Is Part-M applicable to approved Part-145 organisations?
Yes, in addition to the Part-M or Part-ML provisions directly referred to in Part-145 (such as reference to point M.A.304 or ML.A.304 in 145.A.48), certain other requirements laid down in Part-M or Part-ML should also be considered by these organisations. Guidance on this subject is given in ‘GM Article 4(1)’.
What does the term ‘occasional’ mean in 145.A.75(c)?
Within the privilege described in 145.A.75(c) an aircraft maintenance organisation (AMO) may perform line maintenance activity (Part-145) in other-than-approved locations, provided it is considered as ‘occasional’. There is no formal definition of ‘occasional’ in the regulation, AMC and GM, but this privilege should be used to support an operator with which the AMO is already in contractual relation, when this operator needs line maintenance service for a short period at a new location due to a special occasion or particular reason (e.g. one-time flights, short term contracts/flight destination, flight schedule changes, special event at a particular location such as European athletics championship in Berlin, 6-12 August 2018, etc.) or the owner needs supporting maintenance service for a short period at a new location due to a special occasion or particular reason.
Subject to the approval by the Competent Authority, the maintenance organisation should develop in the MOE (e.g. Chapter 2.24 Reference to Specific Maintenance Procedures) the generic procedures to be followed in such a case: how to assess whether the maintenance can be performed, availability of tools/ equipment/ material/ components/ maintenance data, staff, adequacy of the facilities, environmental conditions, quality system, record keeping, need to report these cases to the competent authority, etc. In addition, the procedure should include the criteria (e.g. maximum service duration without gap in the continuity; limitation in the repetition of the need* at one given location) to classify the activity as ‘occasional line maintenance’.
* In principle, the repetitive use of this privilege at the same location should not be considered, and for repetitive needs, an approved line station should normally be established at that location.
How to easily update the “EASA Form 1 – MF/145 Issue 2” to “EASA Form 1 – MF/CAO/145 Issue 3”?
Purpose of the FAQ
This FAQ is intended to recommend the industry and national competent authority (NCA) an easy way to implement the ‘EASA Form 1 Issue 3’, applicable from 24.03.2020, by the Maintenance organisations.
Description of the issue
The Regulation (EU) 2019/1383 updated the Appendix II to Annex I (Part-M) — Authorised Release Certificate — EASA Form 1 by changing the footer of the form in order to add the reference of the Part-CAO.
Some organisations may still have in stock hardcopies of EASA Form 1 Issue 2.
In such case, due to the fact that there is no change in the content of the EASA Form 1 or/and in its completion methodology, for the Part-145 and Part-M, Subpart F approved organisations, the change can be done by:
crossing out the footer in an ‘EASA Form 1 – MF/145 Issue 2’ and replacing it by ‘EASA Form 1 – MF/CAO/145 Issue 3’; or
accompanying the Form 1 with a communication explaining that the footer should be read as ‘EASA Form 1 – MF/CAO/145 Issue 3’ in accordance with the MOE/MOM procedure; or
by other means acceptable to the NCA.
How did you install a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment without EASA form-1? How do you arrange Part-145 side actually?
Note: The following information refers to the applicable rules, as amended with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/699 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/700, which introduced more possibilities for installation of new parts. Due to the implementation period granted with these rules, the referenced paragraphs below will only be applicable as from 18 May 2022. Refer to these rules for the applicability dates.
