ML.A.901 Aircraft airworthiness review
Regulation (EU) 2021/700
To ensure the validity of the aircraft airworthiness certificate, an airworthiness review of the aircraft and its continuing airworthiness records shall be carried out periodically.
(a) An ARC is issued in accordance with Appendix IV (EASA Form 15c) to this Annex upon completion of a satisfactory airworthiness review. The ARC shall be valid for 1 year;
(b) The airworthiness review and the issuance of the ARC shall be performed in accordance with point ML.A.903, alternatively by:
(1) the competent authority;
(2) an appropriately approved CAMO or CAO;
(3) the approved maintenance organisation while performing the 100-h/annual inspection contained in the AMP;
(4) for aircraft operated under Annex VII (Part-NCO) to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 or, in the case of balloons, not operated under Subpart-ADD of Annex II (Part-BOP) to Regulation (EU) 2018/39540 Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/395 of 13 March 2018 laying down detailed rules for the operation of balloons pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 71, 14.3.2018, p. 10). or, in the case of sailplanes, not following Subpart DEC of Annex II (Part-SAO) to Regulation (EU) 2018/197641 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 of 14 December 2018 laying down detailed rules for the operation of sailplanes pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 326, 20.12.2018, p. 64)., the independent certifying staff while performing the 100-h/annual inspection contained in the AMP, when holding:
(i) a licence issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-66) rated for the corresponding aircraft or, if Annex III (Part-66) is not applicable to the particular aircraft, a national certifying-staff qualification valid for that aircraft;
(ii) an authorisation issued by, alternatively:
(A) the competent authority who issued the licence issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-66),
(B) if Annex III (Part-66) is not applicable, the competent authority responsible for the national certifying-staff qualification.
Independent certifying staff holding a licence issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-66), may perform airworthiness reviews and issue the ARC for aircraft registered in any Member State. However, independent certifying staff holding a national qualification shall only perform airworthiness reviews and issue the ARC for aircraft registered in the Member State responsible for the national qualification.
ARCs issued by independent certifying staff holding a national qualification shall not benefit from mutual recognition when transferring the aircraft to another Member State.
Whenever circumstances reveal the existence of a potential safety threat, the competent authority shall carry out the airworthiness review and issue the ARC itself.
(c) The validity of an ARC may be extended maximum two consecutive times, for a period of one year each time, by an appropriately approved CAMO or CAO, subject to the following conditions:
(1) the aircraft has been continuously managed for the previous 12 months by this CAMO or CAO;
(2) the aircraft has been maintained for the previous 12 months by approved maintenance organisations; this includes pilot-owner maintenance tasks carried out and released to service either by the pilot-owner or by independent certifying staff;
(3) the CAMO or CAO does not have any evidence or reason to believe that the aircraft is not airworthy.
This extension by the CAMO or CAO is possible regardless of which staff or organisation, as provided for in point (b), initially issued the ARC.
(d) By derogation from point (c), the extension of the ARC may be anticipated for a maximum period of 30 days, without loss of continuity of the airworthiness review pattern, to ensure the availability of the aircraft in order to place the original ARC on board.
(e) When the competent authority carries out the airworthiness review and issues the ARC itself, the owner shall provide the competent authority with:
(1) the documentation required by the competent authority;
(2) suitable accommodation at the appropriate location for its personnel;
(3) when necessary, the support of appropriate certifying staff.
GM1 ML.A.901 Aircraft airworthiness review
ED Decision 2020/002/R
If a CAMO/CAO holding the AR privilege is contracted by the owner, this organisation does not have the obligation to carry out the AR itself. The owner may select another CAMO or CAO to carry out the AR, or request the maintenance organisation to carry it out and issue the ARC in conjunction with the annual inspection.
Please refer to GM1 ML.A.201 to identify the cases where the owner may also request an independent certifying staff (authorised by the competent authority) to carry out the AR and issue the ARC in conjunction with the annual inspection.
Point ML.A.901(b) gives a list of the different organisations or persons that are allowed to perform an AR; it does not presume that they have the obligation to accept a request to carry out an AR.
ML.A.902 Validity of the airworthiness review certificate
Regulation (EU) 2019/1383
(a) An ARC becomes invalid if, alternatively:
(1) it is suspended or revoked;
(2) the airworthiness certificate is suspended or revoked;
(3) the aircraft is not in the aircraft register of a Member State;
(4) the type certificate under which the airworthiness certificate was issued is suspended or revoked.
