PART 2 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
FOR SAFETY IN AVIATION |
| Orders to give effect to international obligations and regulate air navigation |
| 8.—(1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, by order in the Gazette, provide for matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the control and regulation of aviation in and over Singapore for the safety of air navigation or for public safety or both, and for carrying out the Chicago Convention and any other international aviation convention, agreement, or understanding to which the Government is a party, in relation to safety of air navigation. [16/2015] (2) Without limiting the powers conferred by subsection (1) and without affecting any of the provisions of this Act, the Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, by order, make provision —| (a) | as to the registration of aircraft in Singapore; | | (b) | for prohibiting aircraft from flying unless certificates of airworthiness issued or validated under the order are in force with respect to them and except upon compliance with any conditions as to maintenance or repair that may be specified in the order; | | (c) | for the licensing, inspection and regulation of aerodromes, for access to aerodromes and places where aircraft have landed, for access to aircraft factories for the purpose of inspecting work in aircraft factories carried on in relation to aircraft or parts of aircraft and for prohibiting or regulating the use of unlicensed aerodromes; | | (d) | for prohibiting persons from engaging in, or being employed in or (except in the maintenance at unlicensed aerodromes of aircraft not used for or in connection with commercial, industrial or other gainful purposes) in connection with, air navigation in any capacities that may be specified in the order, except in accordance with provisions in that behalf contained in the order, and for the licensing of those employed at aerodromes licensed under the order in the inspection or supervision of aircraft; | | (e) | as to the conditions under which, and in particular the aerodromes to or from which, aircraft entering or leaving Singapore may fly, and as to the conditions under which aircraft may fly from one part of Singapore to another; | | (f) | as to the conditions under which passengers and goods may be carried by air and under which aircraft may be used for other commercial, industrial or gainful purposes and for prohibiting the carriage by air of goods of any classes that may be specified in the order; | | (g) | for minimising or preventing interference with the use or effectiveness of apparatus used in connection with air navigation, and for prohibiting or regulating the use of such apparatus as aforesaid and the display of signs and lights liable to endanger aircraft; | | (h) | for regulating the conditions under which noise and vibration may be caused by aircraft on aerodromes; | | (i) | for applying the provisions of this Act or orders made under this section to unmanned aircraft and their operators (indoors or outdoors), design, maintenance and manufacture with any prescribed exceptions, modifications and adaptations that the differences between the manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft require; | | (j) | generally for securing the safety, efficiency and regularity of air navigation and the safety of aircraft and of persons and property carried in aircraft, for preventing aircraft endangering other persons and property and, in particular, for the detention of aircraft for any of the purposes specified in this paragraph; | | (k) | for requiring persons engaged in, or employed in or in connection with, air navigation to supply meteorological information for the purposes of air navigation; | | (l) | for regulating the making of signals and other communications by or to aircraft and persons carried in aircraft; | | (m) | for regulating the use of the civil air ensign and any other ensign established by the Authority for purposes connected with air navigation; | | (n) | for prohibiting aircraft from flying over any areas in Singapore that may be specified in the order where necessary or expedient for the safety of air navigation or for public safety; | | (o) | for prohibiting aircraft of a specified description or origin or registered in a specified country or territory from landing in, flying over or taking off from Singapore, in order to discharge or facilitate the discharge of an obligation binding on Singapore by virtue of its being a member of an international organisation or a party to an international agreement; | | (p) | for applying, adapting or modifying the enactments relating to customs in relation to aerodromes and to aircraft and to persons and property carried in aircraft and for preventing smuggling by air, and for permitting in connection with air navigation, subject to any conditions that appear to the Authority to be requisite or expedient for the protection of the revenue, the importation of goods into Singapore without payment of duty; | | (q) | as to the manner and conditions of the issue, validation, renewal, extension or variation of any certificate, licence or other document required by the order (including the examinations and tests to be undergone), and as to the form, custody, production, cancellation, suspension, endorsement and surrender of any such document; | | (r) | for regulating the charges that may be made for the use of aerodromes licensed under the order and at Government aerodromes and for services provided at such aerodromes; | | (s) | for prescribing the fees to be paid in respect of the issue, validation, renewal, extension or variation of any certificate, licence or other document or the undergoing of any examination or test required by the order and in respect of any other matters in respect of which it appears to the Authority to be expedient for the purpose of the order to charge fees; | | (t) | for a right to appeal to the Minister against any decisions made by the Authority under the order or under section 35 (whose decision on appeal is final) and the procedure for such appeals. [16/2015] |
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| (3) An order made under this section may make different provisions with respect to different classes of aircraft, aerodromes, persons or property and with respect to different circumstances but must, so far as practicable, be so framed as not to discriminate in like circumstances between aircraft registered in Singapore operated on charter terms by one air transport undertaking and such aircraft so operated by another such undertaking. |
| (4) Where any order is made under this section regulating the conditions under which noise and vibration may be caused by aircraft on aerodromes, no liability shall lie in respect of nuisance by reason only of the noise and vibration caused by aircraft on an aerodrome to which the order applies, so long as the provisions of that order are duly complied with. |
| (5) Where any structure or valuable tree or plant is reduced in height or removed or any expense is reasonably incurred in compliance with any order made under this section or the conditions of any such order, the owner or occupier of the land must, unless the structure was erected or the tree or plant was planted in contravention of any such order or of the conditions imposed by the order, receive compensation to the extent to which the owner or occupier has suffered damage by reason of such reduction or removal or has incurred such expense. |
| (6) An order made under this section may, for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of the order, provide for the imposition of penalties not exceeding a fine of $100,000 or imprisonment for a term of 5 years or both for any offence under the order, and, in the case of any provision having effect by virtue of subsection (2)(n), may also for that purpose provide for the taking of such steps (including firing on aircraft) as may be specified in the order. |
| (7) An order made under this section may contain such saving and transitional provisions and such incidental, consequential or supplementary provisions as are necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order. |
| (8) The provisions of any order made under this section before 1 April 2014 in relation to regulation of air navigation continue in force as if made under this section as amended by the Air Navigation (Amendment) Act 2014, and may from time to time be amended under this section as so amended by that Act until the provision is revoked by regulations made under section 9 on the same subject matter. [3 |
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| Regulations for this Part |
9.—(1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the control and regulation of aviation in and over Singapore for the safety of air navigation or for public safety or both, and for carrying out the Chicago Convention and any other international aviation convention, agreement, or understanding to which the Government is a party, in relation to safety of civil aviation or mitigating specifically the environmental effect of international aviation emissions, including but not limited to —| (a) | the design and manufacture of aircraft and aeronautical products; | | (b) | the registration, marking and operation of aircraft; | | (c) | the airworthiness of aircraft and any part thereof; | | (d) | the manner of applying for aviation safety instruments, including the information that may be required, and the conditions to be satisfied, for the issue of aviation safety instruments; | | (e) | regulating the conditions under which noise and vibration may be caused by aircraft on aerodromes; | | (f) | requiring persons performing specified functions in relation to the operation or maintenance of aircraft and aerodromes to be the holders of aviation safety instruments, and providing for the grant, issue, cancellation, suspension or variation of such aviation safety instruments; | | (g) | the planning, construction, establishment, operation and use of aerodromes, including the licensing of aerodromes; | | (h) | regulation of air navigation services; | | (i) | applying the provisions of this Act or regulations made under this section to unmanned aircraft and their operators (indoors or outdoors), design, maintenance and manufacture with such prescribed exceptions, modifications and adaptations as the differences between the manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft require; | | (j) | prohibiting aircraft from flying over any areas in Singapore that may be specified in the regulations where necessary or expedient for the safety of air navigation or for public safety; | | (k) | the prohibition of the construction of buildings, structures or objects, the restriction of the dimensions of buildings, structures or objects, and the removal in whole or in part or the marking or lighting of buildings, structures or objects (including trees or other natural obstacles) that constitute or may constitute obstructions, hazards or potential hazards to aircraft flying in the vicinity of an aerodrome, and any other measures that are necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft using an aerodrome or flying in the vicinity of an aerodrome; | | (l) | the formal proof and authentication of instruments made or issued under this Act or the regulations made under this section; | | (m) | empowering an officer authorised by the Authority to give or issue directives or instructions to all or any person holding an aviation safety instrument, being directives or instructions with respect to matters affecting the safe navigation and operation, or the maintenance, of aircraft, and providing for the manner in which the directives and instructions are to be notified; | | (n) | providing for a right to appeal to the Minister against any decisions made by the Authority under the regulations or under section 35 (whose decision on appeal is final) and the procedure for such appeals; | | (o) | standards relating to the establishment and use of airspace; | | (p) | prohibiting or regulating the carriage or consignment for carriage on board an aircraft of dangerous goods or munitions of war; | | (q) | the reporting of reportable safety matters under section 29 to contribute to the improvement of aviation safety by ensuring that relevant information on safety matters is reported, collected, stored, protected and disseminated; | | (r) | prohibiting except in prescribed circumstances the disclosure or use of flight recorder information or other prescribed information, but without limiting disclosure or use for the purposes of an investigation under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018 or reporting a known or suspected act of unlawful interference required by that Act; | | (s) | prescribing, in relation to the owner or operator of an aircraft that is flying within, into or out of Singapore —| (i) | the type and amount of insurance coverage the owner or operator must have in respect of any liability that the owner or operator may incur in relation to the aircraft (for example, liability for any passenger, baggage, cargo or mail carried on the aircraft, for any flight delay relating to the aircraft, or for any death, injury or damage caused by the aircraft); | | (ii) | the documents and information the owner or operator must give about the insurance the owner or operator has, and how those documents and information are to be given; and | | (iii) | prohibitions against the aircraft flying within, landing in, or taking off from Singapore if the owner or operator does not have the required insurance; [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
| | (t) | prescribing one-time or periodic fees (either by specifying amounts or by prescribing a method of calculation) in relation to services, applications or requests, or the doing of anything, under this Part or the regulations made under this section; and [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] | | (u) | prescribing such saving and transitional provisions and such incidental, consequential or supplementary provisions as may be necessary or expedient. [16/2015; 18/2018; 34/2019] |
