for the oversight of the individuals preparing the COMAT containing dangerous goods for transport;
• Identify the process for evaluating all dangerous goods within the certificate holder’s inventory, including shipments of lithium batteries and chemical oxygen generator;
• Identify where COMAT is prepared for shipping; and
• Describe a procedure to prevent the inadvertent shipment of COMAT containing dangerous goods being offered in the cargo transport system.
3.8.7 Special Consideration for Interlining.
Describe the procedures to ensure that dangerous goods will not be transferred from other certificate holder.
3.8.8 Released Information by the FAA.
Evaluate whether all information in applicable dangerous goods SAFOs and Notices published by the FAA was considered, and where this record is.
3.8.9 Repair Stations Notification Describe the process to notify in writing each repair station under the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods that perform work for, or on the certificate holder’s behalf, regarding certificate holder’s policies and the information about the prohibition to transport dangerous goods, including COMAT, according to the OpSpec as a Will Not Carry certificate holder.
3.8.10 Handling Dangerous Goods.
3.8.10.1 Process.
3-19 Identify the handling process for rejected shipments, including the key points for rejection at the acceptance point, the loading ramp, or storage incidental to transport.
3.8.10.2 Personnel.
Identify the following personnel, duties, and information:
• The person responsible for oversight of the handling functions;
• The person responsible for performing the handling job function;
• The job duties of the persons performing the handling job function;
• The job duties related to moving items from the acceptance point to either storage incidental to transport or the loading dock; and
• The specific rejection requirements used to evaluate packages containing dangerous goods.
3.8.11 Storage Incidental to Transport.
3.8.11.1 Process.
Identify the location where items are placed in the certificate holder’s facility when entering “storage incidental to transport”.
• Specify how rejected items are stored, including segregation or isolation procedures, to keep potentially reactive items separate; and
• Describe how certificate holder tracks rejected items within its facility.
3.8.11.2 Personnel.
Identify the person responsible for this function within the certificate holder’s facility.
3.8.12 Loading.
3.8.12.1 Personnel.
For each loading area, the certificate holder should identify the following:
• Management personnel responsible for overseeing loading; and
• Worker personnel, including any contractors, subcontractors, or affiliates acting on behalf of the certificate holder.
3.8.12.2 Process.
For each loading area, identify the process for preparing the shipments prior to loading and the actual loading onto the aircraft. The process should:
• Identify the responsible managers by loading location;
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• Identify personnel, contractors, subcontractors, and affiliates acting on behalf of the certificate holder performing this function by job description;
• Describe the process of rejecting dangerous goods packages prior to loading onto the aircraft (i.e., use of unit load devices, palletizing shipments, etc.); and
• Describe the roles the ramp personnel have in rejecting dangerous goods, specifying who makes decisions regarding when dangerous goods packages are rejected prior to loading onto the aircraft.
3.8.13 Incident and Discrepancy Reporting.
Identify the process for reporting packages determined to contain dangerous goods (declared or undeclared).
• Specify the person, by title or job description, responsible for the report;
• Specify how the report is made (electronic, paper form);
• Describe how the package is separated from other packages continuing in air transport;
• Describe what happens to the package once it is rejected;
• Specify when and how the shipper/offeror is notified; and
• Describe any follow-up actions taken with the shipper or analysis of reports.
3.9 Manual for Will Carry Certificate Holders.
3.9.1 Will Carry Definition.
“Will Carry” means that the certificate holder has authorization to transport dangerous goods in its OpSpec. Based on that, the certificate holder is permitted to transport cargo or COMAT containing dangerous goods aboard the aircraft.
3.9.2 Will Carry Provisions.
In addition to the content described in sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6, of this chapter, the manual of a Will Carry certificate holder is expected to contain procedures and information to ensure:
• Packages containing dangerous goods are properly offered and accepted in compliance with the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods;
• Packages containing dangerous goods are properly handled, stored, packaged, loaded, or carried on board an aircraft in compliance with the regulatory requirements for dangerous goods; and
• COMAT containing dangerous goods (i.e., aircraft replacement parts, lithium batteries, chemical oxygen generators, consumable materials, or other items