Adoption of new Special Conditions in relation to Airworthiness of Part 21 aircraft

Overview

A Decision was taken by the CAA to adopt all airworthiness Special Conditions (SC) published by EASA on or before 31 December 2020. A number of SC and associated Means of Compliance were published by EASA after that date, which due to its step-by-step decision-making process were in draft form prior to 31 December 2020 or had at least in part been substantially formed or considered (eg through preliminary Opinions, Notice of Proposed Amendments, Rulemaking Task discussions). CAA experts contributed to these earlier documents and discussions, upon which the final published SC have been based.

The CAA intends to introduce into its regulatory framework the Special Conditions developed and published by EASA on or after 1 January 2021. Your feedback will help us to better understand the potential issues or improvements before we finalise these.

What are Special Conditions?

Special Conditions are detailed technical specifications prescribed by the CAA for a product where the related current Certification Specifications (CS) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for that product. This is usually because the product has novel or unusual design features relative to the design practices on which the applicable CS are based.

Special Conditions are developed to provide further direction to OEMs on how these safety requirements can be met.

This consultation

The CAA is consulting on the approach to adopt EASA Special Conditions at their latest version, consisting of the following documents.

Published by end of 2021

• Special Condition Light UAS – Medium Risk - Issue 1
• Special Condition Light UAS – High Risk – Issue 1
• Special Condition SC-D25.855-01 – Storage Containers in passenger cabin - Issue 1
• Special Condition SC-C25.561-01 Issue 02 on “Cabin Attendant Seat mounted on movable interior monument.”
• Special Condition SC-B22.151-01 - sustainer assisted aerotow - Issue 01
• Special Condition SC-E21 - Propeller control system components as part of engine type design - Issue 01
• Special Condition SC-O23-div-08 “AWO – CAT II in CS-23" - Issue 01
• Special Condition SC E-19 - Electric / Hybrid Propulsion System - Issue 01
• Special Condition ref. SC-F25.1353-01 on Non-rechargeable Lithium Battery Installations
• Special Condition ref. SC-D25.856-01 on "Passenger Protection from External Fire" - Issue 01 (applicable to large aircraft)
• Special Condition SC E-20 – Turbine Engines Rotor Integrity – Critical Overspeed resulting from Failure Conditions – Margin for Rotor Growth Assessment Issue 01

Published by the end of 2022

• Functional Test Based Means of Compliance with Special Condition Light UAS for UAS operated in SAIL III and below. FTB MOC SC Light-UAS - Issue 01
• Special Condition - Expandable Pelvic Restraint. SC-D25.785-01 Issue 2
• Means of Compliance with Light-UAS.2511 Containment. MOC Light-UAS.2511-01 - Issue 01
• Special Condition - Mitigation of flight deck fires originating from lithium batteries that are not part of the aircraft design. SC-G25.1585-01 - Issue 02
• Special Condition - Trustworthiness of Machine Learning based Systems. SC-AI-01 - Issue 01
• Special Condition - Crew Rest Compartments including Stowage Provision. SC-25-APP-S-01 - Issue 02
• Special Condition - Gas Airships. SC GAS - Issue 01
• Special Condition - Medical evacuation configuration. SC-D25.803-01 – Issue 1

Published between January and October 2023

• Special Condition - Lightweight Flight Recorders. SC-F23.2555-01 – Issue 1
• Special Condition - Additional requirements for launch restraints for balloons. SC-CS31HB.28-01, Issue 2
• Special Condition - Usage of aeroplanes for parachuting activities. SC-O 23-div-01 – Issue 3
• Special Condition - Installation of Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines on Small Rotorcraft. SC-DIE-27-1 – Issue 1
   

Why your views matter

It is important to the CAA that everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinion on matters that could affect them. There is also a legal requirement to consult when creating detailed specifications and guidance material, due to the legal status of these documents.

We welcome comments from every sector of the community. This includes the general public, government agencies and all sectors of the aviation industry, whether as an aviator, aviation consumer and/or provider of related products and services.

How to respond

This consultation will close on 2 February 2024.

We cannot take into account comments received after this date. We will assume that all responses can be published once the consultation has closed. There is an option to request for your name to remain private, but in any event your email address will never be published.

What happens next

At the end of the response period, we will review your comments and submissions and publish the results. Your feedback will be considered during the development of the regulatory changes.