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), regulations may also provide for or with respect to —| (a) | the appointment, authorisation approval, designation, classification or certification of —| (i) | aircraft and aeronautical products; | | (ii) | aircraft operators; | | (iii) | pilots and flight crew members; | | (iv) | air traffic service personnel; | | (v) | aircraft maintenance personnel; | | (vi) | air traffic services, search and rescue services and aeronautical information services; | | (vii) | aerodromes, aerodrome operators and aerodrome rescue and firefighting services; | | (viii) | navigation installations; | | (ix) | aviation training organisations; | | (x) | aircraft design, manufacture and maintenance organisations; | | (xi) | aeronautical procedures; | | (xii) | aeronautical meteorological services; | | (xiii) | aeronautical telecommunications services; | | (xiv) | any person who conducts an examination or assessment for the purpose of determining the competency of an applicant for or the holder of an aviation safety instrument to hold or continue to hold the instrument, including the ratings to be included in an aviation safety instrument; or | | (xv) | such other persons, aviation‑related services, facilities, and equipment operated in support of the civil aviation system, or classes of such persons, aviation‑related services, facilities and equipment operated in support of the civil aviation system, as may, in the interests of safety, be specified in the regulations; |
| | (b) | the setting of standards, specifications, restrictions, and licensing requirements for all or any of those persons or things mentioned in paragraph (a), including but not limited to —| (i) | the specification of the privileges, limitations, and ratings associated with aviation safety instruments or other forms of approval; | | (ii) | the setting of standards for training systems and techniques, including recurrent training requirements; | | (iii) | the setting of medical standards for personnel; | | (iv) | the requirement for proof of access to appropriate weather services; | | (v) | the specification of standards of design, construction, manufacture, maintenance, processing, testing, supply, approval, and identification of aircraft and aeronautical products; | | (vi) | the requirements for notification of insurance coverage for air services; | | (vii) | the format of aviation safety instruments, forms, and applications, including the specification of information required on all application forms for aviation safety instruments; | | (viii) | the provision of information to the Authority by applicants for or holders of aviation safety instruments; | | (ix) | the requirements relating to the classification of aviation examiners and medical assessors and any related standards and restrictions on the exercise of their functions and powers; | | (x) | the requirements for the purposes of determining suitably qualified medical examiners and establishing the criteria for standard medical assessments; and | | (xi) | the requirements and criteria for determining medical experts acceptable to the Authority for the purposes of reaching an accredited medical conclusion; |
| | (c) | the definitions, abbreviations, and units of measurement to apply within the civil aviation system; and | | (d) | the provision of body samples for drug or alcohol tests, including the persons or bodies authorised to take body samples, the persons who may be required to provide such a body sample, and the procedure for the handling and analysis of body samples taken in connection with drug or alcohol tests. |
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| (3) Any regulations may apply generally or with respect to different classes of aircraft, aerodromes, aeronautical products, aeronautical procedures, or aviation‑related services, or with respect to the same class of aircraft, aerodrome, aeronautical product, aeronautical procedure, or aviation-related service in different circumstances. |
(4) The Authority may, in making any regulations under subsection (1), provide that any contravention of any of the provisions of the regulations shall be an offence punishable —| (a) | in the case of a first offence under the regulations, with a fine not exceeding $50,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or with both; and | | (b) | in the case of a second or subsequent offence under the regulations, with a fine not exceeding $100,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or with both. |
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| (5) The Authority may, in making any regulations under subsection (1), provide for the imposition of financial penalties for conduct that is a contravention of or failure to comply with a provision of the regulations or a direction, instruction or condition issued, given, made or imposed under, or in force by virtue of, the regulations, being conduct that does not constitute an offence. |
| (6) Where the regulations provide for the removal, marking or lighting of anything referred to in subsection (1)(k), the regulations must also provide for the payment of compensation to any person who suffers loss or damage or incurs reasonable expense in or as a direct result of the removal, marking or lighting or complying with those regulations, unless that thing was erected or the tree or plant was planted in contravention of the regulations or of the conditions imposed by the regulations. |
| (7) Where any regulation is made under this section regulating the conditions under which noise and vibration may be caused by aircraft on aerodromes, no liability shall lie in respect of nuisance by reason only of the noise and vibration caused by aircraft on an aerodrome to which the regulation applies, so long as the provisions of that regulation are duly complied with. |
(8) If a person is prohibited by any regulations under subsection (1)(r) from disclosing or using any flight recorder information or other information, then —| (a) | the person cannot be required by any court to disclose that information; and | | (b) | any information disclosed by the person in contravention of that prohibition is not admissible in any civil proceedings or other proceedings or any criminal proceedings other than proceedings against the person for an offence under those regulations. [34/2019] |
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| (9) All regulations made under this section must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette. |
| (10) To avoid doubt, nothing in this Act authorises the making of any regulations providing that an aviation safety instrument is required by or in respect of the provision of airport services and facilities or the privilege to operate an airport within the meaning of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Act 2009. [3A |
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| Incorporation by reference, etc. |
10.—(1) Any aviation safety subsidiary legislation may make provision for or in relation to a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating by reference, with or without modification, any matter contained in any code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document, as in force at a particular time or from time to time, which relates to any matter with which the aviation safety subsidiary legislation deal, even if the code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document does not yet exist when the aviation safety subsidiary legislation is made, including but not limited to —| (a) | any code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document —| (i) | prescribed under law by any other Contracting State of the ICAO; | | (ii) | recommended, issued or adopted by the Enterprise Singapore Board, or a body or an organisation inside or outside Singapore that has functions corresponding to the functions of the Enterprise Singapore Board in any particular aspect of civil aviation; or | | (iii) | issued or adopted by any aviation sport or aviation recreation organisation approved by the Authority; |
| | (b) | any standards, requirements or recommended practices issued or adopted by international aviation organisations; or | | (c) | any code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document issued or adopted by the Authority or any Government department or any other public authority constituted by any written law. [10/2018] |
(2) Material referred to in subsection (1) may be applied, adopted or incorporated by reference in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation —| (a) | in whole or in part; or | | (b) | with modifications, additions, or variations specified in the regulation or order. |
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(3) A copy of any material applied, adopted or incorporated by reference in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation, including any amendment to, or replacement of, the material, must be —| (a) | certified as a correct copy of the material by the Minister or the Authority (as the case may be); and | | (b) | retained by the Authority. |
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| (4) Any material applied, adopted or incorporated in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation by reference under subsection (1) is to be treated for all purposes as forming part of the regulation or order; and, unless otherwise provided in the aviation safety subsidiary legislation, every amendment to any material incorporated by reference under subsection (1) that is made by the person or organisation originating the material is, subject to subsections (5) and (6), to be treated as being a part of that aviation safety subsidiary legislation. |
(5) Where any material referred to in subsection (1) is applied, adopted or incorporated by reference in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation, the Authority must give notice in the Gazette stating —| (a) | that the material is incorporated in the aviation safety subsidiary legislation and the date on which the relevant provision in the aviation safety subsidiary legislation was made; | | (b) | that the material is available for inspection during working hours, free of charge; | | (c) | the place where the material can be inspected; | | (d) | that copies of the material can be purchased; | | (e) | the place where the material can be purchased; and | | (f) | if copies of the material are available in other ways, the details of where or how the material can be accessed or obtained. |
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| (6) The Authority must cause a copy of every code, standard, requirement, rule or specification incorporated by reference under subsection (1) (other than a code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document recommended, issued or adopted by the Enterprise Singapore Board) to be made available for inspection by members of the public without charge at the office of the Director‑General of Civil Aviation during normal office hours. [10/2018] |
| (7) In this section, “modification” includes omissions, additions and substitutions. [3B |
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| Use of code, standards, etc., in proceedings |
11.—(1) This section applies to and in relation to any code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document issued by the Authority for the purpose of providing practical guidance or certainty in respect of any one or more of the requirements of this Part or any duty or other requirement prescribed in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation.(2) Subsection (4) has effect where —| (a) | a person is alleged to have committed an offence under this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation —| (i) | by reason of a contravention of any provision of this Part or of any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; or | | (ii) | by reason of a failure to discharge or perform a duty or other requirement imposed by this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and |
| | (b) | the matter to which the alleged contravention or failure relates is one to which, in the opinion of the court in the criminal proceedings, a code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document mentioned in subsection (1) relates. |
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(3) Subsection (4) has effect where —| (a) | a holder of an aviation safety instrument is alleged to have not satisfied any requirement of this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation applicable to holders of that aviation safety instrument —| (i) | by reason of a contravention of any provision of this Part or of any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; or | | (ii) | by reason of a failure to discharge or perform a duty or other requirement imposed by this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and |
| | (b) | the matter to which the alleged contravention or failure relates is one to which, in the opinion of the Authority or Minister in any administrative proceedings involving the exercise of any power under section 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26 or 28, a code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document mentioned in subsection (1) relates. |
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(4) In criminal proceedings mentioned in subsection (2) or administrative proceedings mentioned in subsection (3) —| (a) | compliance with a provision of such a code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document found by the court, Authority or Minister (as the case may be), to be relevant to a matter to which a contravention or failure alleged in the proceedings relates; or | | (b) | a contravention of or a failure to comply with, whether by act or omission, any such provision so found, |
| may be relied on by any party to those proceedings as tending to negative or establish any liability which is in question in those proceedings. |
[3C |
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| Meaning of “fit and proper person” |
12.—(1) For the purpose of determining whether or not a person is a fit and proper person for any purpose under this Part, the Authority must, having regard to the degree and nature of the person’s proposed involvement in the Singapore civil aviation system, have regard to, and give such weight as the Authority considers appropriate to, all of the following matters:| (a) | the person’s compliance history with aviation safety regulatory requirements; | | (b) | the person’s relevant knowledge, competency and experience; | | (c) | any history of physical or mental health or serious behavioural problems; | | (d) | any conviction for any offence, whether or not the conviction was in a Singapore court and whether or not the offence was committed before 1 April 2014; | | (e) | any evidence of the exercise of any power under section 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26 or 28 in relation to the person for committing an aviation safety offence or for contravening any provision of this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (f) | whether the person is or was disqualified under section 21 from holding the same aviation safety instrument or such other related aviation safety instrument as the Authority must specify by order under that section. |
