The adoption of EASA Design related Certification Specifications

Closed 15 Sep 2023

Opened 15 Aug 2023

Contact

Aviation Legislation and Policy

AviationLegislationAndPolicy@caa.co.uk

Feedback updated 21 Nov 2023

We asked

The purpose of the consultation was to seek stakeholders’ views on adoption of a policy to simplify the process for the adoption of harmonised product design related Certification Specifications. The process will enable stakeholders to make use of new and updated Certification Specifications without undue delay.

You said

We received twenty-seven individual responses to our consultation. Twenty-five respondents fully supported the proposed approach. Two respondents did not fully support the proposal, one cited the need for greater involvement of the CAA and UK stakeholders in the CS development process. The other respondent supported the adoption of new and revised EASA CS but wanted the opportunity to make representations to the CAA on each proposed amendment prior to adoption.

Several respondents proposed extending the scope of the proposed policy to include Certification Specifications used outside the initial airworthiness domain. Other comments included proposals for including Special Conditions and Certification Memos in the scope of the new policy.

Several respondents also asked if the CAA could further expedite the CS adoption process as the current approach disadvantages British business who want to produce designs conforming to the latest specifications.

We did

We acknowledge that stakeholders strongly support the proposed changes. There is a clear view that expediting the adoption of EASA Certification Specifications is in the best interests of businesses in the UK.

We note the comments that seek to extend the scope of the policy to Special Conditions and to CS applicable outside the initial airworthiness domain. We have decided not to include these additional areas in the scope of the new policy until we have gained some experience of implementing the new policy. Of the comments that did not fully support the proposal, we note the desire to increase the involvement of the CAA in the development of internationally harmonised standards. The CAA will endeavour to increase UK involvement as our design capability grows. Regarding the remaining comment, the CAA will not be taking forward the proposal to systematically consult on each new or amended CS. This would inevitably extend the time taken to adopt changes and potentially undermine the main objective of the proposal to increase competitiveness of businesses in the UK through reducing the time it takes to adopt new and revised EASA CS.

The CAA will now finalise the revised policy and will publish a new Decision in Official Record Series 9, adopting the latest versions of the EASA derived design related Certification Specifications.

Overview

Consultation

Proposal to adopt a simplified approach to the adoption of Certification Specifications (CS) used to support compliance demonstration under the Basic Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

For Regulation (EU) 748/2012 (the UK Initial Airworthiness Regulation) as retained and amended in UK domestic law) under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. 

The issue

Certification Specifications (CS) are established by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) using the provisions of Article 76 and 115 of the Basic Regulation and provide design and performance specifications for use in the aircraft design certification process.

The Basic Regulation requires the CAA to establish transparent procedures for issuing opinions, certification specifications and acceptable means of compliance material.  

In the case of certification specifications and other detailed specifications, the CAA is required to establish a procedure for the prior consultation of relevant stakeholders before adoption. These obligations are currently fulfilled through the CAA running an individual consultation exercise for each update to a specific certification specification. 

Certification specifications and their equivilent are developed by major regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Transport Canada and the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) in Brazil, with extensive input from the aircraft design and manufacturing community. Their contents are developed, consulted on and amended with both the adequacy of the specification and technical harmonisation in mind.

Stakeholders can provide inputs at several stages of the development process i.e., during the development of the change and when these proposals are subject to consultation by the FAA, EASA, etc. 

The CAA supports the development of harmonised certification specifications and wishes to ensure that stakeholders can make use of new and updated CS without undue delay after they are published. Consequently, the CAA would like to implement an abridged adoption process that would not result in an additional round of consultation in the United Kingdom after other significant regulators have published a new or revised certification specification. 

Expediting adoption and would help to increase the competitiveness of UK businesses, while continuing to recognise the value of the internationally harmonised specifications.

This will enable British businesses to design and produce products, parts and articles, that when certified by the CAA can be exported without the need for redesign to meet the specifications implemented in other major regulatory systems. 

Policy proposal

Following an internal review the CAA proposes to adopt new and revised Certification Specifications issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency without further consultation, unless the CAA considers there are deficiencies in these Certification Specifications.

In this case, the CAA will develop its own proposal and conduct an individual consultation exercise with relevant stakeholders, before making a final decision to adopt the new or revised Certification Specification.

The Certification Specifications included in the scope of this proposal are:

  • UK AMC 20
  • CS-22 - Sailplanes and Powered Sailplanes
  • CS-23 - AMC/GM Issue 3 Normal-Category Aeroplanes
  • CS-25 - Large Aeroplanes
  • CS-27 - Small Rotorcraft
  • CS-29 - Large Rotorcraft
  • CS-31 - GB Gas Balloons, HB Hot Air Balloons, TGB Tethered Gas Balloons
  • CS-34 - Aircraft Engine Emissions and Fuel Venting
  • CS-36 - Aircraft Noise
  • CS-APU - Auxiliary Power Units
  • CS-AWO - Initial issue All Weather Operations
  • CS-CCD - Cabin Crew Data
  • CS-CO2 - Aeroplane CO2 Emissions
  • CS-DEF - Definitions and abbreviations used in Certification Specifications for products, parts and appliances
  • CS-E - Certification Specifications and Acceptable Means of Compliance for Engines
  • CS-ETSO - European Technical Standard Orders 
  • CS-FCD - Initial issue Operational Suitability Data Flight Crew Data
  • CS-MCSD - Maintenance Certifying Staff Data
  • CS-GEN-MMEL - Generic Master Minimum Equipment List issue
  • CS-LSA - Light Sport Aeroplanes
  • CS-MMEL - Master Minimum Equipment List
  • CS-P - Propellers
  • CS-SIMD - Simulator Data
  • CS-STAN - Standard Changes and Standard Repairs
  • CS-VLA - Very Light Aeroplanes
  • CS-VLR - Very Light Rotorcraft
  • CS-ACNS - Airborne Communications, Navigation and Surveillance

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 or amending its policy on the adoption of Certification Specifications.

We welcome comments from every sector of the community. This includes the 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 15 September 2023.

We cannot consider 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.

Please submit your comments using the online survey.

What happens next

This consultation will close on 15 September 2023. We cannot consider 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.

Audiences

  • Aviation Design & Certification

Interests

  • Airworthiness
  • AMC & GM consultations