[Peetwo]

Squeaky wheel gets the grease -

Has the worm turned? Has AMROBA & Co, from the MRO, LAME, AME world, finally kicked the ball over the CASA 'Big R' precipice??

Published yesterday on the new CASA website:

Project MS 16/02 - Review of Part 4A of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR) to improve efficiencies and remove anomalies in the maintenance regulations


Issue

CASA expects that the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR) will continue to be required to regulate the non-airline maintenance sector until specific requirements for the small aircraft maintenance sector are introduced into the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR).

In view of this, CASA acknowledges that a review is required to identify provisions that are inappropriate in the small aircraft maintenance environment. In addition, feedback from the maintenance industry has highlighted the need to simplify and rationalise the maintenance regulations, and update them to reflect the current state of aviation practice and technological development.

CASA has already identified a number of areas that require attention; however, the project will be seeking input from maintainers and operators of small aircraft that are regulated under the CAR.

Within the CAR, some issues that have been identified as requiring particular attention are:

CAR provisions


Identified issue in the CAR

Part 4A generally
Clarification that the registered operator is responsible for managing continuing airworthiness of an aircraft.

Permission required for a Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) to issue a maintenance release.

Need for removal of the requirement for a person to be authorised under regulation 43 in order to issue a maintenance release.

Regulation 43
Certification responsibilities need to be aligned with the provisions of Part 42 of CASR so that the maintainer is only responsible for completing maintenance that has been ordered by the registered operator.

Schedule 6
Some aspects of Schedule 6 will require amendment to align with current policy and practice.

e.g. The section dealing with final certifications is currently based on a requirement that the maintainer must ensure that all required maintenance has been completed. Under the proposed changes to Schedule 6, a maintainer would only be responsible for ensuring that all requested maintenance has been completed.

Pilot maintenance
Some maintenance tasks, such as compressor washing and installing/removing role equipment, can be carried out by a pilot who has been appropriately trained and authorised. Schedule 8 needs to be updated to make provision for pilots to perform such tasks.

Airworthiness authorities
The rules governing the issue of authorisations to perform welding, non-destructive inspections, weight control and loading, are out of date and need to be aligned with local and international practice.

Retention of maintenance records
Industry feedback has highlighted a lack of clarity about the effect of paragraph 50A (1) (a) which refers to other documents referenced in a log book. This has raised concerns about retention by the registered operator of a COA holder’s work packages.

CASA’s view is that work packages are a maintenance organisation’s internal records of how it has completed maintenance in compliance with regulations and as such could be a valuable reference document in the event of a maintenance failure. The CARs are silent on retention of work packages by a COA holder; however it would be reasonable to apply the same document retention period as Part 42, that is, 2 years after completion of maintenance.

Currently, the final certification made in accordance with Schedule 6 is the RO’s record of maintenance completed on an aircraft. The final certification is required to be made in an aircraft’s log book which the registered operator is required to retain in accordance with Section 5 of CAO 100.5.

The final certification is a comprehensive record and does not need to be supplemented by the addition of a COA holder’s internal work records, unless the final certification cites a work package in lieu of providing the detail specified in Part 4 of Schedule 6.

Regulation 2A

Clarify the relationship of data approved under AS3669 with CAR 2A requirements for data approval.

Objective

In order to ensure that the CAR remains appropriate for the foreseeable future, CASA proposes to conduct a review with an aim to:

• simplify the regulations
  
• reduce red tape
  
• reduce compliance burdens
  
• align with current policy.
  
  

The project will update the CAR airworthiness regulations to ensure uniformity of interpretation and application. Along with the CAR update, CASA intends to provide associated guidance material. The updated CARs are expected to reduce costs to industry.

   
And Hitch on this positive development...

An aircraft maintainer works on the tail of an executive jet. (Steve Hitchen)



CASA to review Small Aircraft Maintenance Regulations
23 Mar 2016

CASA announced a project yesterday to review Civil Aviation Regulation 4A to better adapt it for small aircraft maintenance, with the dual aims of improving efficiencies and removing anomalies.

In the process, CASA will not supercede the regulation with a new CASR until it is better suited to general aviation.

"CASA expects that the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR) will continue to be required to regulate the non-airline maintenance sector until specific requirements for the small aircraft maintenance sector are introduced into the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR)," the CASA announcement said.

"In view of this, CASA acknowledges that a review is required to identify provisions that are inappropriate in the small aircraft maintenance environment. In addition, feedback from the maintenance industry has highlighted the need to simplify and rationalise the maintenance regulations, and update them to reflect the current state of aviation practice and technological development."

The general aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry, driven by the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA) has been critical of the proposed CASRs because they effectively imposed regulations on GA that were designed to apply to airline transport aircraft.

CASA says it has already identified a number of areas that need attention, but will be seeking input from MROs and operators as the project progresses.

According to CASA, the CAR will need to be re-worked to make it sustainable into the future, with aims to:

• simplify the regulations
  
• reduce red tape
  
• reduce compliance burdens
  
• align with current policy.
  
  

"The project will update the CAR airworthiness regulations to ensure uniformity of interpretation and application," CASA says. "Along with the CAR update, CASA intends to provide associated guidance material. The updated CARs are expected to reduce costs to industry.

More of this bit please..

"...In the process, CASA will not supercede the regulation with a new CASR until it is better suited to general aviation..."




MTF...P2