EASA Reg 1321/2014 Annex V Applicability - Selecting the Right Airworthiness Oversight for Your Aircraft

Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com considers the applicability of EASA Part CAMO & Part CAO

Introduction - When is EASA part CAMO applicable and when is EASA Part CAO applicable consider EASA Annex V Applicability Selecting the right airworthiness oversight for your aircraft

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has different regulations and oversight protocols depending on the specific needs and operations of an aircraft.

The two main oversight protocols are Part CAMO (Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization) and Part CAO (Combined Airworthiness Organization).

>> Part-CAMO provides requirements for CAMO for large aircraft and “all aircraft when Commercial Air Transport (CAT) - Note when compared with Part-M Subpart G organisation, the main difference with Part CAMO is the introduction of SMS principles.
>> Part-CAO provides a new set of requirements for Combined Airworthiness Organisation: such organisation may perform CAMO or Maintenance Organisation activities or both, but limited to non-complex aircraft not used by a licensed air carrier (CAT).

Part CAMO applies to any aircraft that is being managed by a CAMO airworthiness management organization.

>> This includes commercial aircraft as well as private aircraft that have chosen to use a CAMO for managing their airworthiness.
>> The CAMO is responsible for ensuring that the aircraft is maintained in an airworthy condition by scheduling regular and necessary maintenance and monitoring the overall health of the aircraft.
>> The CAMO will also pay particular attention to the requirements related to AD’s SB’s and other airworthiness-related requirements.

EASA Part CAO (Combined Airworthiness Organization) is a relatively new regulatory framework introduced by EASA that combines the responsibilities of both a Maintenance Organization (Part M Subpart F) and a Continuing Airworthiness Organization (CAO).

>> Part CAO was designed for organizations dealing with non-complex motor-powered aircraft or sailplanes/balloons. The idea behind the CAO is to streamline and simplify regulatory requirements for smaller organizations by providing a single set of rules to follow instead of multiple different ones.

Considering Differences between Part CAO & Part CAMO

>> In Part-CAO there is no “base” and “line” maintenance and therefore there is no “support staff” vs. “certifying staff”.
>> As stated in CAO.A.040, Certifying staff shall exercise their privileges to release maintenance if the CAO has ensured:

o That these certifying staff meet the requirements of point (b) of point 66.A.20 of Annex III (Part-66) except when paragraph 6 of Article 5 refers to a national regulation of a Member State, in which case, they shall meet the requirements of such a regulation;

o That these certifying staff have an adequate understanding of the relevant aircraft or aircraft component(s) to be maintained, or both, as well as of the organisation procedures required to perform such maintenance.

So, in summary, if you are managing airworthiness for a commercial or private aircraft and want to keep this separate from maintenance, you might choose to operate under Part CAMO.

If you're a smaller organization dealing with non-complex motor-powered aircraft, sailplanes, or balloons and want to combine airworthiness management and maintenance in a single organization, you might choose to operate under Part CAO.

Next Steps

Please see www.sassofia.com or email us at team@sassofia.com. For further details regarding ICAO – EASA – FAA, you may check out the following course: Introduction to Aviation Regulatory Structure – ICAO – EASA – FAA – 2 Days