COVER SHEET TO AMENDMENT 18

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
AND RECOMMENDED PRACTICES

SEARCH AND RESCUE

ANNEX 12
TO THE CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION

EIGHTH EDITION — JULY 2004

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION

 Checklist of Amendments to Annex 12

Date of
Effective date applicability

Eighth Edition
(incorporates Amendments 1 to 17) 12 July 2004 25 November 2004

Amendment 18
(adopted by the Council on 16 March 2007)
Replacement pages (viii), 4-1 and 4-2 16 July 2007 22 November 2007
 Transmittal note

Amendment 18

to the

International Standards and

Recommended Practices

SEARCH AND RESCUE

(Annex 12 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation)

1. Insert the following replacement pages in Annex 12 (Eighth Edition) to incorporate Amendment 18 which
becomes applicable on 22 November 2007:

a) Page (viii) — Foreword

b) Pages 4-1 and 4-2 — Chapter 4

2. Record the entry of this amendment on page (ii).

___________________

16/7/07
Foreword Annex 12 — Search and Rescue

Table A. Amendments to Annex 12

Adopted/approved
Effective
Amendment Source(s) Subject(s) Applicable

1st Edition Search and Rescue International Standards and Recommended Practices — Search and 25 May 1950
Division, Second Rescue Services. 1 December 1950
Session (1946) 1 March 1951
Air Navigation
Commission

1 Search and Rescue Search and rescue organization; communications; appraisals of search 31 March 1952
(2nd Edition) Division, Third and rescue operations; procedures for search and rescue; 1 September 1952
Session (1951) air-to-ground signals. 1 January 1953

2 Second Air Navigation Rescue sub-centres; servicing and refuelling rescue units of other 8 May 1956
(3rd Edition) Conference (1955) Contracting States. 1 September 1956
1 December 1956

3 Third Air Navigation Marking of areas of the fuselage suitable for break-in. 13 June 1957
Conference (1956). 1 October 1957
Amendment 140 to 1 December 1957
Annex 6, Chapter 6

4 Rules of the Air, Cooperation between States; information concerning emergencies; 8 December 1959
(4th Edition) Air Traffic Services procedures for rescue coordination centres. 1 May 1960
and Search and Rescue 1 August 1960
Divisions (1958)

5 Amendment 13 to Notification of rescue coordination centres by air traffic services units. 13 April 1962
Annex 11 —
1 November 1962

6 Amendment 4 to Temporary entry of rescue units from other Contracting States. —

Annex 9 —
1 July 1964

7 Amendment 14 to Alerting of surface vessels and en-route aircraft to assist an aircraft 19 June 1964
Annex 11, Chapter 5 in distress. 1 November 1964
1 February 1965

8 International Updating of reference; alerting service. 10 December 1965

Convention for the —
Safety of Life at Sea. 25 August 1966
Amendment 15 to
Annex 11

9 Air Navigation Cooperation between Contracting States; servicing and refuelling of 25 May 1970
(5th Edition) Commission review of rescue units of other Contracting States; testing search and rescue 25 September 1970
the Regional communications facilities; assistance in search and rescue operations by 4 February 1971
Supplementary additional units or services.
Procedures

10 Air Navigation Carriage of the International Code of Signals by search and rescue 11 December 1972
Commission aircraft; equipment of search and rescue aircraft with frequency 11 April 1973
2182 kHz; information on position of merchant ships. 16 August 1973

(vii) 25/11/04
Annex 12 — Search and Rescue Foreword

Adopted/approved
Effective
Amendment Source(s) Subject(s) Applicable

11 Complete review of the New signal to surface craft; provision of search and rescue services 25 November 1974
(6th Edition) Annex by the Air on a 24-hour basis; dissemination of information on position of 25 March 1975
Navigation Commission merchant ships; appraisals of search and rescue operations; 9 October 1975
improvement of cooperation between neighbouring States;
equipment of rescue units; availability of information on air traffic
services; location of droppable survival equipment; methods for
assisting aircraft in distress and being compelled to ditch to
rendezvous with surface craft; methods for assisting search and
rescue or other aircraft to rendezvous with aircraft in distress.

12 Amendment 60 to Supplementary communication facilities between meteorological 8 December 1975

Annex 3 offices and search and rescue units. 8 April 1976
12 August 1976

13 Air Navigation Ground-air visual signal code for use by survivors. 15 December 1980
Commission 15 April 1981
26 November 1981

14 Air Navigation Rescue coordination centre (RCC) responsibilities regarding 12 March 1990
Commission preparatory measures in the event an aircraft is subject to unlawful 30 July 1990
interference. 15 November 1990

15 Air Navigation Definition for search and rescue aircraft; communications requirements 12 March 1993
Commission for rescue coordination centres (RCCs) and equipment of search and 26 July 1993
rescue (SAR) aircraft; SAR point of contact (SPOC). 11 November 1993

16 Amendments 25, 20 and 7 Revised definition of “pilot-in-command”; editorial amendments. 12 March 2001
(7th Edition) to Annex 6, Parts I, II and 16 July 2001
III, respectively; Air 1 November 2001
Navigation Commission

17 ICAO Secretariat/Air Updating to align provisions with the IMO Convention to the extent 23 February 2004
(8th Edition) Navigation Commission practicable; harmonization of definitions between aeronautical and 12 July 2004
maritime SAR documents; regional approach to SAR system 25 November 2004
establishment; policy agreement between States and operational
coordination between aeronautical and maritime SAR services; ready
availability of essential data to RCC.

