European Aviation Safety Agency
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| Location: | Cologne, Germany | |||
| Formation: - Signed - Established |
September 28, 2003 |
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| Superseding pillar: | European Community | |||
| Director: | Patrick Goudou | |||
| Website: | easa.europa.eu | |||
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European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union with offices in Cologne, Germany, which has been given specific regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It became operational on September 28, 2003, and continues to grow. It is expected to reach full staffing and functionality in 2006, but the public should expect a constant state of growth in this regulatory agency.
EASA may be thought of as the philosophical successor to the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), although it is not a legal successor agency. One main difference between EASA and JAA is that EASA has regulatory authority through the enactment of its regulations through the European Commission, Council of the European Union and European Parliament, while most of the JAA regulatory products were merely harmonized codes without direct force of law (JAA's regulations needed to be implemented by the individual EU members to achieve force of law).
EASA exists in parallel with the National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) of the EU members. EASA has jurisdiction over new type certificates and other design-related airworthiness approvals for aircraft, engines, propellers and parts. EASA is also responsible for assisting the European Commission in negotiating international harmonisation agreements with the rest of the world on behalf of the EU member states and also concludes technical agreements at a working level directly with its counterparts around the world. EASA also sets policy for aeronautical repair stations (Part 145 organizations in Europe and the US - also known as Part 571 organizations in Canada) and issues repair station certificates for repair stations located outside the EU (which permits foreign repair stations to perform work acceptable to the European Union on EU aircraft). EASA is currently in the process of developing regulations for air operations, flight crew licensing and non-EU aircraft used in the EU and will likely be regulating these aspects in the future.
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[edit] EASA Part-66 Certifying Staff
In Europe, Aircraft Maintenance Certifying Personnel have to comply to part-66 Certifying Staff of the EASA.
Part 66 is based on the older JAR system and the required training level follows the ATA 104 system. There are 3 levels of authorization:
Category A (Line Maintenance Mechanic): Basic A category License + Task Training (Level depends on Task Complexity) + Company Certification Authorization for specific Tasks ("A category A aircraft maintenance licence permits the holder to issue certificates of release to service following minor scheduled line maintenance and simple defect rectification within the limits of tasks specifically endorsed on the authorisation. The certification privileges shall be restricted to work that the licence holder has personally performed in a Part-145 organisation"),
Category B1 (Mechanical) and/or B2(Avionics) (Line Maintenance Technician): Basic B1/B2 category License + Type Training (i.e. Line & Base Maintenance i.a.w. ATA 104 Level III) + Company Certification Authorization ("A category B1 aircraft maintenance licence shall permit the holder to issue certificates of release to service following maintenance, including aircraft structure, powerplant and mechanical and electrical systems. Replacement of avionic line replaceable units, requiring simple tests to prove their serviceability, shall also be included in the privileges. Category B1 shall automatically include the appropriate A subcategory", "A category B2 aircraft maintenance licence shall permit the holder to issue certificates of release to service following maintenance on avionic and electrical systems").
Category C (Base Maintenance Engineer): Basic C category license + Type Training (Line & Base Maintenance i.a.w. ATA 104 Level III for the first Type Rating and ATA 104 Level I training for subsequent Aircraft Types of similar technology, otherwise Level III training) + Company Certification Authorization ("A category C aircraft maintenance licence shall permit the holder to issue certificates of release to service following base maintenance on aircraft. The privileges apply to the aircraft in its entirety in a Part-145 organisation").
A significant difference between the US and the European systems is that in the United States, aircraft maintenance technicians (Part 65 Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics) are permitted to work under their own certificates and approve their own work for return to service. European Part 66 certificate holders are required to perform their functions under the aegis of a Part 145 organization for Transport Category and Large (MTOM>5700 kg) Airplanes. The part 145 organization in the EASA system has the authority to approve for return to service. Many non-European countries have been moving toward the European approach, most notably Canada (See Part 571 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations).
[edit] EASA Part-145 Maintenance Organisation Approval
To obtain approval to be an aeronautical repair station, an organisation must write, submit and keep updated a 'Maintenance Organisation Expostion (MOE). To support their MOE they must have a documented set of procedures. Thirdly the organisation must have a compliance matrix to show how they meet the requirements of Part-145.
[edit] EASA Part-M Continuing Airworthiness
EASA Part-M consists of several subparts. The noteworthy subparts are F (Maintenance for aircraft below 5700kg in non commercial environment), G (Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization = CAMO, coordinating the compliance of aircraft with maintenance program, airworthiness directives and service bulletins) - the airworthiness code is available on the EASA website ([easa.europa.eu]) in the regulations section.
[edit] EASA Part-147 Training Organisation Requirements
To go with Part-66 on the issuing of licenses is the larger area of setting up and gaining approval for a training school for aircraft mechanics. Part-147 governs the larger situation of establishing such a training school
