21L.B.61 Detailed technical specifications and applicable environmental protection requirements for declarations of product design compliance
Regulation (EU) 2022/1358
(a) The Agency, in accordance with Article 76(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, shall establish and make available the detailed technical specifications that natural and legal persons can use to demonstrate compliance with the relevant essential requirements set out in Annex II to that Regulation when declaring compliance of the aircraft design in accordance with Subpart C of Section A of this Annex.
(b) The detailed technical specifications referred to in point (a) shall provide design standards which reflect the state of the art and best design practices, and which build on the best available experience and scientific and technical progress, and on the best available evidence and analysis of aircraft design, for aircraft that are within the scope established under point 21L.A.41. These detailed technical specifications may include or refer to:
1. certification specifications established by the Agency in accordance with point 21.B.70 of Annex I (Part 21) for the airworthiness of the aircraft design;
2. special conditions that have been prescribed by the Agency in accordance with point 21.B.75 of Annex I (Part 21) or point 21L.B.44 for other aircraft and which are of a general nature;
3. detailed technical standards developed by standardisation and other industry bodies.
(c) For the purposes of ensuring the environmental compatibility of the design, the Agency shall establish and make available the environmental protection requirements to be used as the basis for the declaration of design compliance, which shall include:
1. environmental protection requirements for the relevant product categories as contained in Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Volumes I to III, at an amendment level referred to in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU)2018/1139; for this purpose, the references to:
(i) the date of application for a type certificate contained in those volumes shall be understood as references to the date on which the declaration of design compliance is made by the declarant; and
(ii) the certification requirements contained in those volumes shall be understood as requirements for the declaration of design compliance.
2. [reserved]
GM1 21L.B.61(b) Detailed technical specifications for declarations of design compliance
ED Decision 2023/013/R
The acceptable detailed technical specifications that should be used by a declarant to design an aircraft (including engine and propeller, if applicable), and then declare compliance with are published on the EASA website. The declarant should regularly check that the acceptable detailed technical specifications have not changed, and the declarant is encouraged to contact EASA to establish whether a change to the acceptable detailed technical specifications is pending or forthcoming to avoid any issues at the time of submission of the declaration of design compliance.
GM1 21L.B.61(c)(1) Detailed technical specifications and applicable environmental protection requirements for declarations of design compliance
ED Decision 2023/013/R
APPLICABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS
The applicable environmental protection requirements are the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in Volume I ‘Aircraft Noise’, Volume II ‘Aircraft Engine Emissions’ and Volume III ‘Aeroplane CO2 Emissions’ of Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention for products for which the first subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 applies. The applicable levels of amendments to Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention are those adopted in the first subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.
Related guidance material is provided in the attachments to these Annex 16 volumes and in ICAO Doc 9501 ‘Environmental Technical Manual’, Volume I ‘Procedures for the Noise Certification of Aircraft’, Volume II ‘Procedures for the Emissions Certification of Aircraft Engines’ and Volume III ‘Procedures for the CO2 Emissions Certification of Aeroplanes’.
However, these SARPs apply only to certain categories of products and as such do not necessarily apply to all products that are within the scope of Subpart C. The applicability of the SARPs is provided in the administration chapters and in the specific applicability sections of the chapters of Annex 16 Volumes I, II and III.
21L.B.62 Initial oversight investigation
Regulation (EU) 2022/1358
(a) Upon receiving a declaration of design compliance, the Agency shall verify that the aircraft is within the scope of Subpart C of Section A of this Annex and that the declaration contains all the information specified in point 21L.A.43. The Agency shall acknowledge the receipt of the declaration, including the assignment of an individual declaration of design compliance reference number to the declarant for that aircraft configuration.
(b) The Agency shall conduct a physical inspection and assessment of the first article of that aircraft in the final configuration, taking into consideration the safety review carried out in accordance with point (a)(2) of point 21L.B.242. If the Agency finds evidence, in the declaration or through the physical inspection and assessment carried out in accordance with the first sentence, indicating that the aircraft could be incapable of conducting a safe flight or could be environmentally incompatible during in‑service operations, the Agency shall raise a finding in accordance with point 21L.B.21.
AMC 21L.B.62(b) Physical inspection and assessment of the first article of a given aircraft in the final configuration (first-article inspection) prior to the registration of a declaration of design compliance
ED Decision 2023/013/R
1. Purpose
The purposes of the first-article inspection (of the article that is in conformance with the proposed type design for certification) prior to the registration of a declaration of design compliance for a particular aircraft design are:
a. for EASA to ensure the completion of the demonstration-of-compliance activities conducted by the declarant under point 21L.A.44 in accordance with the information provided in accordance with point 21L.A.43 and in particular the compliance-demonstration plan;
b. for EASA to ensure101This is limited to the scope of the activities that can be conducted under point 2 and the elements of the design that are selected for review based upon a risk-based approach to safety and environmental incompatibility. that the designed aircraft is capable of conducting safe flight during in-service operations and does not have any environmental incompatibilities;
c. in case the declarant is a declared design organisation, for EASA to conduct further oversight in accordance with point 21L.B.183(b) of Subpart J in order to ensure that the declarant is able to discharge its obligations;
Note: Under Subpart C of Section A there is no obligation for a declarant of an aircraft declaration of design compliance to submit a declaration of design capability.
