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Subchapter 4. Construction Safety Orders
Article 35. Helicopter Operations

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§1903. Landing Operations.


(a) Landing and hovering sites shall be chosen with approval of the pilot or pilot's representative.
(b) All such sites shall have at least a 200-foot diameter area clear of all loose materials and objects which could be hazardous if displaced by rotor downwash. The helicopter shall be required to deposit or lift loads in the center of the approved area.
(c) Precautions shall be taken by the employer to eliminate as far as practical reduced visibility.
(d) Access and egress to the helicopter shall be from the front and along the same level or to a level lower than the helicopter. No one shall be permitted to approach or leave the helicopter while the engine is running or the rotor is turning without a permissive signal or instruction from the pilot or pilot's designee.
(e) Built-up landing sites shall be capable of supporting a helicopter on any single square foot of the landing surface and provide good footing.
(f) Prepared landing sites on hillsides shall be no less than 12 feet by 12 feet and shall be large enough to land the helicopter so that the largest rotor clears the hillside by a distance equal to its radius measured horizontally from the tip of the rotor.
EXCEPTION to Section 1903: Except in an in-flight emergency.
Note: Authority cited: Section 142.3, Labor Code. Reference: Section 142.3, Labor Code.
HISTORY
1. Amendment filed 2-1-85; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 85, No. 5).
2. Amendment of subsection (b) filed 5-1-87; operative 5-31-87 (Register 87, No. 19).
3. Amendment of Exception filed 10-2-2014; operative 1-1-2015 (Register 2014, No. 40).

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