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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 rationale for FTS Training was developed following the TWA 800 Disaster 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 concerning fuel system safety. In addition to Equip candidates to understand and use the language of fuel system safety issues and allowing 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 Operator's 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 those 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 is 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 license 

On the basis of the Maintenance Engineers License, together with a 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 license, clearly as it is incorporated within the B1 license 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 that is restricted to the mechanical systems, although simple and limited avionic tasks 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.  

Introduction

As a career starting in Aviation or Airport Services Aircraft Maintenance either Base or Line may be just the job for you!

Line maintenance is very satisfying and rewarding with the opportunity to progress to higher positions either within the organisation or in other organisations. 

Aircraft technicians and Engineers typically specialise as either B1 Airframe Engine & Electrical or B2 Avionic plus Electrical. B1 Engineers service engines, airframes hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and the associated electrical systems, and B2 avionic Engineers service and overhaul the electronic systems, instruments, flight control, navigation, and communication systems of aircraft as well as Aircraft Electrical Systems (task shared with B1)

Line maintenance essentially is maintenance that is performed on aircraft while they remain operational, (carrying out routine maintenance of the aircraft on the ground during the turnaround between flights) whereas for Base Maintenance the level of maintenance is somewhat deeper. (Carrying out full servicing of the aircraft within the hangar at regular intervals typically at C check level) 

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

The Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) assumes “legal” responsibility (employing a certification) for all or part of the line maintenance that 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 that 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 engineer licence or act as supervisory and support staff during base maintenance activities.

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

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Within the CAMO department, we will see all levels of experience from Entry level administration staff through to Licensed Aircraft Engineers and Degree holding Aeronautical Engineering Staff.

Managing this department is the Continuing Airworthiness Manager (CAM), who is typically acceptable to the regulatory authority. If you are looking for a position with an organization as a CAM, you have to be highly trained and demonstrate considerable experience to achieve the position.

The Job of the Continuing Airworthiness Manager is to ensure that all Aircraft Technical Records are maintained correctly and that the aircraft is current with all maintenance requirements and is fit to fly.

As an EASA-approved organisation Aviation Postholder, your primary responsibility is to ensure full compliance of your business area with all regulatory requirements externally as well as all organizational requirements internally. Other challenges faced by both the EASA-approved organisation Aviation Postholders and Senior Aviation Business Leaders involve effectively managing your team and developing effective strategies to optimize performance whilst maintaining standards.

To effectively manage aviation standards it is essential to both document and communicate all expected objectives, challenges, and team goals. The level of communication must ensure that this is confirmed and understood.

EASA Approved Organisation Postholder Quality Control Obligations

The starting point is to put in place the most effective Quality Control processes because it is necessary not only to ensure compliance but also to promote efficiency wherever possible in the workplace. This in turn brings the growing need to measure the effectiveness of the processes and people you are managing. Increasingly, the focus will be orientated towards integrated management standards. This is why it is required to develop a process approach with embedded quality principles.

Since August 2008 EASA has required Aircraft Inspectors to be trained following the provision to be found in AMC20-22

Aircraft inspection is normally performed by competent staff and such Inspectors are typically licensed aircraft engineers. Once qualified, they will gain the organization's approval and will be allowed also to certify General Visual Inspections, Detailed Inspections, and EWIS Inspections.

What is a General Visual Inspection (GVI)?

The term GVI, when associated with Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems, is a visual examination of an interior or exterior area, installation, or assembly to detect obvious damage, failure, or irregularity based on non-compliance or non-conformity with the standard configuration.

It is acknowledged that one of the weak areas in the maintenance chain is the effectiveness of the Inspection Process and the mitigation for this weakness will be found in the development of training programs.

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 is compliance either with EASA or another regulatory body.

EASAOnline looks at the Notification to Captain (NOTOC)

BEST Practice – Driven By IATA

Each airline is individually responsible for developing the procedures that should be followed to ensure that the Captain is fully informed at all times. A typical process involves the use of the Notification to Captain Document which is otherwise known as a NOTOC. IATA requires all of its member airlines to notify the flight deck crew (the pilot) anytime dangerous goods are to be loaded on board their flights. It is both a standard and a best practice procedure to ensure that on any flight the crew has full knowledge of what is being carried in the cargo compartments.

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 that will apply to the Tech Records Job role:

EASAonline.com (EOL) provides an unrivaled 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 that provides an opportunity to raise the competence levels of your employees!

Do you know your employees’ competence levels?

EASA guides 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 regulatory auditors can't identify exposures that 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 of any efficient operator CAMO. Without any doubt the opportunity exists in every organization to deliver improvements to the existing Maintenance Planning processes - and these are improvements that may contribute to real cost savings. The Aircraft Maintenance Process is a major cost center 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 that 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.

An effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS) provides the industry with a key driver to manage the various organisational elements, which when managed effectively can support the prevention of incidents and accidents.

The crux of implementing an effective safety management system (SMS) is not just in defining it, but also in effectively implementing it. This really is the major challenge – ask yourself how your organisation measures the effectiveness of your SMS.

The Accountable Manager (AM) of the organization is ultimately responsible and accountable for Safety. The AM MUST understand the risk of not having an effective SMS in place for his organization. The key to a job well done is to see the SMS not merely as a compliance-driven requirement but as an opportunity to drive improvement both in terms of Safety and also in terms of organisational effectiveness which can save significant expenditure in the long run.

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 an 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 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.

Let’s consider the purpose of the evidence.

Essentially it is required to convince the Business Area Owner / Nominated Person that the finding is valid. We cannot impose findings, we must be able to demonstrate the validity of the finding based on objective evidence.

How much evidence is required?

We have to take into consideration the time factor (time is precious) / sufficient evidence for the auditor to form an opinion / the need to demonstrate to the auditee the existence of the issue.

Can we trust the evidence?

Evidence that can be considered trustworthy essentially means it is accurate, credible, and where the integrity of the evidence has not been compromised.

Our corporate program EASAOnline for Business (E4B) is a one-stop shop for your organisation’s EASA-compliant regulatory training needs.

Fuel Tank Safety | EWIS | Production Planning | Quality Audit | Reliability | Maintenance Planning | Root Cause Analysis | Safety Management Systems | Technical Records | EASA PART 145 | EASA OPS Regulation 965 | Part 21 for CAMO

EASAOnline currently has more than 1300 users enrolled in our training courses.

Step 1 is to fully understand the standard or requirement that we are auditing against

If it is a regulation – what is the current issue (are there any changes due – check for Notice of Proposed Amendments) the more background knowledge the better able you are to make good audit decisions.

It if is an internal process or Procedure – who is the owner or responsible person (do they know that you are going to be auditing their procedure?) it is good business manners to inform them – again take the opportunity to ask if there are any planned changes to the procedure or process.

Always taking the opportunity to ask open questions which will aid and benefit understanding of the background related to the audit subject matter.