Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com considers the role, purpose, and applicability of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 8.

Introduction

ICAO SARPS (Standards and Recommended Practices) for each area of ICAO responsibility are contained in 19 Annexes. Each Annex deals with a particular subject area. All are subject to regular amendments and the detail in respect of many of them is contained in publications in the numbered ICAO Document Series.

Annex 8

Annex 8 Concerns the Airworthiness of Aircraft specifically related to the design, construction in accordance with the requirements of the State of Design and Operation in compliance with the appropriate airworthiness requirements of the State of Registry of the aircraft.

Review by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com

ICAO Current Status Regarding Recommendations

Please see here

» As the response of the ICAO Medical Section indicates, the subject of the carriage of AEDs on board passenger aircraft, has been, and is under active consideration in ICAO.

What is the purpose of an AED?

Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com takes a detailed look at the Aviation Safety Management Risk Management Landscape.

Introduction – What is Risk Management

Risk Management, being a central component of the SMS, plays a vital role in addressing the risk in practical terms.

Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com looks at the process for managing MCAI within the UK CAA as part of the UK CAA / EASA Bilateral Agreement Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP).

Introduction

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines MCAI as “mandatory requirements for the modification, replacement of parts, or inspection of aircraft and amendment of operating limitations and procedures.”

Considerations Related to EASA Aircraft Flight Manual and Supplements, presented by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com

Introduction

The International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) Annex 8 requires that each aircraft be provided with a flight manual, placards, or other document stating the approved limitations within which the aircraft is considered airworthy as defined by the appropriate airworthiness requirements, additional instructions, and information necessary for the safe operation of the aircraft.

An Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) is part of the type design as required by the type certification basis that the aircraft was originally certificated to.

       »  In some cases the original certification requirements are changed by a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), mandating the provision of an AFM even though the original type certification basis did not require the provision of an AFM.
       »  All AFMs are identified by a part number like any other critical part of the aircraft.
       »  The primary source for identifying the AFM applicable to a particular aircraft is the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS).

Presentation by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com

 Introduction

The purpose of an AOC is to certify that specified commercial air transport operations are authorized by the States Civil Aviation Authority and are in conformance with applicable regulations.  

During the certification process, the CAA is to be satisfied that:

       »  The applicant, who will have the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the operation, is eligible for the issuance of an AOC and
       »  Has the ability and competence both to conduct safe and efficient operations and to comply with applicable regulations. [State CAA]

To be eligible for an AOC an applicant must be certified for operating at least one aircraft that is not wet-leased.

Review by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com

Introduction

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)  is the specialized United Nations (UN) agency responsible for promoting the safe and orderly development of world civil aviation by establishing standards and rules related to safety, efficiency, and flight regularity to environmental protection. 

Annex 8, Definitions

Appropriate Airworthiness Requirements – means

Presented by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com  

In the Beginning

1903 – saw the beginnings of powered aviation with rapid developments during   World War I particularly related to the development of military aviation

1919 - Paris Convention 1919 – first international aviation law convention

» During the period 1919-1944, there was a gradual growth of international air transport

SofemaOnline (www.sofemaonline.com) considers SMS RCA Obligations

Introduction

All elements of your business should share the same SMS as well as the same process of engagement, in addition, all elements and processes need to be promoted and educated throughout the organization.

The transition from a traditional SMS to the ICAO Annex 19 “Risk Managed Model”, required many changes throughout the organization process and procedures as well as physical within the workplace.

Sofema Aviation Services looks at what is coming related to EASA Part 145 Management System 

Introduction

EASA objective is to encourage organisations to embed safety management and risk-based decision-making into all their activities, instead of superimposing another system onto their existing management system and governance structure.

The new elements that are introduced by the NPA 145 in particular address component 2 ‘Safety Risk Management’ of the ICAO SMS framework. and address component 3 ‘Safety Assurance’.

It is important to recognise that safety management will be a continuous activity, as hazards, risks and the effectiveness of safety risk mitigations will change over time. 

