20-140A - Guidelines for Design Approval of Aircraft Data Communications Systems

Date Issued

April 07, 2010

Responsible Office

AIR-130,  Aviation Safety - Aircraft Certification Service, Aircraft Engineering Division

Description

a.

 

The guidance in this advisory circular (AC) provides one acceptable means of

b.

supplemental type certificates (STC) involving aircraft data link systems intended to support air

traffic services. This AC will standardize these approvals among the aircraft certification offices

(ACOs) in their assessment of aircraft data link systems for design approval.

Use the guidance in this AC to gain approval for type certificates (TC) and

c.

Organization (ICAO) Annexes and guidance material, RTCA Inc. documents (RTCA DO) and

European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment documents (EUROCAE ED). It is based

on published safety and performance (SPR) standards and interoperability (INTEROP) standards

for data link systems in different types of operating environments.

This AC was developed in consideration of the International Civil Aviation

d.

guidelines and to outline a means of showing that an aircraft data link system complies with

airworthiness requirements.

This AC is not mandatory and does not constitute a regulation. It is issued to provide

e.

with a data link system installed. It identifies specific configurations of aircraft data link systems

intended for air traffic services in order to facilitate operational approvals for aircraft that comply

with this AC. AC 120-70A, Operational Authorization Process for Use of Data Link

Communication System, or latest revision provides guidelines for the operational authorization

needed to use the data link capability. Appendix A of this AC provides a list of related

documents. Appendix B of this AC contains a list of applicable acronyms.

This AC provides airworthiness requirements for the type design approval of aircraft

 

compliance, but not the only means, for type design approval of aircraft that have a data link

system installed.

• AC 20-140A (PDF, 130 KB)