Accepting and inspecting shipments.

(a) No person may accept a hazardous material for transportation aboard an aircraft unless the hazardous material is:

(1) Authorized, and is within the quantity limitations specified for carriage aboard aircraft according to § 172.101 of this subchapter or as otherwise specifically provided by this subchapter.

(2) Described and certified on a shipping paper prepared in duplicate in accordance with subpart C of part 172 or as authorized by § 171.11 of this subchapter. The originating aircraft operator must retain one copy of each shipping paper for 90 days;

(3) Labeled and marked in accordance with subparts D and E of part 172 or as authorized in § 171.11 of this subchapter, and placarded (when required) in accordance with subpart F of part 172 of this subchapter; and,

(4) Labeled with a “CARGO AIRCRAFT ONLY” label (see § 172.448 of this subchapter) if the material as presented is not permitted aboard passenger-carrying aircraft.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may carry a hazardous material in a package, outside container, or overpack aboard an aircraft unless the package, outside container, or overpack is inspected by the operator of the aircraft immediately before placing it:

(1) Aboard the aircraft; or,

(2) In a unit load device or on a pallet prior to loading aboard the aircraft.

(c) A hazardous material may only be carried aboard an aircraft if, based on the inspection prescribed in paragraph (b) of this section, the operator determines that the package, outside container, or overpack containing the hazardous material:

(1) Has no holes, leakage or other indication that its integrity has been compromised; and

(2) For Class 7 (radioactive) materials, does not have a broken seal, except that packages contained in overpacks need not be inspected for seal integrity.

(d) The requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to:

(1) An ORM-D material packed in a freight container and offered for transportation by one consignor;

(2) Dry ice (carbon dioxide, solid); or

(e) An overpack containing packages of hazardous materials may be accepted only if the operator has taken all reasonable steps to establish that:

(1) The overpack does not contain a package bearing the “CARGO AIRCRAFT ONLY” label unless—

(i) The overpack affords clear visibility of and easy access to the package; or

(ii) The package contains a material which may be carried inaccessibly under the provisions of § 175.85(c)(1); or

(iii) Not more than one package is overpacked.

(2) The proper shipping names, identification numbers, labels and special handling instructions appearing on the inside packages are clearly visible or reproduced on the outside of the overpack, and

(3) Has determined that a statement to the effect that the inside packages comply with the prescribed specifications appears on the outside of the overpack, when specification packagings are prescribed.

[Amdt. 175-1, 41 FR 16106, Apr. 15, 1976, as amended by Amdt. 175-12, 45 FR 13091, Feb. 28, 1980; Amdt. 175-17, 45 FR 68654, Oct. 11, 1980; Amdt. 175-25, 47 FR 54822, Dec. 6, 1982; Amdt. 175-34, 50 FR 48420, Nov. 25, 1985; Amdt. 175-37, 51 FR 5974, Feb. 18, 1986; Amdt. 175-39, 51 FR 44791, Dec. 12, 1986; Amdt. 175-47, 55 FR 52685, Dec. 21, 1990]