ASTM_F_1591_-_95_2012.pdf

Designation:F159195(Reapproved 2012)Standard Practice forVisual Signals Between Persons on the Ground and inAircraft During Ground Emergencies1This standard is issued under the fixed designation F1591;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This practice covers the signals to be used betweenpersons on the ground and in aircraft when two-way voicecommunications cannot be established during ground emergen-cies.Ground signals are limited to land-based ones that do notrequire special equipment.Flare,light,panel,and maritimesignals are specifically excluded.1.2 The signals are divided into two categories:those usedby persons on the ground and those used by aircraft.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Document2.1 International Civil Aviation Organization Standard:International Standards and Recommended Practices,Search and Rescue,Annex 12 to the Convention onInternational Civil Aviation23.Significance and Use3.1 While many of the reasons for needing the signalscontained in this practice have been overcome by technologydevelopment,situations still arise where voice communicationscannot be established between aircraft and persons on theground during emergencies.This is particularly true of personsin distress,who typically have no communications equipment.These signals continue to meet the need for communications.3.2 Most of these signals have been adopted by internationalconvention,the others by civilian and military agencies of theUnited States Government.The signals described in thispractice are intended for use on land and can be made withoutspecial equipment such as flares or colored panels.Othersignaling systems are described in the National Search andRescue(SAR)Manual.33.3 The signals are also useful in situations where eithercomplete or partial voice communications exist.Where onlypartial capabilities exist,for example,a ground unit withreceive-only capability,the aircrew can transmit voice and theground crew can respond with the appropriate signal.3.3.1 The signals described in Section 4,by their nature,arenot intended for real-time communications with aircraft.Theycan be left unattended as messages for aircrews.Persons on theground(SAR or otherwise)can make a signal and continue onwithout contact with the aircraft.The SAR personnel shouldkeep this in mind when encountering the signals of Fig.1.3.4 Search and rescue agencies utilizing this practice shoulddisseminate these signals to the public as part of their preven-tative search and rescue(PSAR)efforts.The signals havechanged over the years and a number of publications containobsolete signals.4.Ground-to-Air Signals4.1 Signals for use by either SAR personnel or persons indistress on the ground are shown in Fig.1.4.1.1 The signals in Fig.1 have been adopted by theConvention on International Civil Aviation.As defined inAnnex 12 to the Convention(see 2.1),these signals are dividedinto those for use by SAR personnel and those for use bypersons in distress.Several of the signals have only beenadopted by certain countries.4.1.2 Since the signals are useful regardless of the userssituation or location,this practice includes all of them withoutlimitation.While there may be potential for this to causeconfusion for aircrews seeing the signals,this would be atemporary condition and the aircrews response should not bedependent on the users status.The benefits of unlimited use ofthe signals outweighs any confusion caused by their usecontrary to the Convention.1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F32 on Search andRescue and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee F32.02 on Management andOperations.Current edition approved May 1,2012.Published June 2012.Originallyapproved in 1995.Last previous edition approved in 2006 as F1591 95(2006).DOI:10.1520/F1591-95R12.2Available from the International Civil Aviation Organization;Document SalesUnit;1000 Sherbrooke St.West,Suite 400;Montreal,Quebec,Canada H3A 2R2.3National Search and Rescue(SAR)Manual,Vol I,Joint Publication 3-50,Feb.1,1991.Available from United States Coast Guard;Washington,DC 20953-0001.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 4.2 The signals in Fig.1 shall have the meanings indicated.They shall be used only for the purpose indicated and no othersignals likely to be confused with them shall be used.4.3 All signals shall be as large as possible in the propor-tions shown in Fig.2.4.4 The signals shall be ma