November 17, 2022

On Nov. 15, the FAA hosted a webinar on the Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP) and Maintenance Agreement Guidance (MAG) established between the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US). The agency will begin accepting applications for UK approval of US-based repair stations on Jan. 1, 2023; approval must be held to perform work subject to British rules by the beginning of 2025.

During the webinar, FAA MIP Coordinator Paul Cloutier quickly reviewed the status of the new MIP and MAG. Cloutier explained the Special Conditions outlined in the MAG are “very similar” to those between the United States and European Union, with some “improvements” based on experience between the regulators. Once the new agreements take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, FSDOs will oversee applications by and surveillance of repair stations wishing to obtain UK certification. The MIP allows for a two-year transition period to provide the FAA time to process the expected influx of applications.

Repair stations holding EASA approval under the U.S.-EU bilateral agreement may continue performing work on UK aircraft and articles until Dec. 31, 2024. A UK Maintenance Organisation Approval will be required after New Year’s 2025.

After the overview, Cloutier was joined for Q&A by UK Head of Airworthiness Policy and Rulemaking Neil Williams (a regular participant in ARSA’s Annual Conference). The pair handled questions regarding certification, quality system integration, manual supplements, and maintenance releases. Of particular interest to ARSA members – and topics likely to recur in the association’s advocacy:

(1) The agencies have directed that repair stations cannot issue a so-called “triple release” on an FAA Form 8130-3 simultaneously showing compliance with FAA, EASA, and UK rules. When certificate/approval holders wish to authorize work for return to service under all three systems, they must issue separate dual releases: one under the UK-FAA bilateral and one under the EASA-US requirements. While an enterprising questioner confirmed these could be one document (e.g., printed on the front and back of a single piece of paper), the regulators insist upon duplicative paperwork.

(2) The Repair Station Manual Supplement required for UK approval must be separate from an EASA supplement. ARSA has long pushed to integrate manual content as closely as possible. Not only does such integration support regulatory compliance, it is a practical means to prevent human factors errors by technicians required to jump among and between various documents to find relevant procedures. Stay tuned for updates from the ARSA publications department.

(3) Applications must include a demonstration of need. Williams demurred when asked for specifics, citing interest against being overly proscriptive, but noted a customer letter or listing of orders would be sufficient.

(4) Sub-contractors need not hold CAA approval; they can be managed under existing repair station rules for contract maintenance in § 145.217.

(5) Similar to EASA requirements, the repair station must incorporate both product and procedural audits into its quality system. These audits can be performed together but must be clearly documented according to which elements are tested.

(6) Repair stations with upcoming renewals of their EASA approvals under the U.S.-EU bilateral should proceed on schedule with their European application to continue using that approval for work on UK aircraft and articles.

Repair stations seeking British approval may submit application to their local FSDOs using UK Form SRG 1783*. The fee associated with initial application is £900.

Reference Materials

To watch a recording of the Nov. 15 webinar, click here.

To download the PowerPoint presentation (with speaker notes), click here.

To download the MIP directly from ARSA’s servers, click here.

To download the FAA’s InFO directly from ARSA’s servers, click here.

For updated access to documents from the agencies, visit the FAA’s Dynamic Regulatory System (drs.faa.gov), select “Other Documents” and then “International Publications” from the left-hand menu. The UK CAA also publishes documents on its bilateral agreements page.

Submit questions about the MIP/MAG to 9-awa-afs-intl-coordinator@faa.gov or call 858-999-7671.

*Appropriately, the independence of the United States was codified when the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783.

April 4, 2022

The hotline – ARSA’s premier member newsletter – contains news, editorial content, analysis and resources for the aviation maintenance community. All members should ensure they receive their edition the first week of each month. Not getting yours? Click here for direct access.

In this edition…

No Joke

While ARSA’s team loves humor — Executive Director Sarah MacLeod has been dropping “dad jokes” into team meetings — it is always serious about serving the aviation community. This early April edition of the hotline doesn’t have any pranks (we’ve learned that lesson), but it does have a full report on ARSA’s globe-spanning efforts in March.

From the “Membership” section…

A Member Asked…

More than a year after Brexit, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) is still working internally and with the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and other authorities to develop a permanent regulatory framework to accept maintenance performed by repair stations outside the UK.

Q: Under the current U.S.-UK Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP), UK CAA will accept EASA approvals issued to U.S. repair stations and the FAA/EASA dual release 8130-3 form through the end of 2022. What’s going to happen after that?

A: The FAA and UK CAA are negotiating a new MIP, which is on track to be finalized later this year. It will create a relationship like that between FAA and EASA, by which a U.S. repair station’s FAA certificate will serve as the basis for UK CAA approval. Whatever the new framework, there will be a transition period to allow the industry to implement the new procedures.

Q: I understand that there have been some recent changes regarding UK CAA’s acceptance of EASA Form 1 from EASA/EU repair stations. What’s the scoop?

A: The bottom line is that effective April 1, 2022, UK owners and operators can only accept an EASA Form 1 from an EU/EASA approved maintenance organization (AMO) if the AMO applied for a UK approval by March 31, 2022.

