With the exception of EASA Part 21 Subpart J "Design Organisation Approval" which as will be aware is managed directly by EASA the process for all other approvals (Air Carrier – Part 145 / Part M / Part 147 / Part 21 Subpart G POE / ATO) essentially works as follows

Achieving Regulatory Approval (Simplified)

1/ The organisation demonstrates to the Competent Authority (CA) that they satisfy the pre-requisites to be granted the requested approval

Documentation / Facilities / Manpower / Competence / Finance / Oversight

2/ The Accountable Manager of the Approved Organisation signs a statement to confirm his or her responsibility related to ensure sufficient finance is available to maintain full compliance

3/ The Organisation must set up a process (Independent Quality Assurance) to ensure continuous compliance

4/ The CA periodically assess the organisation for continuous compliance and raises findings for any non – compliance (Level 1 or 2 as appropriate)

A Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) is an FAA  or EASA approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed 'supplemental'. As its name suggests, an STC is a certificate. It defines the product design change, states how the modification affects the existing type design, and lists serial number effectively. It also identifies the certification basis, listing specific regulatory compliance for the design change.

An STC being a supplemental type design approval for a major alteration and specific to a make and model or even a specific serial number as a one “off” STC

The STC Holder – STCH remains ultimately responsible for the certification of the modification.  An STC is a design approval, however it doesn’t allow the holder to produce anything. (typically created by Part 21 /FAR 21 Subpart J Organisation Design Approval Holder (DAH) Design Organisation Approval (DOA)).

Note - The STC, which incorporates by reference the related Type Certificate (TC), approves not only the modification, but how the modification affects the original design.

The application must be made in the form and manner prescribed by the FAA  or EASA.

SofemaOnline.com Providing EASA Compliant Regulatory and Vocational Training when you need at your own pace. We provide an ever growing portfolio of online training courses and combination packages for example

Operations Regulation 965/2012 package, EASA Part M package & EASA Part 145 Package.

What sets SofemaOnline apart?

Quite simply we bust the myth that regulatory compliance is the objective!

It is not – compliance with the regulations is in reality minimum compliance, It should be a given not an objective- as Industries leading training organisation with 45 years background our focus is on effective delivery of the business  process.

Our training courses are based on and compliant with EASA, FAA, ICAO and other Standards as applicable and focus on a practical interpretation of the regulations (which is not necessarily the case with our competitors)

One of our major focus points is on delivering competence in the workplace

Whilst we all recognise the importance of safety in particular within “our” Maintenance Environment we face as an industry the problem of (Some say) Chronic under reporting of safety incidents.  Please consider when was the last time YOU filed a safety internal report?

What is the reason?

Is it the fear of reprisals or is it a case of fundamental disconnection from the responsibility to accept a personal obligation to report?

Whatever the reason the reality is that there is without doubt insufficient occurrence reporting, which results in “open” not closed loops ineffective closure and a reduced ability to deliver proactive safety improvements. (If at all !)

EASA has introduced a new EU Occurrence Reporting Regulation which is one key step in this direction as it sets a new framework to encourage and protect safety reporting by aviation professionals.

The Regulation (EU Reg. 376/2014 became applicable as of 15 Nov 2015, and requires aviation organisations in the EU to both adopt and maintain a proactive Just Culture to facilitate the collection of key safety data and information and to protect the reports as well as the information.

GCAA says now –EASA Says Later! ICAO says 8 years ago (2009)

Sofema Aviation Services (www.sassofia.com) considers the current status of SMS within an EASA compliant Part 145 organisation.

What is SMS?

Sure we all know what is a Safety Management System (SMS)

But consider the two options :-

a) Safety Management System focused on ensuring “Mandatory Compliance” with all Safety Objectives

b) Management System focused on developing in an effective way optimized for efficiency and delivering all Mandatory Safety Objectives

Introduced by www.easaonline.com 

The requirement for EASA Compliant Fuel Tank Safety  (FTS) Training may be found in the New EASA Agency Decision Papers: •2009/006/R •2009/007/R. Both relate to Aircraft Fuel System Safety Effective from 28 March 2007. Essentially the rational for FTS Training was developed following the TWA 800 Disaster with the objective to both Familiarize candidates with the elements of Fuel Tank System Safety Issues and to enable candidates to understand the historical background and elements requiring consideration in relation to fuel system safety. In addition to Equip candidates to understand and use the language of fuel system safety issues and to allow candidates to understand and interpret fuel system safety issues from regulatory and manufacturer’s maintenance publications Satisfy Parts M & 145 Amendments on fuel system safety