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com considers the major challenges

Introduction

Without doubt an Effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS) provides industry with a key driver to manage the various elements, which together can support the lowering of the exposure and lead to a reduction of incidents and accidents.

The crux of implementing an effective safety management system (SMS) is not just in defining it, but effectively implementing it throughout the business with everyone acting as a stakeholder and engaging with the organisations processes.

To be approved in accordance with 14 CFR Part 145, pursuant to the terms of this Annex, the AMO shall comply with all of the following Special Conditions:

The AMO shall submit an application in a form and a manner acceptable to the FAA.

a) The application for both initial and renewed FAA certification shall include:

i. A statement demonstrating that the FAA repair station certificate and/or rating is necessary for maintaining or altering U.S.-registered aeronautical products or foreign-registered aeronautical products operated under the provisions of 14 CFR.

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com looks at the ICAO Data Reporting System

ADREP Introduction

The Accident/Incident Data Reporting (ADREP) is operated and maintained by ICAO.

The ADREP system receives, stores and provides States with occurrence data that will assist them in validating safety.

In this context, the term ‘occurrence’ includes both accidents and incidents.

The system was established in 1976 but has evolved to meet changes in information technology and the aviation industry. The version of the ADREP system in current use is ADREP 2000.

Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention — Aircraft Accident Investigation - contains Standards which require Contracting States to report to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) information on all aircraft accidents which involve aircraft of a maximum certificated take-off mass of over 2 250 kg.

The Organisation also gathers information on aircraft incidents considered important for safety and accident prevention.

Risk Assessment

Driven by ICAO Annex 19 Identifying, Assessing, and Mitigating Risk is at the epicentre of an effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS).

The challenge is to ensure that Safety Risk Assessment is performed in a genuine way with tangible benefits as a measurable outcome. The consequence of a risk can usually be expressed in several ways and these will affect the assessment of severity and likelihood, requiring care competence and diligence on the part of the analysts. 

Delivering Effective Risk Assessment Requires?

When considering Risk the challenge will always be related to the subjectivity of the perceived exposure. Therefore a broad range of contributors to the Risk Assessment Process is highly beneficial including.

Considering ICAO Definition of Safety

ICAO Annex 19 defines safety as ‘the state in which risks associated with aviation activities, related to, or in direct support of the operation of aircraft, are reduced and controlled to an acceptable level’ and safety performance as ‘a service provider’s safety achievement as defined by its safety performance targets and safety performance indicators’.

Challenges to Establish Confidence in Safety Performance?

Whilst it is usual for safety metrics to focus on serious incidents and accidents it is also possible to gain a false impression regarding the overall level of safety due in part to a system with a low number of high consequence negative outcomes, means the low frequency of such outcomes may give the wrong impression that your system is safe.

Where are we in our SMS journey in 2018? It is almost 1 decade since ICAO introduced the requirement for Proactive SMS, the good news is that it is evident that SMS is having a positive effect on the overall safety level across the industry.

In accordance with EASA Regulatory Obligations the accountable executive is accountable for establishing the SMS and allocating sufficient resources to support and maintain an effective SMS.

The current situation shows on examination that across lower levels within the industry (and this is true of almost all organisations) there as still a significant level of unreported exposures. Partly this is due to insufficient engagement with the SMS by many of the junior employees.

Pre-Requisites for Delivering SMS

SMS should build on existing organisation business processes and integrate with all the various elements of the management system. SMS Key Processes include Hazard Identification, Occurrence Reporting, Risk Management and Performance Measurement.

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

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."

It is accepted within our aviation community, that the vast majority of aviation accidents (at least 80%) are directly caused by human action or more precisely by human error. However it would be wrong for us to assume that this is simply a manifestation of personal carelessness or even incompetence, rather we should try to consider that the human error itself is actually the final element of a chain of events.

In fact a major element which hitherto was not given sufficient consideration is the role of the organisation in aircraft incidents and accidents. Often the root cause or contributing factors are embedded within the organisations process and procedures. Unfortunately with hindsight we are often able to understand the existence of numerous latent “exposures” (sometimes too late!).