(2) Subsection (1) applies to a body corporate with the following modifications:| (a) | paragraphs (a), (b), (d) and (e) of that subsection must be read as if they refer to the body corporate and its officers; and | | (b) | paragraphs (c) and (f) of that subsection must be read as if they refer only to the officers of the body corporate. |
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(3) To avoid doubt —| (a) | the Authority is not confined to consideration of the matters specified in subsection (1) and may take into account any other matters and evidence that may be relevant; but | | (b) | the Authority must not take into account any reportable safety matter notified under section 29 by a person for the purpose of determining whether or not that person is a fit and proper person. |
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| (4) The Authority may seek and receive any information (including medical reports) that the Authority thinks fit or consider information obtained from any source. |
| (5) If the Authority proposes to take into account any information that is or may be prejudicial to a person, the Authority must, subject to subsection (6), as soon as is practicable, disclose that information to that person and give that person a reasonable opportunity to refute or comment on it. |
| (6) Nothing in subsection (5) requires the Authority to disclose any information, the disclosure of which would endanger the safety of any person. |
(7) In this section —| “aviation safety offence” means an offence under this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; |
| “aviation safety regulatory requirement” does not include any security directive or other requirement imposed by or under Part 2B. [3D |
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| Appointment of safety inspectors and delegation |
13.—(1) The Authority may in writing appoint as safety inspectors any of the following persons:| (a) | any employee of the Authority with suitable qualifications and experience to properly exercise the powers of a safety inspector; | | (b) | any individual who is not an employee of the Authority and has suitable qualifications and experience to properly exercise the powers of a safety inspector. |
| (2) The Authority must issue to each safety inspector an identification card, which must be carried at all times by the safety inspector when exercising powers under any provision in this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation. |
(3) Subject to subsection (5), the Authority may delegate the exercise of all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon it by any provision in this Part or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation —| (a) | to the Director-General of Civil Aviation; or | | (b) | to such of its employees, and such other individuals who are not its employees, as it appoints under this section to be a safety inspector in relation to that provision, |
| and any reference in this Act or such aviation safety subsidiary legislation to the Authority includes a reference to the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or such a safety inspector. |
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| (4) Subject to subsection (5), the Director‑General of Civil Aviation may, in writing, delegate to any employee of the Authority (whether or not appointed by the Authority to be a safety inspector) the exercise of all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon him or her by any provision in this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and any reference in this Act or such aviation safety subsidiary legislation to the Director‑General of Civil Aviation includes a reference to that employee. |
(5) Nothing in this section authorises delegating —| (a) | the power of delegation conferred by this section; | | (b) | any power of the Authority to make aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (c) | any power of the Director-General of Civil Aviation to make emergency directives of general application under section 23; or | | (d) | to any individual who is not an employee of the Authority any power under section 17, 18, 19 or 21 with respect to any aviation safety instrument. |
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| (6) Any delegation under subsection (3) or (4) may be general or in a particular case and may be subject to such conditions or limitations as set out in this Act or as the Authority may specify. |
| (7) Every safety inspector who is not an employee of the Authority and acting under this section is deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871. [3E |
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| Division 2 — Aviation safety instruments |
| Requirement for aviation safety instrument |
14.—(1) The Authority may in any aviation safety subsidiary legislation provide that an aviation safety instrument is required by or in respect of all or any of the following:| (a) | aircraft operators; | | (b) | aircraft owners; | | (c) | aircraft pilots and flight crew members; | | (d) | air traffic service personnel; | | (e) | aircraft maintenance personnel; | | (f) | air traffic services, search and rescue services and aeronautical information services; | | (g) | aerodromes, aerodrome operators and aerodrome rescue and firefighting services; | | (h) | navigation installations; | | (i) | aviation training organisations; | | (j) | aircraft design, manufacture, and maintenance organisations; | | (k) | aeronautical procedures; | | (l) | aeronautical meteorological services; | | (m) | aeronautical telecommunications services; | | (n) | such other persons, aircraft, aeronautical products, aviation‑related services, facilities, and equipment operated in support of the civil aviation system, or classes of such persons, aircraft, aeronautical products, aviation‑related services, facilities, and equipment operated in support of the civil aviation system, as may, in the interests of safety or security, be specified in the aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (o) | any person who is an aviation examiner or medical assessor. [10/2014] |
(2) A person must not operate, maintain or service or do any other act in respect of any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service referred to in subsection (1)(a) to (o) for which an aviation safety instrument is required under any aviation safety subsidiary legislation unless —| (a) | the person holds an aviation safety instrument that is in force and authorises the person to do that act; or | | (b) | the person is authorised by or under the aviation safety subsidiary legislation to do that act without the aviation safety instrument. |
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| (3) Any person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence. [34/2019] |
(4) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; but | | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [34/2019] |
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(5) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (3) relating to an aviation safety instrument which is required under any aviation safety subsidiary legislation if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after 21 December 2019) on at least one other earlier occasion of —| (a) | an offence under subsection (3) relating to an activity or act in respect of any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service for which the same type of aviation safety instrument is required under any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; or | | (b) | an offence under an order made under section 8 relating to an activity or act in respect of any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service for which the same type of aviation safety instrument is required under such an order. [34/2019] |
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| (6) Subject to any such aviation safety subsidiary legislation, an aviation safety instrument may be issued by the Authority for such specified period and subject to such conditions as the Authority considers appropriate in each particular case. [4 |
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| Grant and renewal of aviation safety instruments |
15.—(1) Every application for the grant or renewal of an aviation safety instrument must be made to the Authority in the form prescribed by any aviation safety subsidiary legislation or, if there is no prescribed form, in any form that the Authority requires.(2) After considering any application for the grant or renewal of an aviation safety instrument, the Authority may, as soon as is practicable, grant the application if the Authority is satisfied that —| (a) | all things in respect of which the aviation safety instrument is sought meet the relevant requirements prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (b) | the applicant and any person who is to have or is likely to have control over the exercise of the privileges under the aviation safety instrument —| (i) | either holds the relevant qualifications and experience prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation or holds any foreign qualifications or certifications, licences or permits issued by a foreign aviation authority that are acceptable to the Authority under subsection (3); | | (ii) | is a fit and proper person to have such control or hold the aviation safety instrument; and | | (iii) | meets all other relevant requirements prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; |
| | (c) | the applicant is not disqualified under section 21 from holding that aviation safety instrument; and | | (d) | it is not contrary to the interests of aviation safety for the aviation safety instrument to be granted or renewed. |
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| (3) For the purpose of granting or renewing an aviation safety instrument, the Authority may, subject to any provisions in the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, accept such foreign qualifications or recognise such certifications, licences or permits issued by a foreign aviation authority as it considers appropriate in each case. |
| (4) It is a condition of every current aviation safety instrument that the holder of, and any person who has or is likely to have control over the exercise of the privileges under, the aviation safety instrument continue to satisfy the fit and proper person test specified in subsection (2)(b)(ii). |
| (5) Where the Authority refuses to grant an application for the grant or renewal of an aviation safety instrument under this section, the applicant may appeal against that decision to the Minister within the time and in the manner prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. [4A |
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| General duties of holder of aviation safety instrument |
16.—(1) Unless otherwise provided by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, a person who is required by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation for or in respect of any matter in section 14(1)(a) to (o) to hold an appropriate aviation safety instrument must ensure that the appropriate aviation safety instrument and all the necessary qualifications and other documents are held by that person before that person does anything for which such an aviation safety instrument is required.(2) Where a person mentioned in subsection (1) holds an aviation safety instrument, the person —| (a) | must comply with all the relevant aviation safety subsidiary legislation, and the conditions attached to the relevant aviation safety instrument the person holds; | | (b) | must ensure that the activities or functions for which the aviation safety instrument has been granted are carried out by the person, and by all persons for whom the person is responsible, safely and in accordance with the relevant safety standards and practices prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and | | (c) | where the aviation safety instrument authorises the provision of a service within the civil aviation system —| (i) | must, if so required by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, establish and follow a management system that will ensure compliance with the relevant safety standards prescribed by that aviation safety subsidiary legislation and the conditions attached to the aviation safety instrument; | | (ii) | must provide training and supervision to all employees of the person who are engaged in doing anything to which the aviation safety instrument relates, so as to maintain compliance with the relevant safety standards prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation and the conditions attached to the aviation safety instrument and to promote safety; and | | (iii) | must provide sufficient resources to ensure compliance with the relevant safety standards prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation and the conditions attached to the aviation safety instrument. [4B |
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| Power to suspend or impose conditions on aviation safety instrument |
17.—(1) The Authority may suspend any aviation safety instrument or impose conditions in respect of any such aviation safety instrument if —| (a) | the Authority considers such action necessary to ensure compliance with this Part or the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (b) | the Authority is satisfied that the holder of the aviation safety instrument has failed to comply with any condition of the aviation safety instrument, any provision of this Part or the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; | | (c) | the Authority considers that the privileges or duties for which the aviation safety instrument has been granted are being carried out by the holder in a careless or incompetent manner; or | | (d) | in the case of an aviation safety instrument relating to the use of any aircraft, aeronautical product, or the provision of any service, the Authority considers that there is reasonable doubt as to the airworthiness of the aircraft or as to the quality or safety of the aeronautical product or service to which the aviation safety instrument relates, |
| and the Authority considers that suspending the aviation safety instrument or imposing conditions in respect of the aviation safety instrument is necessary in the interests of safety. |
| (2) The suspension of any aviation safety instrument and any conditions imposed under subsection (1) remain in force until the Authority determines what action (if any) mentioned in subsection (3) is to be taken; but any such suspension or conditions expire 10 working days after the date that the suspension or conditions are imposed unless, before the expiry of that 10‑working day period, the Authority extends the suspension or conditions for a further specified period. |
