Hello everybody,
in the bilateral agreement is not mentioned how a FAA licence can be converted in an EASA one. Is anybody aware of what a FAA licenced technician should do?
As far as I can see, he/she should pass the Part 66 modules. Regarding his/her practical experience, is it possible that it's not taken into account? That's a no sense.
Thanks in advance for your kind attention and support.
Well. The systems are different enough to say that it can not be granted an equivalent.
In FAA, when you get your A&P, you don't have any class or type qualification. It is up to you to determine if you are knowledgeable enough, or take the appropriate training.
In EASA when you get your Part66 licences, it doesn't grant you anything. You must be endorsed by another Part66, with lots of taks and time, each time you want to be granted qualification on some type or class.
It doesn't work so bad in big aviation, but it is a complete nightmare in the smaller one.
I give you an example : Let's say you want to repair a Cessna 421. Despite it is a slighly enlarged Cessna 340, it does not belong to group3, meaning you must have a specific type endorsement. And you can get it only from another Part66 that has this endorsement on his licence. The trouble is, nobody in west france has it, so the only solution to maintain the Cessna 421....is to re-register it as a N, so any A&P can work on it.
Worse, if you are yourself A&P and you work on this machine for years, and you also have a Part66, you can't get the endorsment because the tasks must be done "under supervision", meaning, it it requested that you have another mechanic endorsing you. You can not self-supervise yourself.
I personnaly could not get the Group3 endorsed to my B2 licence because of this. And given the fact in Paris Aera, there are only 3 people with this endorsement, I can't have any of them willing to spend 2 years working with me (or the opposite) to get the required tasks.
To make it short : The part 66 licensing system is completely broken. Once the last granfathers will be retired, nobody will be able to have one, and we'll all have to move the planes to the N-register.
But this is not a problem, because for the big planes, you can get the type qualification by specific training, so you won't miss mechanics for the airlines. For general aviation, who cares ?
To clarify : In my exemple, it is the Cessna 421 endorsement on a Part66 B1.2 licence (mechanic). There are still a few Group3- endorsed Part66 B1.2 mechanics (I am one of them). But there is much less Part66 B2 licences (avionics).. The A&P can do both mechanic and avionics.
Hello Federica,
Thank you for your question.
Aircraft maintenance licences are not subject to mutual recognition or crediting under the BASA agreement. If a US licence holder wishes to obtain a licence in the EU (and Switzerland, Norway and Lichtenstein), they must apply for it in an EU Member State. The first step is to show that they have passed the basic knowledge exams (the Part-66 modules you mention) and meet the basic experience requirements. The basic experience (or part of it) could be gained outside the EU regulatory environment.
More information on the process can be found on our FAQ page:- How to obtain an EASA Part-66 License (Category B1 or B2)? | EASA (europa.eu):
- How to get an EASA Part-66 Licence (Category B1 or B2)? | EASA (europa.eu): https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/faq/21067
- How can I apply for an EASA Part-66 licence? What is required at the time of the application? | EASA (europa.eu): https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/faq/19083
- How can I get a Part-66 licence valid in the EU by conversion? | EASA (europa.eu): https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/faq/19019
I hope you find this information useful.
Vladimir, many thanks for your comment and advice. I was looking for it!!! At the end if the gained practical experience is consistent and can be easily demonstrated, the NAA can accept even if achieved in USA or on FAA aa/cc. Everything depends on the NAA evaluation. That's better than nothing as it's almost impossible to get practical experience on licence such as B2 or B2L.
Hello Federica,
Welcome in EASA where everything is regulated with tons of documents and there is not much place for common sense ....
Your best friend for obtaining Part 66 licence is easy access rules to EU regulation 1321/2014.
regarding you practical experience gained with your FAA licence, Annex III 66.A.30 (e) suggest that it should be accepted but i.a.w. AMC to 66.A.30 (e) you will need minimum 12 months in civil aircraft maintenance (assuming EASA Reg.)
Regards
Costa
I've been refused my group 3 endorsment, where a large part of the practical experience was gained with my existing B1.2 licence (lots of tasks are common to the B1.2 and B2) because I was not "supervised", so I don't think FAA experience gained the same way would make it work. The point is, regulation and AMCs as they are written are almost impossible to meet, or, I'd rather think, made to protect the bosses of the avionic shops , so they, and only them, can have a licence, or the person they choose to grant one, for instance if they sell their business when they retire. And also, this helps to keep the wages of the employees low, as they can not go away and work on their own., and also helps them to control competition ...(no other shop can open, without a licenced person...). Keeping margins high, seems to be the priority, rather than safety, reason why lots of small flying clubs use aged avionics, and can not upgrade their planes with modern stuff.
With the recent approval of the amended Part-66 AMC and GM, the Cessna 421 is now classified as a Group 3 aircraft and your particular problem should be resolved.
Reference here: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/acceptable-means-of-comp…