2. Methodology and evidence
The first-article inspection should be conducted by EASA at an appropriate location(s) selected by the declarant. This (these) location(s) should include the physical location of the aircraft for which the declaration of design compliance has been submitted under point 21L.A.43 and should be in the principal place of business (which in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 must be in an EU Member State).
The Agency should conduct a physical inspection of the aircraft, engine or propeller for which the registration of a declaration of design compliance has been requested. This inspection, along with any other activity that EASA deems necessary (see point 21L.A.44(f)), should ensure that the objectives mentioned in point 1 are met. Evidence to support compliance should be gathered by EASA prior to and during the first-article inspection. The physical inspection of the aircraft and, if applicable, of the engine and propeller will provide substantial evidence that the aircraft is capable of conducting a safe flight and is environmentally compatible during in-service operations and that the declarant (if a declared design organisation) is able to discharge its obligations.
Additional sources of evidence during the visit at the declarant’s facilities may include:
a. witnessing or participating to live testing (including flight testing) of the aircraft, engine, propeller, systems or components;
b. review of the completeness of the compliance-demonstration plan produced by the declarant and how it relates to the final design;
c. determination of the completeness of supporting compliance documentation and test reports and how they relate to the first article under inspection;
d. discussions with key design and production personnel;
e. in case of need and if relevant, a review of the design processes and procedures in order to determine root causes of any issues that are discovered.
It will be necessary for EASA to conduct flight testing of the final configuration of the aircraft. The flight testing will be performed according to a plan proposed by the declarant prior to the first-article inspection and agreed by EASA.
Flight testing could be a combination of:
a. a predefined flight-test plan that is not specific to the particular aircraft type;
b. specific flight testing to focus on targeted aspects after a review of the declarant’s flight-testing data/reports.
The above list of additional sources of evidence is not exhaustive.
It is possible that during the first-article inspection EASA may discover evidence that indicates that the declarant has:
a. misunderstood, misinterpreted or not demonstrated compliance with the applicable technical specifications or the applicable environmental protection requirements, which could lead to an unsafe or an environmentally incompatible design;
b. not fulfilled its design obligations as a declared design organisation (if applicable);
c. not utilised good design management principles to ensure compliance or control of the design.
If such evidence is discovered, EASA may wish to conduct a more in-depth investigation into the compliance documentation and/or the design practices of the declarant. This in-depth investigation should determine whether or not compliance was demonstrated, the root cause(s) and the corrective actions. This investigation should also aim to prevent a reoccurrence of the issue.
3. Aircraft condition and configuration
The aircraft presented to EASA should be in the final configuration for which the declarant has submitted a declaration of design compliance.
It is possible that the declarant could arrange visits with EASA prior to the declaration of the compliance demonstration being submitted (for example, for noise testing).
Any differences between the configuration presented to EASA for the first-article inspection and the final configuration in the declaration of compliance demonstration should be justified by the declarant and should, therefore, be subject to detailed scrutiny during the first-article inspection.
5. Findings and resolution
If a non-compliance is discovered by EASA in the process of the activities mentioned in point 2, an appropriate finding or observation should be raised by EASA against the given aircraft or, if applicable, the declared design organisation in accordance with point 21L.B.21 which, may result in the enforcement measures contained in point 21L.B.22. These findings should be resolved before the declaration of design compliance is registered.
21L.B.63 Registration of a declaration of design compliance
Regulation (EU) 2022/1358
The Agency shall register a declaration of design compliance for an aircraft provided that:
(a) the declarant has declared compliance in accordance with point (a) of point 21L.A.43;
(b) the declarant has provided to the Agency the documents required in accordance with point (c) of point 21L.A.43;
(c) the declarant has made a commitment that the obligations in accordance with point 21L.A.47 will be undertaken;
(d) there are no unresolved findings from the physical inspection and assessment of the first article of the aircraft in the final configuration carried out in accordance with point (b) of point 21L.B.62.
GM1 21L.B.63(b) Registration of a declaration of design compliance
ED Decision 2023/013/R
COMPLETENESS OF COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATION AND DATA PROVIDED TO THE AGENCY
Prior to the registration of the declaration of design compliance, EASA should ensure that:
(a) its document management system contains the compliance documentation required by point 21L.A.43(c);
(b) the declarant has provided the data for the data sheet for noise required by point 21L.A.43(b)11 using EASA’s Part 21 Light database of declared noise levels and that the data provided is reasonable and consistent prior to publication.
21L.B.64 Continuing airworthiness oversight of aircraft for which design compliance has been declared
Regulation (EU) 2022/1358
If the Agency, through its continuing airworthiness oversight, including through reports received in accordance with point 21L.A.3, or by any other means, detects a non-compliance with the applicable detailed technical specifications or the applicable environmental protection requirements, the Agency shall raise a finding in accordance with point 21L.B.21, or issue an airworthiness directive under the conditions of point 21L.B.23.