(3) The Authority may take one or more of the following actions:| (a) | impose conditions in respect of any such aviation safety instrument for a specified period; | | (b) | withdraw any conditions in respect of any such aviation safety instrument; | | (c) | suspend any aviation safety instrument in whole or part for a specified period; | | (d) | revoke or partially revoke any aviation safety instrument under section 18; | | (e) | impose permanent conditions under section 18. |
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| (4) Any person whose aviation safety instrument has been suspended or made subject to conditions under subsection (3) must forthwith produce that document to the Authority for appropriate endorsement. |
| (5) The holder of an aviation safety instrument who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority under this section may appeal to the Minister in the manner prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. [4C |
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| Power to revoke or impose permanent conditions on aviation safety instrument |
18.—(1) The Authority may, if it considers it necessary in the interests of aviation safety and after an inspection, monitoring, or investigation carried out under this Part, revoke an aviation safety instrument or impose permanent conditions on an aviation safety instrument.| (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Authority may revoke or impose permanent conditions on an aviation safety instrument if the Authority considers that the revocation or imposition of permanent conditions is necessary in the interests of aviation safety. |
| (3) Revocation under this section may be in respect of the whole or any part of an aviation safety instrument. |
(4) Before exercising any powers under this section, the Authority must give notice to the holder of the aviation safety instrument concerned —| (a) | stating that it proposes to revoke or impose permanent conditions on the aviation safety instrument in the manner as specified in the notice; and | | (b) | specifying the time (being at least 28 days from the date of service of notice on the holder) within which written representations may be made to the Authority with respect to the proposed revocation of the aviation safety instrument or the permanent conditions to be imposed on the aviation safety instrument, as the case may be. |
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(5) Upon receipt of any written representation mentioned in subsection (4)(b), the Authority must consider the written representation and may —| (a) | reject the written representation; or | | (b) | amend the proposed permanent condition in accordance with the written representation, or otherwise, |
| and, in either event, the Authority must give written notice to the holder of the aviation safety instrument concerned of its decision. |
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(6) A person whose aviation safety instrument is revoked or made subject to permanent conditions under this section must —| (a) | if the aviation safety instrument is made subject to permanent conditions or revoked in part, immediately produce the document to the Authority for appropriate endorsement; and | | (b) | if the whole aviation safety instrument is revoked, immediately surrender the document to the Authority. |
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| (7) The holder of an aviation safety instrument who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority under this section may appeal to the Minister in the manner prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. [4D |
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| Provisional orders to avoid imminent danger, etc. |
19.—(1) Subject to subsection (4), where it appears to the Authority that a holder of an aviation safety instrument is contravening, or is likely to contravene, any condition of the aviation safety instrument, that there are reasonable grounds to believe there is a serious and imminent risk to air safety and that it is appropriate or requisite, to avoid any actual or imminent occurrence that endangers or threatens to endanger the safety of the public, that a provisional order be made under this section, the Authority must, instead of taking any decision under section 17 or 18, by provisional order make any provision that appears to it requisite for securing compliance with that condition.(2) A provisional order —| (a) | is to require the holder of an aviation safety instrument to whom it relates (according to the circumstances of the case) to do, or not to do, such things as are specified in the provisional order or are of a description so specified; | | (b) | is to take effect at such time, being the earliest practicable time, as is determined by or under the provisional order; and | | (c) | may be revoked at any time by the Authority. |
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| (3) In determining whether it is appropriate or requisite that a provisional order be made, the Authority must have regard, in particular, to the extent to which any person is likely to sustain loss or damage in consequence of anything which, in contravention of the condition of an aviation safety instrument, is likely to be done, or omitted to be done, before a decision under section 17 or 18 may be made. |
(4) Subject to subsections (5), (6) and (7), the Authority must, by written notice, confirm a provisional order, with or without modifications, if —| (a) | the Authority is satisfied that the holder of an aviation safety instrument to whom the order relates has contravened, or is likely to contravene, any condition of its instrument; and | | (b) | the provision made by the order (with any modifications) is requisite for the purpose of securing compliance with that condition. |
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(5) The Authority must not confirm a provisional order in relation to a holder of an aviation safety instrument if it is satisfied —| (a) | that the duties imposed on the Authority under this Act or the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Act 2009 preclude the confirming of such a provisional order; | | (b) | that the holder of an aviation safety instrument has agreed to take, and is taking, all such steps as it appears to the Authority for the time being to be appropriate for the holder of that instrument to take for the purpose of securing or facilitating compliance with the condition in question; or | | (c) | that the contraventions were, or the apprehended contraventions are, of a trivial nature. |
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(6) Before the Authority confirms a provisional order, the Authority must give notice to the holder of an aviation safety instrument concerned —| (a) | stating that the Authority proposes to confirm the provisional order and setting out its effect; | | (b) | setting out —| (i) | the relevant condition of the aviation safety instrument for the purpose of securing compliance with which the provisional order is to be confirmed; | | (ii) | the acts or omissions which, in the Authority’s opinion, constitute or would constitute contraventions of that condition; and | | (iii) | the other facts which, in the Authority’s opinion, justify the confirmation of the provisional order; and |
| | (c) | specifying the period (being at least 28 days from the date of service of the notice) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed confirmation may be made, |
| and must consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn. |
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(7) The Authority must not confirm a provisional order with modifications except —| (a) | with the consent of the holder of an aviation safety instrument to whom the order relates; or | | (b) | after —| (i) | serving on that holder of an aviation safety instrument such notice of the proposal to confirm the provisional order with modifications and in that notice, specifying the period (being at least 28 days from the date of service of the notice) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed modifications may be made; and | | (ii) | considering any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn. |
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| (8) In this section, “provisional order” means an order under this section which, if not previously confirmed in accordance with subsection (5), ceases to have effect at the end of such period (not exceeding 3 months) as is determined by or under the order. [4E |
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| Criteria for action under section 17, 18 or 19 |
20.—(1) For the purpose of determining whether an aviation safety instrument a person holds should be suspended or made subject to conditions under section 17, or revoked or made subject to permanent conditions under section 18, whether a provisional order should be made under section 19 in respect of that person, or whether the person should be disqualified under section 21, the Authority may have regard to, and give such weight as it considers appropriate to, all of the following matters:| (a) | the person’s compliance history with aviation safety regulatory requirements; | | (b) | any conviction for an offence, whether or not the conviction was in a Singapore court and whether or not the offence was committed before 1 April 2014; | | (c) | any evidence that the person has committed an aviation safety offence or has contravened any provision in this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation. |
| (2) To avoid doubt, the Authority is not confined to consideration of the matters specified in subsection (1) and may take into account any other matters and evidence that may be relevant. |
| (3) The Authority may seek and receive any information that the Authority thinks fit or consider information obtained from any source. |
| (4) If the Authority proposes to take into account any information that is or may be prejudicial to a person, the Authority must, subject to subsection (5), as soon as is practicable, but in the case of the suspension of an aviation safety instrument or the imposition of conditions under section 17, no later than 5 working days after suspending the aviation safety instrument or imposing conditions, disclose that information to that person and give that person a reasonable opportunity to refute or comment on it. |
| (5) Nothing in subsection (4) requires the Authority to disclose any information, the disclosure of which would endanger the safety of any person or before exercising any power under section 19. |
(6) In this section —| “aviation safety offence” means an offence under this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; |
| “aviation safety regulatory requirement” does not include any security directive or requirement imposed by or under Part 2B. [4F |
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| Disqualification from holding aviation safety instrument |
21.—(1) Where an aviation safety instrument is wholly revoked under section 18, the person who was the holder of that aviation safety instrument is also disqualified, for the period that the Authority specifies, from holding the same aviation safety instrument or such other related aviation safety instrument, as the Authority must specify and inform the person by order.| (2) A person commits an offence who applies for or obtains an aviation safety instrument while disqualified by an order of the Authority under this section from obtaining such an instrument and any such instrument so obtained is of no effect. |
| (3) A former holder of an aviation safety instrument who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority under this section may appeal to the Minister in the manner prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. [4G |
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| Directives affecting holder of aviation safety instrument |
22.—(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Authority may, whether or not any administrative proceedings are instituted under section 17, 18 or 19, give a directive to the holder of any aviation safety instrument, according to the circumstances of the case, to do, or not to do, such things as are specified in the directive or are of a description as specified in the directive if —| (a) | the Authority considers such action necessary in the interests of promoting or protecting safety or public health or ensuring environmental sustainability; | | (b) | the Authority is satisfied that the holder of the aviation safety instrument has failed to comply with any conditions of the aviation safety instrument; | | (c) | the Authority considers that the privileges or duties for which the aviation safety instrument has been granted are being carried out by the holder in a careless or incompetent manner; or | | (d) | in the case of an aviation safety instrument relating to the use of any aircraft, aeronautical product, or the provision of any service, or impose conditions in respect of any such document, the Authority considers that there is reasonable doubt as to the airworthiness of the aircraft or as to the quality or safety of the aeronautical product or service to which the aviation safety instrument relates, |
| and that holder must comply with that directive as soon as it takes effect. |
| (2) Every directive under subsection (1) takes effect when the directive is given to the holder of an aviation safety instrument concerned or on a later date specified in the directive. |
| (3) A directive under this section in respect of the holder of an aviation safety instrument must not be inconsistent with any provision in this Act or any aviation safety subsidiary legislation, or the conditions of the aviation safety instrument. |
| (4) The Authority may at any time revoke any directive given under this section. |
(5) Before giving a directive to any holder of an aviation safety instrument under subsection (1), the Authority must, unless the Authority in respect of any particular directive considers that it is not practicable or desirable, give notice —| (a) | stating that the Authority proposes to make the directive and setting out its effect; and | | (b) | specifying the time within which representations or objections to the proposed directive may be made, |
| and must consider any representations or objections which are duly made. |
