International approval of commercial operations by single-engine turbine airplanes at night, in bad weather and over inhospitable terrain, which is now prohibited
in many countries, received a considerable boost with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) operations panel recommendation that such operations
be adopted by the organization’s air navigation committee. According to former FAA Administrator Langhorne Bond, who spoke at EADS Socata’s NBAA press conference last month, worldwide acceptance of such operations will happen very soon after the air navigation committee approves the recommendation.
Although ICAO rules are not mandatory and many countries adopt stricter regulations within their borders, the civil aviation authorities of other countries accept ICAO’s pronouncements virtually verbatim. Therefore, ICAO’s adoption of the changes to the current rules governing single-engine commercial operations under such conditions, which date back to 1948, would likely open numerous new markets for the Socata TBM 700, Pilatus PC-12, Cessna Caravan and other turbo- prop singles, as well as the single-turbofan Diamond D-Jet.
