Proposed Amendments To Part-21 Published

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published on its website Friday proposed amendments to Part-21, introducing the "Operational Suitability Certificate" and "Safety Directives", including the corresponding acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM).

In line with the Agency's principles of broad consultation and transparency, interested persons worldwide now have the possibility to comment on this Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA 2009-01) by using the Agency's web-based Comment Response Tool (CRT). The comment period ends on 30 April 2009.

The Operational Suitability Certificate (OSC) is a transposition of the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB) established by the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). While under the JAA this process was voluntary, type-certificate holders have to obtain in future an OSC for aircraft types in service of Community operators.

The approved OSC elements will be the basis for those operators and training organizations to develop their Minimum Equipment List (MEL) as well as their type training courses for pilots, cabin crew and maintenance certifying staff. The NPA also contains proposals for the issuance of Safety Directives reacting to safety problems.

The draft rules were developed by a rulemaking drafting group composed of experts from the aircraft manufacturers industry and trade associations, air operators, pilots, maintenance engineers, cabin crew associations, NAAs, and the Agency. Foreign aviation authorities were invited to participate in this group as observers.

The Agency is organising an open workshop to provide in-depth information on this NPA beginning of March. The exact dates will be communicated on its website in due course.

FMI: www.easa.int