This Opinion proposes to amend Regulation (EU) 2015/640 on additional airworthiness specifications for a given type of operations to:
- mandate the installation of a crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS) onto some existing helicopter designs that are still in production and the retrofit of some in-service helicopters;
- require design approval holders to make available information on aeroplanes and helicopters cargo compartment fire protection capabilities as certified to operators. This requirement would apply to type-certificate and restricted type-certificate holders, to supplemental type-certificate and design change approval holders, when the change affects the cargo compartment fire protection design elements. This proposal transposes the related new ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in Amendment 109 to Annex 8 ‘Airworthiness of Aircraft’ to the Convention on International Civil Aviation into Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/640 ‘Additional airworthiness specifications for operations’;
- postpone the date, specified in point 26.205 of Annex I (Part-26), from which newly produced large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport shall be equipped with a runway overrun awareness and alerting system;
- exempt operators of certain in-service large aeroplanes used for business operations from the requirement to convert the Class D compartments of these aeroplanes, as introduced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1159 on the introduction of new additional airworthiness requirements;
- clarify some existing requirements.
The proposed amendments are expected to:
- increase safety and improve the survivability of helicopter occupants by significantly reducing the likelihood of a post-crash fire;
- assist operators in determining the limitations of specific cargo compartment fire protection capabilities established during certification when conducting the risk assessment for the transport of dangerous goods as required by Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012;
- reflect the current industrial capabilities of large aeroplane type-certificate holders in developing, certifying, and introducing into production a runway overrun awareness and alerting system;
- ensure that the requirement, which was introduced with point 26.157, to mitigate the risk of a serious incident or accident caused by a fire that starts in the Class D compartment of a large aeroplane is proportionate and cost-efficient;
- clarify the scope of Regulation (EU) 2015/640 for operators and some existing requirements related to ageing aeroplane structures.