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| (6) Where a holder of any aviation safety instrument has been subject to administrative proceedings under section 17, 18 or 19 (called in this subsection the first administrative action) and a directive is given to the holder under this section in connection with those proceedings, and the holder of the aviation safety instrument continues to fail to comply with the directive of the Authority under this section, such failure constitutes a fresh ground for administrative proceedings under section 17 or 18 for every day or part of a day that the failure continues after the first administrative action. [4H |
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23.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Director‑General of Civil Aviation may from time to time and in accordance with subsections (3), (4) and (5), make such emergency directives of general application as may be necessary to alleviate or minimise any risk of the death of, or a serious injury to, any person or of damage to any property.| (2) The Director-General of Civil Aviation must not make any emergency directive of general application unless it is impracticable in the circumstances of the particular case for the Authority to make or amend any aviation safety subsidiary legislation to effectively alleviate or minimise the risk concerned. |
| (3) Once such an emergency directive of general application is made, the Director‑General of Civil Aviation must cause to be published in the Gazette the emergency directive except that where for reasons of safety or security it is impracticable to notify the emergency directive in the Gazette, the Director‑General of Civil Aviation must notify any person or persons that he or she thinks appropriate or necessary in the circumstances. |
| (4) Every emergency directive of general application comes into force immediately upon its being published in the Gazette or, where notified by service on any person under subsection (3), immediately upon service of the notification upon that person and in respect of that person only. |
| (5) An emergency directive of general application made under this section may be in force for a period not exceeding 90 days unless earlier revoked under subsection (6), and may be renewed by the Director‑General of Civil Aviation once only for a further period not exceeding 30 days. |
| (6) The Authority may, at any time when any emergency directive of general application made under subsection (1) is in force, revoke the emergency directive by publishing notice of that revocation in the Gazette. |
| (7) So far as any emergency directive of general application is inconsistent with any aviation safety subsidiary legislation, the emergency directive prevails. [4I |
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| Division 3 — Safety inspections and enforcement powers |
| Safety inspections and monitoring |
24.—(1) The Authority may, by notice, require —| (a) | any holder of an aviation safety instrument; or | | (b) | any person who operates, maintains or services, or does any other act in respect of, any aircraft or aeronautical product, or who provides any aviation-related service or air traffic service, |
| to undergo any inspection or monitoring that the Authority considers, on reasonable grounds, necessary in the interests of civil aviation safety. |
| (2) For the purposes of any inspection or monitoring under subsection (1), the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector may in respect of any person described in subsection (1)(a) or (b), by written notice, require from that person any information that the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or safety inspector (as the case may be) considers relevant to the inspection or monitoring. |
| (3) Any person to whom a notice under subsection (1) or (2) is given who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the requirements of the notice shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. [4J |
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| Investigating holder of aviation safety instrument |
25.—(1) Without affecting sections 24 and 26, the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector may require the holder of an aviation safety instrument to undergo an investigation conducted by the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector if the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or safety inspector, as the case may be —| (a) | has reasonable grounds to believe that the holder has failed to comply with any condition of the aviation safety instrument, or considers that the privileges or duties for which the aviation safety instrument has been granted are being carried out by the holder in a careless or incompetent manner; and | | (b) | believes, on reasonable grounds, that the investigation is necessary in the interests of civil aviation safety. |
(2) If the Director-General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector requires any holder of an aviation safety instrument to undergo an investigation under this section, he or she must —| (a) | inform the holder, in writing, of the date on which the investigation will begin; | | (b) | conclude the investigation as soon as practicable; and | | (c) | inform the holder, in writing, of the results of the investigation, including any recommendations arising out of the investigation and the grounds for those recommendations. [4K |
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| Power to detain aircraft, aeronautical products, etc. |
26.—(1) Where the Director-General of Civil Aviation believes on reasonable grounds that the operation or use of any aircraft or aeronautical product or any class of aircraft or aeronautical products may endanger persons or property and that prompt action is necessary to prevent the danger, the Director‑General of Civil Aviation may do all or any of the following:| (a) | prohibit or impose conditions on the operation of the aircraft or all aircraft of that class; | | (b) | prohibit or impose conditions on the use of the aeronautical product or aeronautical products of that class; | | (c) | detain particular aircraft or seize particular aeronautical products where necessary in order to prevent their operation or use. |
(2) Where the Director-General of Civil Aviation believes on reasonable grounds that the operation or use of any aircraft or aeronautical product or any class of aircraft or aeronautical products may endanger persons or property and notifies the Authority, the Authority may do all or any of the following:| (a) | detain the aircraft or any aircraft of that class; | | (b) | seize the aeronautical product or any aeronautical products of that class; | | (c) | prohibit or impose conditions on the operation of the aircraft or aircraft of that class, or the use of any aeronautical product or any aeronautical products of that class. |
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| (3) Any detention or seizure under subsection (1) or (2) must be maintained for only such time as is necessary in the interest of safety; but, if any aircraft, aeronautical products, or parts thereof are required for the purpose of evidence in any prosecution under this Act, those aircraft, aeronautical products, or parts thereof may be retained by the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or the Authority for any period that the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or the Authority (as the case may be) considers necessary for that purpose. |
| (4) The Director-General of Civil Aviation or the Authority (as the case may be) must, if requested by the owner or the person for the time being in charge of an aircraft detained or an aeronautical product seized under subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be) provide in writing to the owner or that person the reasons for the detention or seizure. |
| (5) Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or the Authority under this section may appeal to the Minister in the manner prescribed by such order made under such aviation safety subsidiary legislation as is applicable; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. |
| (6) For the purpose of subsections (1) and (2), the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or the Authority (as the case may be) must notify any prohibitions or conditions to any persons that the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or the Authority considers necessary by any means of communication, whether or not of a permanent nature, that he or she or it considers appropriate in the circumstances. [4L |
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| Power to obtain information |
27.—(1) For the purpose of finding out whether the provisions of this Act or any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation is being complied with, a safety inspector may by notice require any holder of an aviation safety instrument or other person to provide, within a reasonable period specified in the notice, and in the form and manner that may be specified in the notice, all documents and information relating to any matter —| (a) | which a safety inspector considers necessary for that purpose; and | | (b) | which are within the knowledge of that person or in that person’s custody or under that person’s control. [16/2015] |
(2) The power to require a person to provide any document or information under subsection (1) includes the power —| (a) | to require that person, or any individual who is or was an officer or employee of that person —| (i) | to provide an explanation of the document or information; or | | (ii) | to attend before a safety inspector for an interview and to answer any question and give a statement about the document or information; |
| | (b) | if the document or information is not provided, to require that person to state, to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and | | (c) | if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Authority in legible form. [16/2015] |
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(3) Where a person is required to attend before a safety inspector for an interview, the safety inspector must —| (a) | record the person’s answers or statement at the interview in writing; | | (b) | read over that written record in paragraph (a) of the person’s answers or statement or, if the person is for any reason unable to understand or communicate in spoken English sufficiently, use an interpreter to inform the person about contents of the written record; and | | (c) | then require the person to sign that written record. [16/2015] |
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| (4) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to do anything required of the person by notice under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
(5) Any person who —| (a) | intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document or information which the person has been required by a notice under subsection (1) to provide; or | | (b) | in providing any document or information required under subsection (1), makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes such a statement, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
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| (6) If any person fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1), the court may, on the application of the Authority, make any order that the court thinks fit to secure compliance with the notice, and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application must be borne by that person or by any officer of a company or other body who is responsible for the failure. |
| (7) The Authority or any safety inspector (as the case may be) is entitled without payment to keep any document or information, or any copy or extract of any document or information, provided under subsection (1). [4M [16/2015] |
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| Power of entry to premises, aircraft, etc. |
28.—(1) For the purpose of finding out whether the provisions of this Act or any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation is being complied with, the Director‑General of Civil Aviation and every safety inspector has right of access at any reasonable time to the following:| (a) | any aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place; | | (b) | any document or record concerning any aircraft, aeronautical product, or aviation‑related service. |
(2) In addition, where the Director-General of Civil Aviation or any safety inspector —| (a) | has reasonable grounds to believe that —| (i) | any breach of any provision in this Part or the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation is being or about to be committed; | | (ii) | a condition imposed under any aviation safety instrument is not being complied with; or | | (iii) | a situation exists within the civil aviation system or is about to exist that constitutes a danger to persons or property; and |
| | (b) | has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is on, or in, any aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place, any particular thing which may be evidential material relevant to an offence under any provision of this Part or of any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, |
| the Director-General of Civil Aviation or the safety inspector may enter at any reasonable time the aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place and exercise any powers referred to in subsection (4) to determine whether or not a matter referred to in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) and (iii) exists. |
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| (3) The Director-General of Civil Aviation or any safety inspector is authorised to enter any aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place under subsection (1) only if the occupier of the aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place has consented to the entry or after giving 6 hours’ prior notice of that entry. |