Continuing Airworthiness Management and associated CAW tasks are the primary responsibility of the Operators CAMO. Regarding the management of Fuel Tank Procedures it is expected that the 145 Organisation should update the Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE) to include FTS concepts and organisation’s obligations. The Part 145 organisation is also responsible for all health and safety procedures including relating to fuel tank Nitrogen Inerting Systems

EASAOnline (www.easaonline.com) considers the process to obtain your Maintenance Engineers Licence. Considering the Application Process for an EASA Part 66 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Licence (AMEL)

An application for an aircraft maintenance License or change to such License shall be made on an EASA Form 19 (Form 19 is adopted and issued by each regulatory authority)

Applications process

The application are normally made under the jurisdiction of the Competent Authority of any European Member State. 

www.easaonline.com presents the different categories available within the EASA Part 66 licence 

On the basis of the Maintenance Engineers License, together with satisfactory demonstration of competency and knowledge of organizational procedures the personal authorization document is issued by an approved Part-145 organization. 

Note - Whilst Category A is not maybe the best choice to sit for your licence, clearly as it is incorporated within the B1 licence it can be of significant benefit to allow the B1 Engineer to be task trained on multiple aircraft. 

A Category “A” License holder may only certify his (or her) own work and cannot certify the work of other individuals. 

The Category “A” based approval is a task based approval which is restricted to the mechanical systems, although simple and limited avionic tasks as for example which may be found on a daily inspection or a weekly check, can be included with the approval of the Competent Authority.

(b) Categories A and B1 are subdivided into subcategories relative to combinations of Aeroplanes, helicopters, turbine and piston engines.

EASAonline.com (www.easaonline.com ) looks at the ins and outs of achieving a Part 66 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Licence

Background

EASA Regulated Aircraft Maintenance is interesting and highly professional moreover Licensed Aircraft Engineers are essential to maintain the global aviation industry. Employment in the field of aviation offers the potential of a wide and varied career with an attractive salary.

As a Part 66 AMEL you are on your way to Certifying Aircraft to Fly ! (Issuing a Certificate of Release to Service CRS). Licensed Aircraft Engineers perform maintenance and other activities on Aircraft (often with modern equipment and advanced technology.) Ensuring the rectification of all defects as well as repairing airframe structures, engines, and avionic systems.  

www.easaonline.com looks at the role of EASA Part 66 Certification Staff.

The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) assumes “legal” responsibility (by means of a certification) for all or part of the line maintenance which is required to be performed on aircraft or helicopters to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to remain serviceable. (He/she also acts as support staff for aircraft which are receiving “heavy” means base maintenance – typically C Checks.

The Licenced aircraft engineer will hold an authorisation approval issued by an EASA Part 145 Organisation. (The Validity of this approval is conditional on the maintenance of the licence)

Typically the Aircraft Licensed Maintenance Line Engineer will be employed by an EASA Part 145 organization and will either certify aircraft maintenance based on the scope of the Aircraft maintenance approval issued by the organization on the basis of the Certifying engineers license, or act as supervisory and support staff during base maintenance activities.

The different Aircraft Licensed Maintenance Line Engineer jobs include B1 Engineer specializing on Airframe Engineers and Electrical Systems and B2 Engineer specializing in Avionic Systems.

EASAOnline is pleased to discuss the role of the EASA Quality Assurance Auditor. Quality Auditors will be found in all organisations which work under the umbrella of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), including Airlines, Airports, and Maintenance Organizations.

Considering the Nature of Audits

When we talk about audits we are generally talking about the need to ensure compliance. Regulatory audits are essentially compliance audits where we are looking to compare the actual with the expected. The expected typically being compliance either with EASA or another regulatory body.

What is the role of Aircraft Technical Records staff in an EASA or GCAA compliant organisation?

Technical records staff typically work either for the operator (The Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation) CAMO or the Maintenance Organisation (145) – usually the Base Maintenance Organisation.

Considering the Typical Duties

Let’s consider the various tasks, roles and responsibilities which will apply to the Tech Records Job role:

EASAonline.com (EOL) provides an unrivalled opportunity for your staff and employees to undertake online competence building regulatory and vocational training via our easy to use online training portal. It is a fact that no other training organisation offers the depth and breadth of online CAMO related courses than EASAOnline.com. We offer a unique online program which provides an opportunity to raise the competence levels of your employees!

Do you know your employees’ competence levels?