The main idea is that to install new parts (by organisations approved i.a.w. Part-145, Part M-F or Part-CAO or by the individuals permitted to do maintenance in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014), the new part has to be accompanied with an EASA Form 1. However, M.A.502, 145.A.42 and ML.A.502 of Commission Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 permit certain alleviations by referring to 21.A.307 of Commission Regulation (EU) 748/2012. In particular, point (b) of 21.A.307 permits the installation of:
21.A.307 (b)(2) - Certain parts in ELA1 and ELA2 aircraft under the responsibility of the aircraft owner. (These parts were already permitted for installation prior to adoption of Commission Delegated Regulation EU) 2021/699 under the old reference 21.A.307(c))
21.A.307(b)(3) and (b)(4) – certain parts that the design approval holder (e.g. TC holder) or EASA in CS-STAN have determined as fulfilling certain conditions and are accompanied with an equivalent document that contains certain relevant information. A video explaining in detail why and how Part 21 was changed is available on the 2021/699 rule page under “Related content”.
Some of the COTs equipment may benefit from the above alleviations. Refer to the relevant text of the rule for full details, including the specific conditions to be fulfilled by 21.A.307 (b) parts, the need for the parts to be in a satisfactory condition, required info in the equivalent document, and parts marking.
In addition to the above, standard parts and consumables are exempted from the need to be accompanied with an EASA Form 1. Also, international safety agreements signed between the EU and a third country may alleviate the need of an EASA Form1 by recognising as equivalent a certificate issued under the third country rules. Refer to the relevant bilateral agreements and related implementation guides for full details.
Refer to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 for the maintenance of parts referred in 21.A.307(b).
Does the Part-145 or Part-CAO quality system need to be subject to monitoring?
Yes, the quality system is part of the activities of the Part-145 organisation and therefore it should be monitored.
Point 145.A.65 (c) or CAO.A.100 (b) (1) requires that the quality system monitors that the activities are (being) performed in accordance with the approved procedures. The quality system procedures are included within these approved procedures. This implies that quality system must be subject to audits and the Part-145 or Part-CAO organisation audit programme/plan needs to reflect this.
Besides that, the audits of the quality system shall satisfy the requirement of independent audits. This is further explained in AMC 145.A.65(c)(1) point 11: the independence of the audits should be established by always ensuring that audits are carried out by personnel not responsible for the functions, procedures or products being checked. So, the quality manager cannot audit the quality system in terms of independence of the audit. For Part-CAO this subject is explained in AMC1 CAO.A.100(b).
Therefore, to audit the quality system, it is acceptable to:
use competent personnel from a different section/department in the same organisation not responsible for the quality function/procedure, or,
contract the independent audit element of the quality system to another organisation or a qualified competent person.
The way the quality system is going to be audited has to be described in the MOE or CAE and approved by the competent authority.
With respect to blend out repairs, is it required to record the depth and area dimensions of material removed during a blend out repair or is it sufficient to simply record that the damage has been repaired as per the SRM?
Yes, the dimensions of the damage and the removed/remaining material should be recorded. This is a very important information in order to assess whether further damage (adjacent or at the same spot) at a later stage would be allowable or not. In addition, it is a safeguard measure in order to be able to determine, during audits, whether the person correctly determined that the damage was within limits.
Can the subcontractor of a Part-145 or Part-CAO organisation release maintenance?
One of the fundamentals of subcontracting activities is that, during such maintenance, the Part-145 approval is extended to include the subcontractor activities. Subcontracting can be done only if the Part-145 has approved procedures to do it (145.A.75(b)) and the MOE is amended to reflect this new subcontractor.
A certificate of release to service can be issued by a person from the subcontractor who has received a certification authorisation from the Part-145 organisation in accordance with the certification authorisation procedure of the MOE including the assessment of competence.The certificate of release to service and the EASA Form 1 will always be issued under the maintenance organisation approval reference.
For maintenance by Part-CAO the situation is different. Only ‘specialised services’ (e.g. NDT) can be subcontracted to another organisation, in accordance with the appropriate procedure set out in the CAE and approved by the competent authority (CAO.A.095(a)(2)). In accordance with AMC1 CAO.A.025 the procedure should be part of chapter B.7 ‘Subcontracting’.
A certificate of release to service can be issued by a person from the other organisation who has received a certification authorisation from the CAO in accordance with the certification authorisation procedure of the CAE.
