Legislation

Posted on Feb 5, 2023 in Other subjects

An Aitworthiness directive is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected. 

They are issued by the NAA of the country of aircraft manufacturer or of aircraft registration. AD`s are mandatory in most jurisdictions and often contains dates or flying hours by which compliance must be completed.

The airworthiness directives shall contain at least the following information:

1.- a specification of the situation of insecurity

2.- a specification of the affected aircraft;

3.- the measures required;

4.- the deadline for the adoption of the required measures;

5.- the date of entry into force.

The purpose of AD is notify to aircraft owners that the aircraft may have an unsafe condition, the aircraft may not be in conformity with certification´s basis or other conditions that affect to airworthiness. There are mandatory actions must be carried out to ensure continued operation and in other urgent cases the aircraft must not be flown until a corrective action plan is carried out.

AD are issued by: EASA, FAA, Directorate General of Civil Aviation(India),Transport Canadá, Civil Aviation Safety Authority(Australia).



Service Bulletin or technical bulletins are reports issued by manufacturers with updates, modifications and improvements to defects detected in the aircraft by the services, by the factory itself, or reported by an aircraft operator. They report model defects and their solution (repair kits). The customer may exercise their discretion whether or not to incorporate the bulletins. Sometimes SB´s can be mandated by relevant AD´s.

SB must be content a title, chapter name keyword and a brief statement of the work involve, this information shall be in sequence stated.

The body of the SB may be preceded by a summary that contains an overview of the information contained in SB. The body shall be prepared in the following sections; planning information, material information, accomplishment instructions and optional appendices.

SB shall include one of these recommendations: SB must be accomplished, recommended to be accomplished, to introduce improvements, for convenience or option.

There are so many types of SB`s; Alert SB requires the urgent attention of the operator and shall be limited generally to items affecting safety, in some cases shall be transmitted by telephone. Standard SB is used when the Alert SB is not required. Engine conversion SB contents information necessary to convert engine models form one designation level to another.



MEL

The MEL is a document that lists the equipment that may be temporarily inoperative, under specific conditions, at the beginning of the flight. This document shall be prepared by the operator for his particular aircraft(s) in accordance with a procedure acceptable to the Authority, taking into account the configuration of the aircraft(s) and the applicable operating and maintenance conditions. All items related to the airworthiness of the aircraft and not included in the List are automatically required to be operational. Items of equipment that are not required to be listed are not are safety-related, such as kitchens and equipment for the comfort of the passenger. Operators must establish a procedure effective in determining whether or not failures that are not listed may affect the airworthiness and/or safety of the operation. The MEL may contain additional guidance material or modified operating and maintenance procedures

An operator shall establish, for each airplane, a Minimum Equipment List (MEL) approved by the Authority. This shall be based upon, but no less restrictive than, the relevant Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) (if this exists) accepted by the Authority. An operator shall not operate an airplane other than in accordance with the MEL unless permitted by the Authority. Any such permission will in no circumstances permit operation outside the constraints of the MMEL.



CDL

The Configuration Deviation List (CDL) allows for continued operations with missing secondary airframe and engine parts. Approval for operating with these parts missing is authorized by an amendment to the type certificate which as a result requires an Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) supplement. Any part not included in the CDL must be considered necessary for flight. Therefore, without a CDL, missing secondary airframe and engine parts would ground the airplane until repair or replacement of the part is accomplished. The aircraft manufacturer develops a proposed CDL for a specific aircraft type. The approval of the CDL is the responsibility of the competent authority of the State of the TC holder.



In order to become a certifying staff in a part 145 organisation according to EASA regulations, maintenance personnel must follow basic requirements and understand their limitations regarding their certifying privileges. All this appear on EU1321/2014 annex 3 Part 66. Some examples are:

  • Relevant training and module exams:

As maintenance personnel in either a part 147 training school or in a recognised training academy, we may be required to carry out training courses and exams for us to gain certifying privileges. These courses/exams will define how many years of experience we will require later on in our career to be able to apply for a maintenance licence. It is broken down into three categories:

For subcategories B.1.1, B.1.3 and category B.2: Five years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft, if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or Three years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or two years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147).



In order to become a certifying staff in a part 145 organisation according to EASA regulations, maintenance personnel must follow basic requirements and understand their limitations regarding their certifying privileges. All this appear on EU1321/2014 annex 3 Part 66. Some examples are:

 Relevant training and module exams:

As maintenance personnel in either a part 147 training school or in a recognised training academy, we may be required to carry out training courses and exams for us to gain certifying privileges. These courses/exams will define how many years of experience we will require later on in our career to be able to apply for a maintenance licence. It is broken down into three categories:

For subcategories B.1.1, B.1.3 and category B.2: Five years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft, if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or Three years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or two years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147).