(b) An aircraft shall not fly if the ARC is invalid or if any of the following circumstances are present:
(1) the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft or any component fitted to the aircraft does not meet the requirements of this Annex;
(2) the aircraft does not remain in conformity with the type design approved by the Agency;
(3) the aircraft has been operated beyond the limitations of the approved flight manual or airworthiness certificate, without appropriate action being taken;
(4) the aircraft has been involved in an accident or incident that affects the airworthiness of the aircraft, without subsequent appropriate action to restore airworthiness;
(5) a modification or repair to the aircraft or any component fitted to the aircraft is not in compliance with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.
(c) Upon surrender or revocation, the ARC shall be returned to the competent authority.
ML.A.903 Airworthiness review process
Regulation (EU) 2019/1383
(a) To satisfy the requirement for the airworthiness review of an aircraft referred to in point ML.A.901, the airworthiness review staff shall perform a documented review of the aircraft records to verify that:
(1) airframe, engine and propeller flying hours and associated flight cycles have been properly recorded;
(2) the flight manual is applicable to the aircraft configuration and reflects the latest revision status;
(3) all the maintenance due on the aircraft according to the AMP has been carried out;
(4) all known defects have been corrected or deferred in a controlled manner;
(5) all applicable ADs have been applied and properly registered;
(6) all modifications and repairs made to the aircraft have been registered and are in compliance with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012;
(7) all service-life-limited components installed on the aircraft are properly identified, registered and have not exceeded their approved service life limit;
(8) all maintenance has been certified in accordance with this Annex;
(9) if required, the current mass-and-balance statement reflects the configuration of the aircraft and is valid;
(10) the aircraft complies with the latest revision of its type design approved by the Agency;
(11) if required, the aircraft holds a noise certificate corresponding to the current configuration of the aircraft in compliance with Subpart I of Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.
(b) The airworthiness review staff referred to in point (a) shall carry out a physical survey of the aircraft. For this survey, airworthiness review staff not appropriately qualified under Annex III (Part-66) shall be assisted by such qualified personnel.
(c) Through the physical survey of the aircraft, the airworthiness review staff shall ensure that:
(1) all required markings and placards are properly installed;
(2) the aircraft complies with its approved flight manual;
(3) the aircraft configuration complies with the approved documentation;
(4) no evident defect can be found that has not been addressed according to point ML.A.403;
(5) no inconsistencies can be found between the aircraft and the documented review of records as referred to in point (a).
(d) By derogation from point ML.A.901(a), the airworthiness review may be anticipated for a maximum period of 90 days, without loss of continuity of the airworthiness review pattern, so as to allow the physical review to take place during a maintenance check.
(e) The ARC (EASA Form 15c) set out to in Appendix IV shall only be issued:
(1) by appropriately authorised airworthiness review staff;
(2) when the airworthiness review has been completely carried out, all findings have been closed;
(3) when any discrepancy found in the AMP in accordance with point (h) has been satisfactorily addressed.
(f) A copy of any ARC issued or extended for an aircraft shall be sent to the Member State of registry of that aircraft within 10 days.
(g) Airworthiness review tasks shall not be subcontracted.
(h) The effectiveness of the AMP may be reviewed in conjunction with the airworthiness review in accordance with point (c)(9) of point ML.A.302. This review shall be completed by the person who performed the airworthiness review. If the review shows deficiencies of the aircraft linked with deficiencies in the content of the AMP, the AMP shall be amended accordingly. The person performing the review shall inform the competent authority of the Member State of registry if he does not agree with the measures amending the AMP taken by the owner, CAMO or CAO. In such case the competent authority shall decide which amendments to the AMP are necessary, raising the corresponding findings defined in point ML.B.903 and, if necessary, reacting in accordance with point ML.B.304.
AMC1 ML.A.903(h) Airworthiness review
ED Decision 2020/002/R
REVIEW OF AMP IN CONJUNCTION WITH AR
This review of the maintenance programme is performed by the person who performed the AR, who could belong to the competent authority, a CAMO, a CAO or a maintenance organisation or could also be independent certifying staff in accordance with ML.A.901(b)(4) M.A.901(g).
This person is not responsible for the completeness of this AMP, but may do some sampling as part of the investigations and the findings discovered during the physical review.
More details on the annual review are provided in AMC1 ML.A.302(c)(9).
ML.A.904 Qualification of airworthiness review staff
Regulation (EU) 2020/270
(a) Airworthiness review staff acting on behalf of the competent authority shall be qualified in accordance with point ML.B.902.
(b) Airworthiness review staff acting on behalf of an organisation referred to in Subpart F or Subpart G of Annex I (Part-M), Annex II (Part-145), Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Annex Vd (Part‑CAO) shall be qualified in accordance with Subpart F or Subpart G of Annex I (Part-M), Annex II (Part-145), Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Annex Vd (Part-CAO), respectively.
