ISO 6966-2:2014

Overview - ISO 6966-2:2014 (Aircraft ground equipment - Safety requirements)

ISO 6966-2:2014 defines the minimum safety design requirements for aircraft ground support equipment (GSE). It is Part 2 of the ISO 6966 series and focuses on protecting personnel who operate or maintain GSE and preventing interference or damage to aircraft on the ramp. The standard applies to any purpose-designed mobile GSE used in airport ramp areas (not to general public automotive vehicles used in their original public-vehicle role).

Key facts:

• Part of a two-part series (Part 1 covers general design requirements).
• Emphasizes “design to safety” and risk-based design.
• Includes informative and normative annexes (e.g., typical GSE list, safety symbols).

Key technical topics and requirements

ISO 6966-2 organizes safety requirements across the lifecycle and systems of GSE. Major topics include:

• Risk assessment and design-to-safety: Manufacturers shall conduct comprehensive risk assessments (per ISO 14121-1) and implement inherently safe design features rather than rely solely on add-on protections.
• Personnel accommodation and protection: Requirements on operator space, access, guarding and emergency exit considerations to reduce operator risk.
• Stability and strength: Criteria to ensure equipment structural integrity and stability under operational loads.
• Components and systems safety: Fail‑safe or duplicated design for components whose failure could be hazardous; references to safety-related control system standards (e.g., ISO 13849-1).
• Aircraft protection: Measures to avoid aircraft contact and damage (e.g., defined concept of “aircraft contact” at