Commonwealth legislation

AD/GENERAL/74 - Front Seat Occupant Restraint Installation

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

This Airworthiness Directive (a mandatory safety bulletin for aircraft) requires owners to install shoulder harnesses on the front seats of nearly all Australian-registered aircraft.

What it mandates:

Install an approved safety harness—combining a lap belt with at least one shoulder strap—at every pilot station and front cockpit seat, if not already fitted.
The harness must allow crew to reach all flight controls while buckled up.

Who it covers:

All aircraft on the Australian register except lighter-than-air craft (balloons and airships).

Why it matters:

Lap belts alone don't stop your upper body from hitting the controls or windshield in a crash. Adding a shoulder strap significantly increases the odds of surviving an emergency landing. This rule ensures every front-seat occupant gets that protection.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in AD/GENERAL/74 - Front Seat Occupant Restraint Installation.

AD/GENERAL/74 - Front Seat Occupant Restraint Installation

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY

SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

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Aircraft - General

AD/GENERAL/74 Front Seat Occupant Restraint Installation 8/95

Applicability: All aircraft other than lighter than air aircraft.

Requirement: Unless already accomplished, install an approved safety harness consisting of a lap belt and at least a single shoulder strap at each flight crew station and each cockpit front seat.

Note 1: See AD/RES/29.

Note 2: The restraint system for each crewmember seat must allow the crewmember, when seated with the safety harness fastened, to perform all functions necessary for flight operations.

Compliance: Prior to 1 March 1996.

Background: The value of upper torso restraint for a vastly improved chance of survival from an emergency landing is well documented. Most aircraft on the Australian register have been required to be fitted with upper torso restraint for front seat occupants for many years. This Directive is raised to ensure that front seat occupants in all Australian registered aircraft are afforded the same level of protection.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 AD/GENERAL/74 - Front Seat Occupant Restraint Installation