The certificate of release to service will always be issued under the CAO approval reference.
Shall the maintenance data be available and controlled at all times, even if there is no maintenance work going, or shall it be available only during the performance of maintenance?
Maintenance data has direct influence on many processes of the approved maintenance organisation (AMO) and contributes to demonstrate the overall capability of the organisation to perform maintenance.
The maintenance data either can be arranged directly by the AMO or provided by the customer/operator as specified by 145.A.45(a), M.A.609 or CAO.A.055(a). In both cases, the AMO should demonstrate that the maintenance data used, regardless of the source, is up-to-date. To discharge this responsibility, a procedure should be established to:
(a) control the amendment status of any documents being used;
and
(b) regularly check that all amendments are being received, e.g. by subscribing to a document amendment scheme (sufficient in case of direct access to the maintenance data through the DAH/OEM. The subscription to the maintenance data distribution system of the customer/operator is insufficient, additional independent verifications through the original author shall be done).
When the maintenance data is arranged directly by the AMO it shall be available and controlled continuously.
There are certain situations when the maintenance data can be obtained only through the customer/operator. One of the examples would be the maintenance data for the large aircraft. The maintenance data coming from the TC holder is usually customised because of the model/configuration/modification/order of aircraft, so it is normally not possible for the AMO to have this customised maintenance data directly from TC holder without having an aircraft of that type under the contract.
When the maintenance data is provided by the customer/operator, it shall be held and controlled by the AMO during maintenance on the concerned aircraft/component. Whenever the maintenance data is not available or not current, the maintenance shall not be performed and released.
Additionally, as part of the obligation for maintenance records, used maintenance data shall be:
recorded (in compliance with 145.A.55(c), M.A.614(c) or CAO.A.090(b))
Remark: Manuals issued by the (S)TC (Supplementary Type Certificate) holder such as AMM and CMM do not need to be stored as a record. Recording the revision status of such manual may be sufficient [AMC 145.A.55(c), AMC M.A.614(c)]; and
accessible for auditing purpose to demonstrate that the organisation worked in compliance with their respective requirements.
Can a certification maintenance requirement (CMR) be performed by the Flight Crew before flight?
Normally the flight crew should not release CMR task unless that task is included in a “repetitive pre-flight airworthiness directive” under the conditions of 145.A.30(j)(3), M.A.606(h)(1) or CAO.A.040(c)(1)
In case of aircraft operated away from a supported location, the provisions of 145.A.30(j)(4), M.A.606(h)(2) or CAO.A.040(c)(2) could be used for CMRs as long as all the applicable conditions are met. In particular:
sufficient practical training has been carried out.
there is a procedure in the Maintenance Organisation Exposition, Maintenance Organisation Manual or Combined Airworthiness Exposition (CAE).
the task is considered “minor maintenance or a simple check” (AMC 145.A.30(j)(4) point 2(i) or AMC M.A.606(h)(2) point 2).
What is the meaning of the Protected Rights in the Appendix IV to Part-145?
The protected rights mentioned in paragraph 2(a) of the Appendix IV to Part-145 were included in the Regulation 2042/2003 for the persons who were already working in a Part-145 organisation in a location situated outside the EU before the entry into force of Part-66. These protected rights allowed those persons to continue exercising (inside that particular Part-145 organisation) the privileges of the certification authorisation issued by that Part-145 organisation without the need to comply with paragraphs 1(c) to 1(f).
If this person changed the employment to a different Part-145 approved organisation after the entry into force of Part-66 (i.e. 28 November 2003), the previous certification authorisation is not valid and he/she needs to receive a new one from the new Part-145 approved organisation. In this case paragraph 2 of Appendix IV is not applicable anymore.
This implies that any new or extended authorisation granted by AMOs to their C/S after the entry into force of Part-66 must comply with paragraphs 1(c) to 1(f) in particular regarding the type training certificates.