Will Allow Industry To Be More Agile In Response To Changing Technology

GAMA is hailing the launch of the EASA CS-23 final rule, calling it a true breakthrough for the general aviation sector.

The new CS-23 framework will dramatically improve how easily new safety technologies and products can be developed and made available to customers. Manufacturers and suppliers will no longer have to comply with overly prescriptive design requirements, which have not kept pace with the development of technology. Instead, industry will now be able to more nimbly respond in a cost-effective manner through performance-based safety rules, coupled with consensus standards for compliance.

“This is a landmark day for the general aviation industry,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce (pictured) said. “This rule is nothing less than a total rethinking of how our industry can bring new models of pistons, diesels, turboprops, light jets, and new hybrid and electric propulsion aeroplanes to market, as well as facilitating safety-enhancing modifications and upgrades to the existing fleet. The new CS-23 rule makes it easier for manufacturers to do so by reducing the time, cost, and risk involved in certification. This will provide existing and future pilots with the tools they need to fly safer and more easily."

“EASA CS-23 are new smart and flexible rules that were prepared with, and for, a safe innovative general aviation industry,” added Trevor Woods, EASA’s Director of Certification.

The new rule forms part of a global, harmonized effort to develop common certification standards; removing regulatory barriers and promoting the acceptance of aeroplanes and products worldwide. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also in the process of implementing its Part-23 rule for small aeroplanes, a result of recommendations from the Part-23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which GAMA co-chaired. Other leading aviation authorities are expected to follow suit to implement similar rules, creating a truly global framework.

"It would not have been possible to reach this milestone without the dedication and tireless efforts of many in the industry and EASA," Bunce noted. "This initiative is truly the poster child of future rulemaking: with a cooperative, global approach between authorities and all relevant stakeholders”.

Using the international standards body, ASTM International, seven of the world’s leading authorities have been working with 250 different stakeholders to agree upon a continually evolving body of standards to underpin the rule. In parallel, EASA retains its independent role in surveillance and oversight, while strengthening its risk-based methodology to improve safety.”

The new CS-23 framework goes into effect on 15 August 2017.

(Source: GAMA news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.gama.aero