Safety Belts Must Include Shoulder Harnesses

Summary#

The final rule Regulations Amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (Safety Belts) clarifies that when a shoulder harness is installed it must be used together with the lap belt. The change took effect on the day it was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II — July 7, 2021.

What it does#

• Edits parts of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) to make the wording explicit that safety belts include any installed shoulder harness and that the harness must be fastened when available.
• Changes in plain terms:
  • Pilots must tell everyone on board to fasten safety belts, explicitly including shoulder harnesses.
  • Passengers must occupy their seats and fasten the provided safety belt, including any shoulder harness.
  • Flight attendants must stop service, secure the cabin, sit in their assigned seats and fasten the safety belt and shoulder harness, and the pilot must do the same if needed.
  • Crew members must be seated with safety belts, including shoulder harnesses, fastened during flight time. At least one pilot must be at the controls with the lap belt and shoulder harness fastened.
• Comes into force on publication: July 7, 2021.

Who's affected#

• Pilots and flight crew on Canadian aircraft.
• Flight attendants and passengers on flights where a shoulder harness is installed.
• Air operators and companies that run commercial or private flights in Canada.
• It applies only where a shoulder harness is installed; older aircraft not equipped with a shoulder harness are not required to use one.

Why it matters#

• The change responds to a safety recommendation from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada after a 2017 helicopter accident involving Hydro One Networks Inc. (investigation A17O0264). The TSB asked for clearer rules in recommendation A19-01.
• The TSB reviewed data from 1990 to 2018 and identified 62 accidents involving detachable shoulder harnesses; 33 of those were fatal, with 68 total deaths and 37 of those deaths being people not wearing available shoulder harnesses. Making the rule explicit aims to reduce that kind of risk.
• The amendment removes ambiguity so crew and passengers cannot interpret wearing only a lap belt as compliant when a shoulder harness is installed.
• Transport Canada updated guidance materials alongside the rule. The government says the clarification imposes no extra cost on operators but could improve survivability in some crashes.