(4) Every person who is authorised to have access to or to enter any aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place under subsection (1) or (2) may —| (a) | require any person who is in possession of an aviation safety instrument, or any certificate, book, manual, record, list, notice, or other document that is required to be kept by or under this Act, relating or reasonably believed to relate to the commission of an offence or the non‑compliance with the condition (wherever and by whomsoever kept) and take and retain extracts or copies thereof to produce or surrender it; | | (b) | compel any person who is able to operate any equipment at the premises to do so for the purpose of enabling the authorised person to ascertain whether the equipment, or a disk, tape or other storage device that can be used or associated with the equipment, contains information that is relevant to the investigation; | | (c) | if such information is found in exercise of the power in paragraph (b), produce, or compel the production of, the information in documentary form, and keep or copy the documents so produced or transfer, or compel the transfer of, the information to a disk, tape or other storage device, and remove it from the premises; | | (d) | require any person in possession of, or having control of, any machinery, equipment or other thing relating to the maintenance, operation or servicing of any aircraft or aeronautical product, or the provision of air traffic service or aviation‑related services to produce the machinery, equipment or other thing for inspection and to answer questions or provide information relating to the machinery, equipment or other thing; | | (e) | inspect and test any machinery, equipment or other thing mentioned in paragraph (d); | | (f) | if the Director-General of Civil Aviation or safety inspector considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the contravention of any provision of this Part or any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, or any condition of an aviation safety instrument, seize any machinery, equipment, substance, record or other thing; | | (g) | inspect, examine and take samples of any substance or thing on or in the aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place; or | | (h) | photograph, or make sketches of, the aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place and any substance or thing on or in the aircraft, aerodrome, building, or place. |
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| (5) If the Director-General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector seizes anything under this section, it may be retained by him or her until the completion of any proceedings (including proceedings on appeal) in which it may be evidence but, in the case of records, the person from whom the records were seized must be permitted to inspect and make copies of the records. |
| (6) Subsection (5) ceases to have effect in relation to things seized if, on the application of a person aggrieved by the seizure, the court in which proceedings mentioned in that subsection are instituted so orders. |
(7) The Director-General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector —| (a) | may arrest without warrant any person whom he or she reasonably believes has committed an arrestable offence under this Act; and | | (b) | may exercise all or any of the powers in relation to investigations into an arrestable offence conferred on a police officer by the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 in any case relating to the commission of an arrestable offence under this Act or in any case where an arrestable offence is disclosed under any written law in the course of an investigation under this Act. |
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| (8) For the purposes of subsection (7), when the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or a safety inspector is exercising the powers of a police officer under that subsection, he or she is deemed to be an officer not below the rank of inspector of police. [4N |
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| Obligation to notify reportable safety matters |
29.—(1) If a responsible person has knowledge of any reportable safety matter, the person must, where required to do so under the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, notify the Authority of the reportable safety matter in the manner prescribed in the aviation safety subsidiary legislation, including those of the particulars of the matter prescribed by that subsidiary legislation that are known.| (2) A responsible person shall be guilty of an offence if the person fails to comply with subsection (1). |
| (3) A responsible person is not excused from giving any information required by subsection (1) on the ground that the disclosure of the information might tend to incriminate the person or expose the person to a penalty. |
(4) Where a responsible person claims, before giving any information that the person is required by subsection (1) to give, that the disclosure of the information might tend to incriminate the person —| (a) | that information; | | (b) | the giving of the information; and | | (c) | any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or indirect consequence of the giving of the information, |
| is not admissible in evidence against the person in any criminal proceedings other than proceedings for an offence under section 86. |
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(5) In this section —| “reportable safety matter” means safety matter that is prescribed by any aviation safety subsidiary legislation to be a reportable safety matter; |
“responsible person”, in relation to a reportable safety matter, means —| (a) | a person who operates, maintains, or services, or does any other act in respect of, any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service; or | | (b) | any other person, |
| who is prescribed by the applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation for the purposes of this definition in relation to the reportable safety matter concerned; |
|
“safety matter” means —| (a) | the occurrence of any incident involving any Singapore registered aircraft or any aircraft operated by a Singapore operator which endangers or which, if not corrected, would endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person, including and not limited to defects or malfunctioning of the aircraft or any part of the aircraft; | | (b) | the occurrence of any incident involving any facility on the ground used or intended to be used for purposes of or in connection with the operation of an aircraft, which endangers or which, if not corrected, would endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person, including and not limited to defects or malfunctioning of the facility or any part of the facility; | | (c) | any information that relates to compliance, or failure to comply, with any provision of this Act or of any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation, or with the law of any Contracting State in which the aircraft operates; | | (d) | any other occurrence that affected, is affecting, or might affect safety of transport by air that may be prescribed by any aviation safety subsidiary legislation to be a safety matter. [4O |
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| Exemption of aircraft and parts thereof from seizure on patent claims |
30.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the importation into, and storage in, Singapore of spare parts and spare equipment for an aircraft to which this section applies and the use and installation of the parts and spare equipment in the repair of such an aircraft does not entail any seizure or detention of the aircraft or of the spare parts or spare equipment or any proceedings being brought against the owner or operator of the aircraft or the owner of the spare parts or spare equipment or any other interference with the aircraft by or on behalf of any person in Singapore on the ground that the spare parts or spare equipment or their installation are or is an infringement of any patent, design or model.| (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to any spare parts or spare equipment which are sold or distributed in Singapore or are exported from Singapore for sale or distribution. |
| (3) This section applies to an aircraft, other than an aircraft used in military, customs or police service, registered in any country or territory in the case of which there is for the time being in force an order made by the Minister, with a view to the fulfilment of the provisions of the Chicago Convention to which this section relates, that the benefits of those provisions apply to that country or territory, and to any other aircraft that the Minister may, by order, specify. [5 |
|
| Division 4 — Special powers and prohibited activities |
[16/2015] | Special powers in case of emergency |
31.—(1) In time of war, whether actual or imminent, or when a Proclamation of Emergency under the Constitution is in force, the Minister may, by order, regulate or prohibit, either absolutely or subject to any conditions that may be contained in the order, and despite the provisions of this Part or any subsidiary legislation made under this Part, the navigation of all or any descriptions of aircraft over Singapore or any portion of Singapore; and may, by order, provide for taking possession of and using for the purposes of the Singapore Armed Forces or of any visiting force lawfully present in Singapore any aerodrome or any aircraft in Singapore or any machinery, plant, material or things found in or on the aerodrome or aircraft, and for regulating or prohibiting the use, erection, building, maintenance or establishment of any aerodrome, flying school, or landing ground, of any class or description.| (2) An order made under this section may make, for the purpose of the order, such provisions as an order under section 8 may make for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of the order having effect by virtue of section 8(2)(n). |
| (3) Subject to subsection (4), any person who suffers direct injury or loss, owing to the operation of an order of the Minister under this section, is entitled to receive compensation from the Government from any public funds that may lawfully be applied for the purpose, the amount thereof to be fixed, in default of agreement, by a single arbitrator to be agreed upon or failing agreement to be appointed by the Chief Justice. |
| (4) No compensation is to be payable under subsection (3) by reason of the operation of a general order under this section prohibiting flying in Singapore or any part of Singapore. [6 |
|
| Prohibited photography over protected areas |
| 32.—(1) The Minister may by order in the Gazette declare any area to be a protected area within the meaning of this section. [16/2015] (2) If —| (a) | an unmanned aircraft has on board equipment for taking photographs when flying; and | | (b) | a photograph is taken of the whole or any part of a protected area using that photographic equipment on board the unmanned aircraft, |
| the operator of the unmanned aircraft, and the person taking the photograph if the person is not the operator, shall each be guilty of an offence. |
[16/2015; 34/2019] |
(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; but | | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [34/2019] |
|
| (4) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (2) if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after 21 December 2019) on at least one other earlier occasion of an offence under subsection (2). [34/2019] |
(5) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) —| (a) | it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that an accused knew or had reason to believe that —| (i) | the area is a protected area; or | | (ii) | the unmanned aircraft had on board equipment for taking photographs when flying; but |
| | (b) | it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that —| (i) | the photograph of the whole or any part of the protected area using photographic equipment on board the unmanned aircraft was not taken intentionally but was taken because of weather conditions or other unavoidable cause; or | | (ii) | the accused has in force a permit from a competent security officer and had, in accordance with that permit, taken, or caused to be taken, any photograph of the whole or any part of a protected area using photographic equipment on board the unmanned aircraft. [16/2015] |
|
|
| (6) Every offence under this section is an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. [16/2015] |
(7) In this section, a reference to taking a photograph includes a reference to —| (a) | making a film or a video recording; and | | (b) | making a recording of images for the purpose of broadcasting or live‑streaming the images. [7 [16/2015] |
|
|
| Permit needed for certain overflight by unmanned aircraft |
| 33.—(1) A person must not operate an unmanned aircraft to fly, at any height, over any part of any protected area declared under section 32. [16/2015] | (2) Every operator of an unmanned aircraft who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence. [16/2015; 34/2019] |
(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; but | | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [34/2019] |
|
| (4) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (2) if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after 21 December 2019) on at least one other earlier occasion of an offence under subsection (2). [34/2019] |
(5) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) —| (a) | it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that an accused knew or had reason to believe that the area flown over is a protected area; but | | (b) | it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that —| (i) | the accused did not intentionally cause the unmanned aircraft to fly over the protected area, and the overflight was not due to any want of reasonable care on the part of the accused; or | | (ii) | the overflight was authorised by and in accordance with a permit from a competent security officer. [16/2015] |
|
|
| (6) Every offence under this section is an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. [7A [16/2015] |
|
| Absolute prohibition of carriage of dangerous materials on unmanned aircraft |
34.—(1) If —| (a) | a person operates an unmanned aircraft to fly indoors or at any height over any area in Singapore; and | | (b) | the unmanned aircraft carries a prohibited item when so flying, |
| the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
[16/2015] (2) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) —| (a) | it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that an accused knew that the unmanned aircraft carried a prohibited item when flying; but | | (b) | it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the accused did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the unmanned aircraft carried a prohibited item when flying. [16/2015] |
|
| (3) Every offence under this section is an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. [16/2015] |
(4) In this section, “prohibited item” means —| (a) | any weapon, substance or other thing the possession of which (for any purpose) would constitute an offence under any of the following written laws:| (i) | the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act 2021; [Act 3 of 2021 wef 01/07/2025] | | (ii) | the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958; | | (iii) | [Deleted by Act 3 of 2021 wef 01/07/2025] |