In fact, EASA provides guidance in respect of EASA Part 145, but this is not the complete picture - on Part M and Part 21 Subpart G this guidance is quite minimal.

Thus, it is left to the organisation to develop appropriate Competence Management Processes. Consider this: as the regulations are sparse in several areas it is not possible for regulatory auditors to identify exposures which do not relate to specific findings but at the same time hurt the organisation.

A competent and effective Maintenance planning group is an essential attribute to any efficient operators CAMO. Without any doubt the opportunity exists in every organization to deliver improvements to the existing Maintenance Planning processes - and these are improvements which may contribute to real cost savings. The Aircraft Maintenance Process is a major cost centre within the aircraft operating environment thus providing a significant opportunity to deliver optimization and saving.

EASAOnline.com has developed a suite of online training courses which address the challenging role of Maintenance Planning - a total of 5 separate courses each with its own certificate.

Who is EASAonline?

EASAOnline (EOL) is a service provided by Sofema Aviation Services, offering a range of EASA compliant online video regulatory courses. EOL is supported by the European Aviation Institute (EAI), an EASA Part 147 approved Maintenance Training Organization (MTO) with Certificate of Approval No RO.147.0003.

Let’s first consider a fundamental difference between ISO 9001-2015 and EASA Regulatory Compliance Audits.  In the ISO world one reason to perform internal audits is to support the continual improvement of the organisation system. Conversely when in EASA compliance audit is carried out it is essentially to support the identification of a non-conformance.

Let’s also consider that the criteria by which we audit is called our audit “standard” Such a standard may in fact be a regulatory requirement driven directly from the Implementing Rule IR or the Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC).

It may also be a requirement based on the need for compliance with internal documentation, for example any of the following - OPS Manual Part A, EASA Part 145 Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE), EASA Part M Continuous Airworthiness Management Exposition (CAMO) or EASA Part 147 Maintenance Training Organisation Exposition (MTOE).  All of the aforementioned documents contain detailed procedures which need to be complied with by the organisation.

How does the role the Quality Assurance (QA) Auditor differ within the EASA environment compared to say other aviation regulatory systems? (FAA for example?)

Well the first thing to consider is that the role of the Quality Assurance Auditor within the EASA system is quite specific in that it requires “Independence” This is not the case for example when you consider ISO 9001-2015.

9001: 2015 has removed the requirement for a single point of contact regarding the QMS replacing it with a new section on leadership to better emphasis a greater involvement from the leadership team. Compare with EASA where we have specific roles and responsibilities (Including Independent Compliance Manager (CM) and a clear understanding of who is managing each business objective, whilst still ultimately identifying the responsibility of the nominated persons.

Regulations and More!

We could ask the question: "Why do we need regulations?" but, of course, the answer is obvious: we need regulations to protect our industry, employees, and passengers. Plus, it is essential to have a consistent way of controlling the way we do “what we do”.

Where do Regulations in Aviation come from?

Well, EASA is not the root of this regulation story, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is!

In response to the invitation of the United States Government, representatives of 54 nations met at Chicago from November 1 to December 7, 1944, to "make arrangements for the immediate establishment of provisional world air routes and services" and "to set up an interim council to collect, record and study data concerning international aviation and to make recommendations for its improvement."

The Story of the Joint Airworthiness Authority (JAA)

The Airbus A300B given the go-ahead by France and Germany in 1969 smaller and lighter than its three-engine American rivals, it was 20% more fuel efficient. Hawker Siddeley (later to become part of British Aerospace designed a new wing for this aeroplane which delivered both greater lift and improved the A300’s performance. 

The JAA was established in 1970. Originally its objectives were to produce common certification codes for large aeroplanes and for engines in order to meet the needs of European industry (e.g. Airbus). Partly driven by the need for a more efficient certification process particularly for the Airbus Aircraft. The JAA was founded with the objective of a cooperative safety regulatory system to achieve uniform high standards of aviation safety. The decision to harmonize with the FAA regulatory environment was a good one and persists to this day. 

Brexit will present a number of major challenges for both the CAA and the UK aviation industry. Steven Bentley answers some frequently asked questions.

Will the UK still sit around the top table?

Currently, the UK CAA is a major stakeholder to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) multiple working groups. However after the “divorce” it will probably not be possible to achieve the same level of engagement – Means the UK CAA will be outside the inner circle and will not have the same level of influence.

Will the UK adopt EASA regulations?

Here there is a specific challenge, because if they do not follow 100% they will create distance which will ultimately damage the UK Aerospace Industry and see future work move to main land Europe!