Time experience:

You as a maintenance worker must keep an up to date logbook with all the required information regarding the jobs you have carried out and be able to present such evidence to the authorities. When you have the experience required, you will get the license but without any type rating of an aircraft unless you had done the type course of the aircraft and presents the OJT to the authority who issue your license when you presents the Form 19.



The authority who issue your license it’s the responsible of modify your license and every 5 years you have to renew your license to be valid.

Know your limitations:

It is especially important to know that once we have a certifying privilege granted to us, that we become aware of our scope of certification. We must review our licences to make sure we are authorised to sign aircraft by type and category.

Here are some examples:

EASA CAT A- is certified to carry out simple scheduled line replacement unit changes and sign a certificate of release according to his limitations.

EASA CAT B1- is certified to carry out scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on most of the AC systems including some very simple avionic tests.

EASA CAT B2- is certified to carry out maintenance of avionic systems within powerplant and mechanical systems required simples steps and minor schedule maintenances tasks within limits of their scope.

EASA CAT B3- is certified to carry out the same tasks as CAT B1 but for unpressurised piston engine aircraft of MTOM 2000kg.

EASA CAT C- is certified to carry out the CRS of an aircraft in its entirety for all base maintenance checks.



The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is the specialized agency of the United Nations. It was created by the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (or Chicago Convention) in Chicago on December 7, 1944

ICAO is the permanent body responsible for the administration of the principles set out in the Convention. It has its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, and at the European level in Paris.

ICAO consists of 190 signatory states, of which only three are not members.

ICAO’s aims and objectives are to draw up the principles and techniques of international air navigation and to promote the planning and development of international air transport

The ICAO Council has elaborated and adopted 18 technical annexes.

Most important annexes for aircraft maintenance purposes are:

Annex 1: Personnel Licensing

Annex 6: Operation of Aircraft

Annex 8: Airworthiness of Aircraft

Annex 10: Aeronautical Telecommunications.



These are the “standard” maintenance organizations. TAC and large aircraft and their elements must be maintained in these organizations. They are regulated by Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 and subsequent revisions in Annex II (Part 145). The EASA Part 145 Regulation establishes common technical requirements and administrative procedures for ensuring the continuing airworthiness of aircraft.  Part 145 specifies the role of a few key positions in the maintenance organization management hierarchy. The organization shall ensure that certifying staff and support staff have an adequate understanding of the relevant aircraft and/or components to be maintained together with the associated organization procedures.

The organization shall have available and use the necessary equipment, tools and material to perform the approved scope of work.

 The organization shall hold and use applicable current maintenance data in the performance of maintenance, including modifications and repairs.

 The organization shall record all details of maintenance work carried out.

 The organization shall report to the competent authority, the state of registry and the organization responsible for the design of the aircraft or component

 Maintenance organization exposition (MOE) means the documents that contain the material specifying the scope of work deemed to constitute approval and showing how the organization intends to comply with this Annex (Part-145)



The organization shall only maintain an aircraft or component for which it is approved when all the necessary facilities, equipment, tooling, material, maintenance data and certifying staff are available.

The importance of the CRS (Certificate of Release to Service) which is a transfer of the aircraft from the maintenance organization to the operators.



PART M – This Subpart establishes the requirements to be met by an organization to qualify for the issue or continuation of an approval for the maintenance of aircraft. They are regulated by Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 and subsequent revisions in Annex I (Part M).

An application for issue or change of a maintenance organization approval shall be made on a form and in a manner established by the competent authority. An organization involved in activities subject to this Subpart shall not exercise its activities unless approved by the competent authority. Appendix V to Annex I (Part-M) provides the template certificate for this approval.

 MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION MANUAL (MOE)

The maintenance organization shall provide a manual containing at least the following information:

A statement signed by the accountable manager to confirm that the organization will continuously work in accordance with Annex I (Part-M) and the manual at all times

 To ensure that the approved maintenance organization continues to meet the requirements of this Subpart, it shall organize, on a regular basis, organizational reviews

 An approval shall be issued for an unlimited duration.

Findings: Level 1: finding safety standard and hazards seriously the flight.

                 Level 2: finding could lower the safety standard and possibly hazard the flight safety.



CERTIFICATION SPECIFICATION (CS25):

The certification specification (cs25) are large documents which define the requeriments and capalibities of aircraft in each category. The content of a CS is:

  • Performance
  • Structure
  • Design and construction
  • Powerplant installation
  • System and Equipment
  • Manuals and limitations

LARGE AIRPLANES (CS25)

Large Aircraft: an aircraft, classified as an aeroplane with a maximum take-off mass of more than 5 700 kg, or a multiengined helicopter.

The airplanes powered with turbine engine have CS25 as airworthiness code.

  • Without contingency thrust is not increased following engine failure during take-off except as specified in sub-paragraph C

In the absence of an appropriate investigation of operational implications these requirements do not necessarily cover

  • Automatic landings with decision heights of less than 200ft
  • Operations on unprepared runway surfaces