| | (b) | any biological agent, biological agent waste or toxin within the meaning of the Biological Agents and Toxins Act 2005; | | (c) | any radioactive material, radioactive substance or radioactive waste within the meaning of the Radiation Protection Act 2007; or | | (d) | any other hazardous material (whether gaseous, liquid or solid) that is prescribed, in a notification in the Gazette, by the Minister charged with the responsibility for homefront security to be a prohibited item for the purposes of this section. [7B [16/2015] |
|
|
| Discharge from unmanned aircraft |
35.—(1) If —| (a) | a person operates an unmanned aircraft to fly indoors or at any height over any area in Singapore; and | | (b) | the unmanned aircraft when so flying discharges anything (whether gaseous, liquid or solid), |
| the person shall be guilty of an offence. |
[16/2015; 34/2019] (2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; but | | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [34/2019] |
|
| (3) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (1) if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after 21 December 2019) on at least one other earlier occasion of an offence under subsection (1). [34/2019] |
(4) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that an accused knew or had reason to believe that the unmanned aircraft discharged anything while in flight, but it is a defence to the charge if the accused proves, on a balance of probabilities, that —| (a) | the accused —| (i) | did not intentionally cause the thing to discharge from the unmanned aircraft and the discharge was not due to any want of reasonable care; and | | (ii) | took all reasonably practicable steps to stop or reduce further discharge of that thing from the unmanned aircraft as soon as practicable after discovering the discharge; |
| | (b) | the thing escaped from the unmanned aircraft operated by the accused in consequence of damage, other than intentional damage, to the unmanned aircraft and all reasonable precautions were taken by the accused after the occurrence of the damage or the discovery of the discharge for the purpose of preventing or minimising further discharge from the unmanned aircraft; or | | (c) | the accused has in force a discharge permit from the Authority and had caused the thing to be discharged from the unmanned aircraft in accordance with that discharge permit. [16/2015] |
|
(5) However, it is not a defence to a charge for an offence under subsection (1) if —| (a) | no individual dies or is hurt; | | (b) | no property is destroyed or damaged; or | | (c) | no hazard is caused to another aircraft, to anyone or any property, |
| as a result of anything discharged from an unmanned aircraft in flight. |
[16/2015] |
(6) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b), damage to an unmanned aircraft or to its equipment is intentional damage if the damage arose in circumstances in which the operator of the unmanned aircraft —| (a) | acted with intent to cause the damage; or | | (b) | acted recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result. [16/2015] |
|
| (7) A person who is refused a discharge permit, or whose discharge permit is cancelled by the Authority, may appeal to the Minister against the Authority’s refusal or cancellation (as the case may be) in the manner prescribed under section 8 or 9; and the Minister’s decision on appeal is final. [16/2015] |
| (8) In this section, “discharge”, from an unmanned aircraft, includes dropping from an unmanned aircraft but does not include the discharge of exhaust from an unmanned aircraft during flight. [16/2015] |
| (9) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the operation of the Military Manoeuvres Act 1905. [7C [16/2015] |
|
| Division 5 — Serious risks to aviation safety |
| Interference with aeronautical facilities |
36.—(1) This section applies if the Authority believes on reasonable grounds that an installation is or may be, either actively or passively, causing interference with communications to or from aircraft, or communications to or from centres established for air traffic control, or with navigational aids or with surveillance systems, in circumstances that are likely to endanger the safety of aircraft engaged in international air navigation or air navigation within, to or from Singapore.| (2) The Authority may serve a notice on the proprietor directing the proprietor to permit the installation to be inspected and tested by a safety inspector at a reasonable time. |
| (3) Upon the service of the notice, the safety inspector may enter the premises or place where the installation is installed, kept or operated and inspect or test the installation. |
| (4) A safety inspector exercising powers under subsection (3) must produce his or her identification card if requested to do so. |
| (5) If as a result of such an inspection or otherwise, the Authority considers it necessary to do so for the safety of aircraft mentioned in subsection (1), the Authority may serve a notice on the proprietor directing the proprietor to make such modifications to the installation, or to take such other action, as is necessary to eliminate the cause of the interference, within a reasonable time specified in the notice. |
| (6) If the installation has been installed and is used and operated in accordance with all applicable laws, the proprietor may recover from the Authority the amount of all reasonable expenses incurred, and of losses actually suffered, in complying with a direction under subsection (5). |
(7) If a direction under subsection (5) is not complied with to its satisfaction, the Authority may —| (a) | authorise any of its officers, with any reasonable assistance that the officer requires, to enter the premises or place in which the installation is installed, kept or operated, with any force that is necessary and reasonable, and to take the action that was so directed; and | | (b) | recover all expenses reasonably incurred by the Authority in the exercise of its powers under this subsection from the proprietor in default. |
|
| (8) Without affecting the right of the Authority to exercise the powers under subsection (7), if any person on whom a direction under subsection (5) is served, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the requirements of that notice, that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
(9) In this section —| “installation” includes any electrical or other equipment or device or any structure; |
| “proprietor”, in relation to an installation, means the owner or user of the installation or the owner or occupier of the premises or place where the installation is installed, kept or operated. [8 |
|
|
| Tampering with aircraft, etc. |
37.—(1) A person must not tamper with —| (a) | an aircraft or any part of an aircraft; or | | (b) | an aeronautical product that is of such a type that tampering with it may endanger the safety of an aircraft or any person or property, |
| if tampering with it may endanger the safety of the aircraft or any person or property. |
| (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [8A |
|
| Interference with crew and unruly passengers, etc. |
38.—(1) A person who, while in an aircraft that is in flight —| (a) | does any act that interferes with a crew member of the aircraft in the course of the performance of the crew member’s duties connected with the safe operation of the aircraft; | | (b) | behaves in a threatening, offensive, insulting or disorderly manner towards a crew member of the aircraft; or | | (c) | does any act that threatens the safety of an aircraft or of persons onboard an aircraft, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
| (2) A person who fails to comply with any commands given to the person directly by the pilot‑in‑command, or indirectly by the pilot‑in‑command through a crew member, for the purpose of securing the safe operation of the aircraft in flight and the safety and wellbeing of all passengers and crew on board and the safety of cargo carried on the aircraft, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
(3) A person who —| (a) | boards an aircraft in such a state of intoxication as to be incapable of looking after himself or herself, or as to jeopardise or be likely to jeopardise the good order and discipline required on board an aircraft; or | | (b) | becomes intoxicated onboard an aircraft in flight to such an extent as to be incapable of looking after himself or herself, or as to jeopardise or be likely to jeopardise the good order and discipline required on board an aircraft, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
|
(4) A person who —| (a) | operates a portable electronic device on board an aircraft in breach of any aviation safety subsidiary legislation; or | | (b) | smokes in an aircraft when instructed not to smoke by any crew member or any passenger information sign or placard in the aircraft, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
|
(5) In any proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (3), it is a defence for the person charged to prove —| (a) | that he or she, at the material time, was in a state of intoxication or became intoxicated not because of being under the influence of any alcohol, drugs or other intoxicating substances; or | | (b) | that he or she, at the material time, was in a state of intoxication or became intoxicated as a result of taking prescription medication in accordance with a medical authorisation. |
|
(6) For the purposes of this section, an aircraft is in flight —| (a) | from the time when all external doors of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the time when any such door is opened for disembarkation; | | (b) | if the aircraft makes a forced landing in any country or territory other than Singapore, from the time when all external doors of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the time when the competent authorities of the country or territory in which the forced landing takes place take over responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board the aircraft; and | | (c) | if the aircraft makes a forced landing in Singapore, from the time when all external doors of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the time when a police officer arrives at the place of landing, |
| and any reference in this Act to an aircraft in flight includes a reference to an aircraft during any period when the aircraft is on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any country. |
[8B [32/2018] |
|
| Dangerous activity involving aircraft, aeronautical product, etc. |
39.—(1) A person must not operate, maintain or service, or do any other act in respect of, any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service in a manner that the person knows or ought reasonably to know —| (a) | could endanger the life of another person; or | | (b) | could endanger the person or the property of another person. |
(2) A person must not cause or permit any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service to be operated, maintained or serviced, or cause or permit any other act to be done in respect of any aircraft, aeronautical product or aviation‑related service, in a manner that the person knows or ought reasonably to know —| (a) | could endanger the life of another person; or | | (b) | could endanger the person or the property of another person. |
|
| (3) A person must not secrete himself or herself in an aircraft for the purpose of being carried in the aircraft, or travel in an aircraft, without the consent of the operator or pilot‑in‑command of the aircraft. |
| (4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
(5) Despite subsection (4), where a person commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) by doing any act, or causing or permitting any act —| (a) | involving an unmanned aircraft; and | | (b) | knowing that or reckless as to whether, when so acting or causing or permitting the act, the life or property of another person could be endangered or the person could be endangered, |
| then the person who is guilty of the offence shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both. |
[34/2019] |
| (6) For the purposes of subsection (1) or (2), it is immaterial that the accused is the holder of an aviation safety instrument or is exempt from a requirement to hold an aviation safety instrument. [8C [34/2019] |
|
| Flying without satisfying safety requirements |
40.—(1) An owner or operator, or the pilot‑in‑command of a Singapore registered aircraft must not commence a flight in the aircraft, or permit a flight in the aircraft to commence, if —| (a) | there is no aviation safety instrument known as a certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft; and | | (b) | any aviation safety subsidiary legislation does not authorise the flight without a certificate of airworthiness. |
(2) An owner or operator, or the pilot-in-command of a Singapore registered aircraft, or the Singapore operator of a foreign registered aircraft must not commence a flight in the aircraft, or permit a flight in the aircraft to commence, if one or more of the following apply:| (a) | there is outstanding a requirement imposed by or under any applicable aviation safety subsidiary legislation in relation to the maintenance of the aircraft; | | (b) | the aircraft will require maintenance before the flight can end; | | (c) | there is a defect or damage that may endanger the safety of the aircraft or any person or property; | | (d) | the aircraft is unsafe for flight. |
|
| (3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [8D |
|
| Trespassing at aerodromes, etc. |
41.—(1) A person must not, without prior authorisation from the Authority —| (a) | enter or remain within a prohibited area in an aerodrome; | | (b) | bring or leave any property on a prohibited area within an aerodrome; | | (c) | operate any vehicle on a prohibited area within an aerodrome; | | (d) | bring any animal or bird on to a prohibited area within an aerodrome; or | | (e) | permit any animal or bird under his or her possession or control to trespass on a prohibited area within an aerodrome. |
| (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000. |
| (3) Where a person contravenes subsection (1), or any property, vehicle, animal or bird is found in contravention of subsection (1), the Director‑General of Civil Aviation or any safety inspector, may without warrant, arrest and remove that person, property, vehicle, animal or bird, as the case may be. |
| (4) In this section, “prohibited area”, in relation to an aerodrome, means any part of the aerodrome upon which is posted a notice relating to that part of the aerodrome, being a notice to the effect that trespassing upon that part of the aerodrome is prohibited and purporting to have been posted with the authority of the Authority. [8E |
|
| Trespass, nuisance and responsibility for damage |
