On Dec. 18, ARSA and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) jointly released and industry advisory for U.S. repair stations holding EASA approval under the U.S./EU bilateral aviation safety agreement needing to implement a Safety Management System. To produce the advisory, ARSA relied heavily on (and its grateful for) AEA’s continued focus on documenting risk analysis.

The advisory document offers clear, concise guidance to the international maintenance industry on establishing and retaining compliance with the special conditions contained in the maintenance annexes in bilateral aviation safety agreements. It is part of the associations’ ongoing collaboration to support global aerospace maintenance safety. The guidance includes regulatory references and basic instruction for integrating SMS into an existing air agency certificate holder’s quality system.

The associations have shared the advisory with the FAA, reminding the agency of its enforcement discretion. Under the agency’s compliance program, the government could recognize the realities facing repair stations holding EASA approval under the bilateral and utilize administrative action for findings related to manual updates. Certificate holders should review and update their own procedures (if necessary) for manual control and revisions to prevent future complications in the timely institution of new required policies or procedures.

The advisory is available as part of ARSA’s free “tools for members.” To request your updated copy, which is delivered as a .zip file containing the “tools,” complete the order form at arsa.org/publications.

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Interested ARSA members should learn about access to SMS tools available through the association’s partnership with AEA and participate in the associations’ series of free webinars covering SMS integration.

Safety Management Systems Program

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