| (1) | An aircraft shall not enter an RVSM airspace unless— |
| (a) | such aircraft has a valid RVSM specific approval issued by the Director as prescribed in the Document SA-CATS 91: |
| (b) | its minimum RVSM equipment as specified in an approved MEL is serviceable; |
| (c) | its flight crew has successfully completed RVSM training as prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91; and |
| (d) | such aircraft is operated as provided in an ATSU clearance to climb or descend throu gh RVSM airs pace to or from levels above RVSM flight level band. |
| (2) | The requirements for the issue of an RVSM specific approval, including minimum equipment, maintenance, and crew training requirements, are specified in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (3) | The Director shall issue an RVSM specific approval only if the Director is satisfied that— |
| (a) | vertical navigation performance capability of an aircraft satisfies the requirements specified in Document SA-CATS 91: |
| (b) | an aircraft owner or operator has instituted appropriate procedures in respect of continued airworthiness,maintenance, and repair practices and programmes: |
| (c) | an aircraft owner or operator has instituted appropriate flight crew procedures for operation in RVSM airspace: |
| (d) | an aircraft is provided with equipment which is capable of— |
| (i) | indicating, to a flight crew, a flight level being flown; |
| (ii) | automatically maintaining a selected flight level; |
| (iii) | providing an alert to flight crew when a deviation occurs from a selected flight level; |
| (iv) | calibration of an alert system threshold which shall not exceed an approximate height of 300 ft; |
| (v) | automatically reporting pressure-altitude; and |
| (e) | in the event of the failure of one item of equipment at any sta ge of a flight, the remaining equipment will enable an aircraft to navigate in accordance with RVSM. |
| (4) | In considering an application for an RVSM specific approval, the Director may conduct an investigation deemed necessa ry to ascertain compliance with the requirements for RVSM operations prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (5) | If the Director is not so satisfied with compliance referred to in subregulation (4 ) the Director shall notify an applicant for a concerned RVSM specific approval of the reasons for such dissatisfaction, and grant such applicant an opportunity to rectify any shortcoming within a determined period, after which period the Director may grant or refuse an application concerned. |
| (6) | If the Director is satisfied that an applicant has complied with the relevant requirements, the Director shall issue an RVSM specific approval in the format as prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91. |
| (7) | The Director shall maintain a register of all RVSM specific approvals issued in terms of this regulation. |
| (8) | A register of RVSM specific approvals shall contain the following particulars, which shall be recorded in the register within 30 days from the date of issue of an RVSM specific approval: |
| (a) | make, model, and registration marks of an aircraft; |
| (b) | full names of owner of an aircraft or names of an air service licence holder and an air service licence number, where applicable: |
| (c) | postal address of an RVSM specific approval holder; and |
| (d) | date on which an RVSM specific approval was issued. |
| (9) | A register of RVSM specific approval shall be kept in a safe place at the office of the Director or at a location approved by the Director. |
| (10) | A copy of a register of RVSM specific approval shall be furnished to a person who requests such copy upon payment of the appropriate fee as prescribed in Part 187. |
| (11) | A duplicate of RVSM specific approval may be issued upon application thereof by a holder of such RVSM specific approval or by an AMO a pproved under Part 145 and responsible for the servicing and maintenance of a concerned aircraft. |
| (12) | An appl ication for a duplicate RVSM specific approval shall— |
| (a) | be made in the appropriate form as prescribed in Document SA-CATS 91; and |
| (i) | data package referred to in Document SA-CATS 91; and |
| (ii) | the appropriate fee as prescribed in Part 187. |
| (13) | A holder of an RVSM specific approval shall— |
| (a) | report any occurrence involving poor height-keeping in an RVSM environment as specified in Document SA-CATS 91 within 24 hours; and |
| (b) | make an effective, timely response to each height-keeping error. |
| (14) | An aircraft owner or operator authorised to operate in RVSM airspace shall ensure that as a minimum each aircraft type grouping of its fleet shall have their height-keeping performance monitored as defined in Document SA-CATS 91 at least once every two years or within intervals of 1 000 flight hours per aircraft, whichever period is longer. |
| (15) | An aircraft owner or operator found to be operating in an RVSM airspace, within or outside the Republic, without a valid specific approval shall be subjected to enforcement action. |
[Regulation 91.04.31 substituted by regulation 8(b) of Notice No. R. 3169, GG 48228, dated 17 March 2023 (Twenty-Fifth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023)]