42.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), no action lies in respect of trespass or in respect of nuisance, by reason only of the flight of aircraft over any property at a height above the ground which, having regard to wind, weather, and all the circumstances of the case is reasonable, or the ordinary incidents of the flight, so long as the provisions of this Part and any subsidiary legislation made under this Part are duly complied with.| (2) Where material damage or loss is caused by an aircraft in flight, taking off, or landing, or by any person in any such aircraft, or by any article falling from any such aircraft, to any person or property on land or water, damages are recoverable from the owner of the aircraft in respect of the damage or loss, without proof of negligence or intention or other cause of action, as though the damage or loss had been caused by the owner’s wilful act, neglect or default, except where the damage or loss was caused by or contributed to by the negligence of the person by whom the damage or loss was suffered. |
(3) Where material damage or loss mentioned in subsection (2) is caused in circumstances in which —| (a) | damages are recoverable from the owner in respect of the damage or loss by virtue only of this section; and | | (b) | a legal liability is created in some person other than the owner to pay damages in respect of that damage or loss, |
| the owner is entitled to be indemnified by that other person against any claim in respect of that damage or loss. |
|
| (4) Where any aircraft has been bona fide demised, let, or hired out for a period exceeding 14 days to any other person by the owner of the aircraft and no pilot, commander, navigator, or operative member of the crew of the aircraft is in the employment of the owner, this section has effect as though for references to the owner there were substituted references to the person to whom the aircraft has been so demised, let, or hired out. [9 |
|
| Penalty for dangerous flying |
43.—(1) Where an aircraft is flown in such a manner as to be the cause of unnecessary danger to any person or property on land or water, the pilot or the person in charge of the aircraft, and also the owner of the aircraft, unless he, she or it proves to the satisfaction of the court that the aircraft was so flown without his, her or its actual fault or privity, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.| (2) For the purposes of this section, “owner” in relation to an aircraft includes any person by whom the aircraft is hired at the time of the offence. |
| (3) This section is in addition to and not in derogation of any provisions made by the Minister under the powers conferred by section 8 or by the Authority under the powers conferred by section 9. [10 |
|
44.—(1) Any services rendered in assisting, or in saving life from, or in saving the cargo or apparel of, an aircraft in, on or over the sea or any tidal water, or on or over the shores of the sea or any tidal water, are deemed to be salvage services in all cases in which they would have been salvage services if they had been rendered in relation to a vessel; and where salvage services are rendered by an aircraft to any property or person, the owner of the aircraft is entitled to the same reward for those services as the owner would have been entitled to if the aircraft had been a vessel.| (2) Subsection (1) has effect even though the aircraft concerned is a foreign aircraft, and even though the services in question are rendered elsewhere than within the limits of the territorial waters adjacent to any part of Singapore. |
| (3) The Minister may, by regulations, direct that any provisions of any written law for the time being in force which relate to wreck, to salvage of life or property or to the duty of rendering assistance to vessels in distress are, with any exceptions, adaptations and modifications that may be specified in the regulations, to apply in relation to aircraft as those provisions apply in relation to vessels. |
| (4) For the purposes of this section, any provisions of any written law which relate to vessels laid by or neglected as unfit for sea service are deemed to be provisions relating to wreck. [11 |
|
| Division 6 — Protection of safety information |
| Interpretation of this Division |
45. In this Division, unless the context otherwise requires —“aviation safety matter” means any information about any conduct, transaction, process, practice, occurrence, circumstance or matter that affects, or might affect, aviation safety, and includes —| (a) | safety matter within the meaning given by section 29; | | (b) | any facts, statistics or other data about any conduct, transaction, process, practice, occurrence, circumstance or matter affecting, or that might affect, aviation safety, and which is in a form that is capable of being communicated, analysed or processed (whether by an individual or a computer or other automated methods); and | | (c) | data sets that are relevant to aviation safety management, |
| but does not include excluded information; |
|
| “competent authority” means the person designated by the voluntary reporting rules as the competent authority for the purpose of section 48(4) in respect of each voluntary and confidential reporting scheme established by those rules; |
“excluded information” means —| (a) | all statements (whether oral or in writing) obtained from persons by an investigator, or a staff member or consultant of the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore in the course of an investigation or a preliminary assessment (including any record of such a statement) under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018; [Act 36 of 2018 wef 01/01/2024] | | (b) | all information recorded by an investigator, or a staff member or consultant of the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore in the course of an investigation or a preliminary assessment under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018; [Act 36 of 2018 wef 01/01/2024] | | (c) | all communications with a person involved in the operation of an aircraft that is or was the subject of an investigation or a preliminary assessment under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018; [Act 36 of 2018 wef 01/01/2024] | | (d) | all medical or private information regarding persons (including deceased persons) involved in an accident or incident that is being or has been investigated, or the subject of a preliminary assessment, under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018; [Act 36 of 2018 wef 01/01/2024] | | (da) | all records of the analysis of information or evidential material acquired in the course of an investigation or a preliminary assessment under the Transport Safety Investigations Act 2018 (such as but not limited to flight recorder information), including any opinion expressed by a person in the analysis of such information or evidential material; [Act 36 of 2018 wef 01/01/2024] | | (e) | any information about any conduct, transaction, process, practice, occurrence, circumstance or matter that is prescribed by the voluntary reporting rules as excluded information; | | (f) | any reportable safety matter within the meaning given by section 29; | | (g) | any information about any contravention of any provision of this Part which is not required by section 29 to be reported; | | (h) | any matter showing a serious and imminent threat to a person’s health or life; or | | (i) | an act of unlawful interference within the meaning of section 63; |
|
“protected information” means —| (a) | information that is contained in a report of an aviation safety matter made under any voluntary reporting rules; | | (b) | information that is obtained or generated by a designated person in the course of considering a report of an aviation safety matter made under any voluntary reporting rules; | | (c) | records of the analysis of information contained in a report of an aviation safety matter made under any voluntary reporting rules, including opinions expressed by a person in that analysis; or | | (d) | information about any other aviation safety matter that is obtained or generated by the Authority in the performance of its functions or duties under this Act or any other written law. [12 [18/2018] |
|
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| Voluntary reporting rules |
46.—(1) The Minister may make rules in the Gazette providing for the voluntary and confidential reporting of an aviation safety matter to one or more persons designated in the rules (called in this Act a designated person) —| (a) | to identify deficiencies and problems arising out of the reports; and | | (b) | to provide data for safety improvements to the Singapore aviation system. [18/2018] |
(2) The voluntary reporting rules must provide for —| (a) | one or more schemes for the voluntary and confidential reporting of an aviation safety matter to a designated person; | | (b) | the manner in which such reports are to be made; | | (c) | the use and disclosure by a designated person for a scheme of —| (i) | information contained in such reports; or | | (ii) | information the designated person obtains or generates in the course of considering any such report, |
| only for a purpose in subsection (1) and in an anonymised form or as statistics which do not identify any particular person; |
| | (d) | the designation for the purposes of section 48(4) of a competent authority in respect of each scheme; and | | (e) | any other matters necessary or incidental to the establishment or operation of such a scheme in accordance with subsection (1). [18/2018] |
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| (3) The voluntary reporting rules may provide that any contravention of any of the provisions of the rules shall be an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding $20,000. [18/2018] |
| (4) All voluntary reporting rules made under this section must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette. [12A [18/2018] |
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| Limits to disclosure of aviation safety matter reported voluntarily |
47.—(1) Subject to subsection (4) —| (a) | a report of an aviation safety matter made by a person (called in this section the reporter) to any designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules, or any evidence of the contents of such a report; and | | (b) | the fact that such a report of an aviation safety matter was made by the reporter to any designated person, |
| are not admissible in evidence against the reporter in any administrative proceedings before any tribunal in Singapore, any civil proceedings, or any criminal proceedings before any court other than criminal proceedings for an offence under section 86. |
[18/2018] | (2) A person is not entitled to take disciplinary action against the person’s employee by using information derived from a report of an aviation safety matter made by the employee to a designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules. [18/2018] |
| (3) A person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. [18/2018] |
| (4) A tribunal is not entitled to make a decision of an administrative character (whether or not in the exercise of a discretion) under any written law against a reporter using information derived from a report of an aviation safety matter made by the reporter to a designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules. [18/2018] |
| (5) To avoid doubt, this section does not prevent the use of information derived from a source that is not a report of an aviation safety matter made to any designated person in accordance with the voluntary reporting rules. [18/2018] |
| (6) In this section, “tribunal” includes any person or body of persons constituted and vested by or under any written law to make a decision of an administrative character. [12B [18/2018] |
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| Limits to disclosure of protected information |
| 48.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), every designated person and any other person who has or has had access to any protected information must not disclose or make available any protected information to any other person or a court. [18/2018] (2) However, subsection (1) does not apply —| (a) | to anything done by a person in performing functions or exercising powers under, or in connection with, any voluntary reporting rules; | | (b) | to disclosure to a court in civil proceedings where the General Division of the High Court makes an order under subsection (3); | | (c) | to disclosure authorised by a competent authority under subsection (4); | | (d) | to disclosure to a court in criminal proceedings for an offence under section 86; and | | (e) | to disclosure in an anonymised form or as statistics which do not identify any person. [18/2018; 40/2019] |
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| (3) If the General Division of the High Court is satisfied that any adverse domestic or international impact that the disclosure might have on any current or future collection and availability of aviation safety matter is outweighed by the public interest in the administration of justice, the General Division of the High Court may order the disclosure of protected information. [18/2018; 40/2019] |
| (4) If a competent authority is satisfied, having regard to the aviation safety matter in question, that any adverse domestic or international impact that the disclosure might have on any current or future collection and availability of aviation safety matter is outweighed by the need for maintaining or improving aviation safety, the competent authority may order the disclosure of protected information. [18/2018] |
(5) In making an order under subsection (3) or (4), the General Division of the High Court or competent authority (as the case may be) may direct that the protected information, must not —| (a) | be published or communicated to any particular person or persons; or | | (b) | be published or communicated except —| (i) | in an anonymised form or as statistics which do not identify any person; or | | (ii) | in such other manner, and to such persons, as the General Division of the High Court or competent authority specifies. [18/2018; 40/2019] |
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| (6) If a person is prohibited by this section from disclosing any protected information, then the person cannot be required by any court to disclose the information, and any information disclosed by the person in contravention of this section is not admissible in any civil proceedings or any criminal proceedings (other than proceedings against the person under this section). [12C [18/2018] |
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