The story surrounding UK CAA’s acceptance of EASA Form 1 has been confusing. In the wake of Brexit, the UK CAA continues to recognize EASA AMO certificates, but that recognition will end on Jan. 1, 2023, at which point companies will need a UK certificate to work on articles and products under UK CAA’s regulatory jurisdiction.

The agency had said it would stop accepting EASA Form 1 on Jan. 1, 2021, but in the face of the ongoing pandemic, UK CAA has continued to accept EASA from 1 from EU/EASA AMOs if they applied for a UK AMO certificate by Dec. 31, 2021. In the face of global supply chain problems, the agency extended the application date once again to March 31, 2022.

Thus, according to UK CAA:

Engine and component maintenance organisations that hold an approval issued by an EASA Member State or EASA and who wish to continue to supply maintained engines and components certified with an EASA Form 1 to the UK industry from 1 April 2022, must have applied to the CAA for a UK approval before 31 March 2022. … From 1 April 2022, UK owners/operators cannot accept EASA Form 1s dated after that point as acceptable documents for the certification of maintenance on engines and/or components from EU/EASA organisation [sic.] that have not applied to the CAA for an approval by 31 March 2022.

August 10, 2021

On Aug. 5, the FAA and UK CAA released the presentation materials associated with the agencies’ public outreach session covering their “Special Arrangement for the Continuity of Aircraft Certification Projects.”

To access PDF copies of the presentation files, click each of the images above.

A recording of the session is available on the FAA’s YouTube channel:

February 22, 2021

On Jan. 29, EASA updated its Parts Documentation Table to add the United Kingdom to the list of covered regulatory systems. The table sets forth the required documentation for installing a component and approving it for release to service under EASA Part-145.

Click the table image to access and download the complete PDF.

To determine the required documentation in a specific situation, use the far-left column based on the location of the EASA approved maintenance organization (AMO). The remaining columns apply to the various regulatory systems from which the parts are coming (e.g., Brazil, Canada, EU, UK, U.S. and third countries which are those without bilateral agreements with the EU), differentiated between new and used.

For example, an EASA approved AMO located in the EU may accept new parts coming from the UK regulatory system if accompanied by a UK CAA Form 1. If the part is used, an EASA Form 1 is still required. Although this may not appear to be a change as it relates to the installation of used parts by a UK AMO under the EASA system, it bears repeating that only UK-based AMOs that applied for and received an EASA Part -145 certificate (i.e., third country approval) continue to be eligible to issue an EASA Form 1 for used articles on and after Jan. 1, 2021.

The matrix is a very useful tool to determine the documents needed but it is for reference only and therefore does not override any contrary requirements contained in any regulation or bilateral agreement.

To download the matrix, click here.

January 11, 2021

To ensure aircraft registered in the United Kingdom can be approved for return to service by EASA-approved part 145 certificate holders, the U.K. CAA issued Decision No. 3. The decision follows the requirements of a 2013 EASA regulatory interpretation requiring the “foreign authority” affirmatively state that an EASA part 145 certificate holder release is acceptable.

The U.K. CAA requires:

(1) The EASA part 145 certificate be issued before December 31, 2020. After that date, for US located repair stations, the U.S.-U.K. BASA and Maintenance Agreement Guidance (MAG) applies to U.S. based repair stations.
(2) That particular language be used in the “maintenance release” document.

To access the complete U.K. CAA Decision No. 3 document, click here.

To review the EASA 2013 regulatory interpretation, click here.

Repair stations in the US need to familiarize themselves with the U.S.-U.K. MAG. To download a copy, click here.

December 7, 2020

The hotline – ARSA’s premier member newsletter – contains news, editorial content, analysis and resources for the aviation maintenance community. All members should ensure they receive their edition the first week of each month. Not getting yours? We can fix that.

This “hotline highlight” is presented along with the content related to Brexit (below) for easy reference and action. To review past “highlights,” visit arsa.org/hotline-highlight.

In this edition…

Page Turning

Despite progress on many fronts — notably the imminent approval and distribution of multiple COVID-19 vaccines — changing the calendar won’t magically wash away the challenges facing the world. For ARSA, turning the page to a new year is simply a matter of maintaining focus. From career development to government oversight, this edition of the hotline demonstrates the consistency of the association’s work.

From the “Legal Brief”…

Editor’s note: This material is provided as a service to association members for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal or professional advice and is not privileged or confidential.

Brexit Agreements Take Effect Jan. 1

By Christian A. Klein, Executive Vice President

The FAA and United Kingdom (UK) Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are working to minimize regulatory disruptions on both sides of the pond in light of the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU) earlier this year. Although a transition period has been in effect since January 2020 pursuant to the Withdrawal Agreement, that will end at midnight on December 31, 2020 unless extended by the respective governments (which is possible but not likely). The two sides are continuing to negotiate the details of their bilateral relationship in 2021 and beyond with aviation being one of many industries being addressed in those high-level talks.

Therefore, effective Jan. 1, 2021, the legal basis for regulatory cooperation between the FAA and UK CAA will most likely change from the U.S.-EU bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA) to the BASA inked between the United States and UK in 1995 and the Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP) between the FAA and UK CAA signed on Nov. 19.

