The European Commission adopted Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1039 of 30 June 2015 on flight testing, which amends Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012. It is, therefore, necessary to support this amendment by new acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM).
Decision 2015/026/R addresses a level playing field as well as a harmonisation and safety issue related to flight testing. The specific objective is to harmonise the flight test crew qualification requirements, as well as to increase safety by requiring the organisations involved in flight testing to develop a flight test operations manual (FTOM).
This Decision provides the AMC with the FTOM requirement and the GM with respect to the lead flight test engineer (LFTE) and flight test categories. Additionally, the GM on the competence and experience of pilots performing Category 3 and 4 flight tests, as well as a detailed AMC on the training course for LFTEs, are part of this Decision.
This Decision also includes AMC detailing the conditions for the appointment of LFTEs from a medical fitness perspective.