Aircraft ground equipment — Nose gear towbarless towing vehicle (TLTV) — Design, testing and maintenance requirements — Part 1: Main line aircraft

ISO 20683-1:2016 is applicable to towbarless aircraft towing vehicles (TLTVs) interfacing with the nose landing gear of main line civil transport aircraft with a maximum ramp mass over 50 000 kg (110 000 lb). The requirements for regional transport aircraft with a lower maximum ramp mass are specified in ISO 20683‑2. It is not applicable to TLTVs which were manufactured before its date of publication.

It specifies general design requirements, testing and evaluation requirements, maintenance, calibration, documentation, records, tracing and accountability requirements in order to ensure that the loads induced by the tow vehicle will not exceed the design loads of the nose gear or its steering system, or reduce the certified safe life limit of the nose gear, or induce a stability problem during aircraft pushback and/or gate relocation or maintenance towing operations.

This document specifies requirements and procedures for towbarless tow vehicles (TLTVs) intended for aircraft pushback and gate relocation or maintenance towing only. It is not intended to allow for dispatch (operational) towing (see Clause 3). Dispatch towing imposes greater loads on nose gears and aircraft structure due to the combination of speed and additional passenger, cargo, and fuel loads.

This document does not apply to towbarless towing vehicles interfacing with aircraft main landing gear.