U.S.-based repair stations certificated by EASA

The two agencies have agreed the FAA-EASA MAG provides an acceptable method of compliance for the FAA-UK CAA MIP for the next two years. Therefore, the UK CAA will not issue its own certificates to U.S.-located facilities at this time. When domestic repair stations approve work performed on an article (other than an aircraft) for return to service on Form 8130-3, the UK will accept FAA-EASA dual releases and EASA single releases (without any additional verbiage needed). However, if a U.S. repair station is working on a UK-registered aircraft, its maintenance release will have to cite UK CAA Part-145 rather than EASA Part-145 (even though those rules will be identical).

UK-based EASA Approved Maintenance Organizations certificated by the FAA

Regulators are working to minimize disruptions for the 167 FAA-certificated repair stations in the UK. For example, the FAA supplements and operations specifications (OpsSpecs) paragraph will need to be revised to remove references to EASA. Maintenance organizations will have 90 days to make those changes to their FAA Supplements and will receive notices from the FAA on exactly what is required. The OpsSpecs update will be accomplished as part of the certificate renewal process. After Dec. 31, 2020, FAA-certificated repair stations in the UK cannot use EASA Form 1 for the release to service but must use UK CAA Form 1 with the appropriate single/dual release indications and language. (Single releases on FAA Form 8130-3 will also be allowed.) However, the FAA will recognize EASA Form 1 with FAA releases issued by UK repair stations prior to Jan. 1, 2021.

New FAA-UK CAA Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness (IPA) governing, among other things, design, production and export activities, were signed Nov. 17 and will be unveiled shortly. We are told the IPA contains validation processes very similar to those in the current FAA-EASA Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP).

The IPA will provide a streamlined validation process for design changes by type certificate or supplemental type certificate holders and reciprocal acceptance of minor design changes, technical standard order (TSO) articles, parts manufacturer approval (PMA) articles and design data for repairs and alterations (except for alterations of critical components). Henceforth, applications for validation of UK products will be submitted to the FAA by the UK CAA rather than EASA. The FAA will work directly with UK CAA (instead of EASA) to audit the production oversight system.

NOTE: This article is based on information derived from various FAA and UK CAA presentation slides. As of Dec. 9, the official agreement documents have not been published for public consumption.  Look for additional coverage and analysis when the documents are made public.

To review the presentation given by the FAA Aircraft Certification Service on Dec. 2, click here.

To review the presentation given by the UK CAA Design & Certification Team on Dec. 2, click here.

January 31, 2020

On Jan. 30, FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami distributed a letter to the aviation community regarding the forthcoming departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Citing several years of effort between U.S. and British regulators, Bahrami affirmed that the political separation will have no immediate impact on transatlantic aviation business.

“[There] will be no change to the current procedures associated with the exchange of aviation goods and services between the United States and the UK,” Bahrami said. “The FAA, the UK Civil Aviation Authority…and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency…will continue to use the procedures established in the U.S.-EU Safety Agreement and EASA will continue to represent the UK CAA as its technical agent.”

Bahrami noted that more work must be done as the UK and EU negotiate their long-term relationship. This effort, including refining the U.S.-UK regulatory relationship, will continue up to and through the Dec. 31 end of the “Brexit” transition period.

To read Bahrami’s letter, click here.

March 26, 2019

UPDATE: On March 26, Transport Canada and the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom signed the English version of the “Hard-Brexit Scenario” for the working agreement. The agreements have been posted on the UK CAA website and can be found by clicking here.

On March 14, the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom posted details of new implementing procedures agreed to under the bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA) between the UK and the United States.

“The agreements ensure that the level of cooperation between the two authorities and their systems will remain the same if the UK leaves the European Union without a negotiated exit in place,” the CAA noted in its release.

Since the UK and EU continue to negotiate the terms of “Brexit,” and with the European parliament agreeing to delay the separation date from late March to early April 2019, the FAA has so far withheld publication of the agreement.

UK signs post-EU exit air safety agreements with USA

Details of new implementing procedures agreed under the bilateral air safety agreements (BASA) between the UK and US were today discussed with aerospace and aviation industry representatives at an event at the Embassy of the United States in London. Click here to read more.

October 18, 2018

On Oct. 17, representatives from the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) briefed ARSA and other aviation organizations on efforts to minimize the disruptive impact of the UK’s scheduled March 29, 2019 exit from the European Union (EU).

To access a PDF copy of the presentation, click here.

Click to access the presentation.

In addition to a detailed overview of various Brexit scenarios, the presentation provided links to resources, including the Q&A page established by the UK CAA and EASA (on the last slide).

As described in the presentation, UK regulators are working with counterparts in the United States, Canada and Brazil to update bilateral aviation safety agreements to prevent disruption for industry should the UK not join EASA after Brexit. The UK is also preparing Brexit legislation to, among other things, adopt current EASA regulations and recognize EASA approvals and certificates. However, UK aviation businesses in particular still face significant uncertainty.