(c) Airworthiness review staff acting on their own behalf, as permitted pursuant to point ML.A.901(b)(4), shall:
(1) hold a licence issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-66) rated for the corresponding aircraft or, if Annex III (Part-66) is not applicable to the particular aircraft, hold a national certifying-staff qualification valid for that aircraft; and
(2) hold an authorisation issued by, alternatively:
(i) the competent authority who issued the licence in accordance with Annex III (Part‑66);
(ii) if Annex III (Part-66) is not applicable, the competent authority responsible for the national certifying-staff qualification.
(d) The authorisation required under point (c)(2) shall be issued by the competent authority when:
(1) the competent authority has assessed that the person has the knowledge of the parts of this Annex relevant to continuing-airworthiness management, performance of airworthiness reviews and issuance of ARCs;
(2) the person has satisfactorily performed an airworthiness review under the supervision of the competent authority.
This authorisation shall remain valid for a duration of 5 years as long as the holder has performed at least 1 airworthiness review every 12-months. If this is not the case, a new airworthiness review shall be satisfactorily performed under the supervision of the competent authority.
Upon expiration of its validity, the authorisation shall be renewed for another 5 years subject to a new compliance with points (d)(1) and (d)(2). There is no limit to the number of renewals.
The holder of the authorisation shall keep records of all the airworthiness reviews performed and shall make them available, upon request, to any competent authority and to any aircraft owner for whom they are performing an airworthiness review.
This authorisation may be revoked by the competent authority at any time if it is not satisfied with the competence of the holder or with the use of such an authorisation.
GM1 ML.A.904(c);(d) Qualification of airworthiness review staff
ED Decision 2020/002/R
AR BY INDEPENDENT CERTIFYING STAFF
(a) ML.A.904(c) and (d) refer to the independent certifying staff. The terms ‘corresponding aircraft’ or ‘particular aircraft’ mean that the person meets at the time of the AR the certifying staff requirements for the aircraft subject to the AR.
(b) The authorisation issued to the certifying staff by the competent authority is only granted after assessment of the knowledge required in point (d)(1) and after the satisfactory performance of an AR under supervision of the competent authority (point (d)(2)).
ML.A.905 Transfer of aircraft registration within the Union
Regulation (EU) 2019/1383
(a) When transferring an aircraft registration within the Union, the applicant shall:
(1) first, provide the former Member State with the name of the Member State in which the aircraft will be registered;
(2) and subsequently apply to the new Member State for the issuance of a new airworthiness certificate in accordance with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.
(b) Notwithstanding point (a)(3) of point ML.A.902, the former ARC shall remain valid until its expiry date, except when the ARC was issued by independent certifying staff holding a national certifying-staff qualification in accordance with point (b)(4) of point ML.A.901, in which case point ML.A.906 shall apply.
(c) Notwithstanding points (a) and (b), in those cases where the aircraft was in a non-airworthy condition in the former Member State or where the airworthiness status of the aircraft cannot be determined using the existing records, point ML.A.906 shall apply.
ML.A.906 Airworthiness review of aircraft imported into the Union
Regulation (EU) 2021/1963
(a) When importing an aircraft into a Member State’s register from a third country or from a regulatory system where Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 does not apply, the applicant shall:
(1) apply to the competent authority of the Member State of registry for the issuance of a new airworthiness certificate in accordance with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012;
(2) for aircraft other than new, have an airworthiness review carried out satisfactorily in accordance with point ML.A.901;
(3) have all maintenance carried out to comply with the approved or declared AMP.
(b) If the aircraft complies with the relevant requirements, the competent authority, the CAMO or CAO, the maintenance organisation or the independent certifying staff performing the airworthiness review, as provided for in point (b) of point ML.A.901, shall issue an ARC and shall submit a copy to the competent authority of the Member State of registry.
(c) The owner shall allow access to the aircraft for inspection by the competent authority of the Member State of registry.
(d) A new airworthiness certificate shall be issued by the competent authority of the Member State of registry if the aircraft complies with Annex I (Part-21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.
Regulation (EU) 2019/1383
(a) Findings are categorised as follows:
(1) A Level 1 finding is any finding of significant non-compliance with the requirements of this Annex which lowers the safety standard and seriously endangers flight safety.
(2) A Level 2 finding is any finding of non-compliance with the requirements of this Annex which may lower the safety standard and may endanger flight safety.
(b) After receipt of notification of findings in accordance with point ML.B.903, the person or organisation, having responsibilities pursuant to point ML.A.201, shall define and demonstrate to the competent authority within a period agreed with this authority a corrective action plan , aimed at preventing reoccurrence of the finding and its root cause.