18 Air Navigation Rescue coordination centre (RCC) responsibilities. 16 March 2007

Commission 16 July 2007
22 November 2007

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 CHAPTER 4. PREPARATORY MEASURES

4.1 Preparatory information 4.1.4 Recommendation.— Contracting States should,

individually or in cooperation with other States, either estab-
4.1.1 Each rescue coordination centre shall have readily lish ship reporting systems in cooperation with maritime
available at all times up-to-date information concerning the authorities or arrange communication links with Amver or
following in respect of its search and rescue region: regional ship reporting systems to facilitate search and rescue
operations at sea.
a) search and rescue units, rescue subcentres and alerting
posts; Note.— Amver is a cooperative international ship reporting
system with worldwide coverage that is available for interrog-
b) air traffic services units; ation by all rescue coordination centres. A number of Con-
tracting States also operate regional ship reporting systems.
c) means of communication that may be used in search and
rescue operations;
4.2 Plans of operation
d) addresses and telephone numbers of all operators, or
their designated representatives, engaged in operations 4.2.1 Each rescue coordination centre shall prepare
in the region; and detailed plans of operation for the conduct of search and res-
cue operations within its search and rescue region.
e) any other public and private resources including medical
and transportation facilities that are likely to be useful in 4.2.2 Recommendation.— Search and rescue plans of
search and rescue. operations should be developed jointly with representatives of
the operators and other public or private services that may
4.1.2 Recommendation.— Each rescue coordination assist in providing search and rescue services or benefit from
centre should have readily available all other information of them, taking into account that the number of survivors could
interest to search and rescue, including information regarding: be large.

a) the locations, call signs, hours of watch, and frequencies 4.2.3 The plans of operation shall specify arrangements
of all radio stations likely to be employed in support of for the servicing and refuelling, to the extent possible, of air-
search and rescue operations; craft, vessels and vehicles employed in search and rescue
operations, including those made available by other States.
b) the locations and hours of watch of services keeping 4.2.4 The search and rescue plans of operation shall con-
radio watch, and the frequencies guarded; tain details regarding actions to be taken by those persons
engaged in search and rescue, including:
c) locations where supplies of droppable emergency and
survival equipment are stored; and a) the manner in which search and rescue operations are to
be conducted in the search and rescue region;
d) objects which it is known might be mistaken for
unlocated or unreported wreckage, particularly if b) the use of available communication systems and
viewed from the air. facilities;

c) the actions to be taken jointly with other rescue coordi-

4.1.3 Recommendation.— Each rescue coordination
nation centres;
centre whose search and rescue region includes maritime
areas should have ready access to information regarding the d) the methods of alerting en-route aircraft and ships at sea;
position, course and speed of ships within such areas that may
be able to provide assistance to aircraft in distress and infor- e) the duties and prerogatives of persons assigned to search
mation on how to contact them. and rescue;

Note.— This information may either be kept in the rescue f) the possible redeployment of equipment that may be
coordination centres or be readily accessible necessitated by meteorological or other conditions;

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Annex 12 — Search and Rescue Chapter 4

g) the methods for obtaining essential information relevant b) keep the rescue coordination centre informed of its
to search and rescue operations, such as weather reports preparedness.
and forecasts, appropriate NOTAM, etc.;
4.3.2 Contracting States shall:
h) the methods for obtaining, from other rescue coordi-
nation centres, such assistance, including aircraft, a) maintain in readiness the required number of search and
vessels, persons or equipment, as may be needed; rescue facilities; and

i) the methods for assisting distressed aircraft being b) maintain adequate supplies of rations, medical stores,
compelled to ditch to rendezvous with surface craft; signalling devices and other survival and rescue
equipment.
j) the methods for assisting search and rescue or other
aircraft to proceed to aircraft in distress; and

k) cooperative actions to be taken in conjunction with air 4.4 Training and exercises
traffic services units and other authorities concerned to
assist aircraft known or believed to be subject to unlaw- To achieve and maintain maximum efficiency in search and
ful interference. rescue, Contracting States shall provide for regular training of
their search and rescue personnel and arrange appropriate
4.2.5 Recommendation.— Search and rescue plans of search and rescue exercises.
operation should be integrated with airport emergency plans
to provide for rescue services in the vicinity of aerodromes
including, for coastal aerodromes, areas of water.
4.5 Wreckage

Recommendation.— Each Contracting State should

4.3 Search and rescue units ensure that wreckage resulting from aircraft accidents within
its territory or, in the case of accidents on the high seas or in
4.3.1 Each search and rescue unit shall: areas of undetermined sovereignty, within the search and res-
cue regions for which it is responsible, is removed, obliterated
a) be cognizant of all parts of the plans of operation or charted following completion of the accident investigation,
prescribed in 4.2 that are necessary for the effective if its presence might constitute a hazard or confuse subsequent
conduct of its duties; and search and rescue operations.

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