AIRCRAFT RELIABILITY

MA 4872

Lecture 2

Airworthiness Control
and Technical Support

Nanyang Technological University

13 Jan 2017
(Friday)

MA4872 – Aircraft Reliability 1

 FLIGHT SAFETY & AIRWORTHINESS

The aircraft is a complex machine and requires different

disciplines to design and construct. These include
knowledge of aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, THE SAFETY BUBBLE
hydraulics, electrical and electronics, computers, etc…

To ensure its safe operation, it is necessary to

demonstrate that the design and construction complied
with applicable standards.

While the designers, manufacturers and operators

developed and use these standards and recommended
practices, the airworthiness authorities set the
requirements and enforce them.

Together we work towards a common goal of flight Man, Machine & Environment
safety.

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 AIRWORTHINESS
In the management of Airworthiness, we are primarily concerned with
the machine, but licensing of personnel and the environment where
the aircraft is operated and maintained is also important to the whole
process.

1. Evolution of ICAO and National CAA

2. Airworthiness Requirements
3. Type Certification – the Process
4. Certification of Production of Aircraft, Parts and Appliances
5. Certificates of Airworthiness
6. Continued Airworthiness – Flight Operations and Maintenance
7. Licensing of Personnel

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 Airworthiness & Technical Support
Aircraft Manufacturers Engine Manufacturers
Airbus, Boeing ATA
RR, PW, GE
Component
Service Contractors
Manufacturers
Avionics, LG, Hyd, ICAO IT, Test Equipment, Tools SAE

CAAS
Airport Services FAA, EASA ARINC
SATS, DNATA, SIAEC
SAR145

RTCA
Airline
LDA
Chief Engineer
IATA

Technical Aircraft
Workshop Materials Quality ANSI
Services Maintenance
ENGINEERING ENGINE PURCHASING QA
HANGAR
PLANNING AVIONICS INVENTORY QC
LINE
TRAINING MECHANICAL RECEIVING RELIABILITY MIL
MCC
PUBLICATION STRUCTURE STORES SAFETY
COMPUTER
AS-9001

The Aircraft Maintenance and Workshops can take up to 80% of the total manpower strength of the company.
MA4872 Aircraft Reliability
Airworthiness is the possession of the necessary requirements for flying
in safe condition, within allowable limits
The Basic Tasks of Airworthiness Authorities are :
1. To prescribe airworthiness requirements and procedures
2. To inform the interested parties of airworthiness requirements and procedures
3. To control aeronautical material, design, and manufacturing organisations, and
aircraft operators
4. To certificate aeronautical materials, organisations and personnel.

Some Authorities went further to include research and development to grow the
industry. The FAA main roles include :

1. Regulating civil aviation to promote safety

2. Encouraging and developing aerospace technology
3. Developing and Operating air traffic control and navigation
4. Developing and implementing environment protection programs for aviation
5. Regulating US Commercial Space Transportation.

CAAS has an Aviation Industry Division to promote innovation and productivity in aviation
companies in Singapore. CAAS also provides research funds for setting up research institutes
such as ATMRI in NTU.

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MA4872 – Aircraft Reliability
 AIRWORTHINESS REQUIREMENTS

Standards define design criteria while Requirements or Regulations are

compulsory standards.

Joint Airworthiness Requirements were first issued in 1970 to provide a

common European standard. It was designed to replace three very established
authorities :

Civil Aviation Authority, UK

Direction Generale de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC) of France
Luftfahrt Bundesamt of Germany

These different requirements presented problems in export of aircraft. You can

imagine the different cultures and languages, trying to fuse into one system.

Under strong of commercial pressure, Joint Airworthiness Authority was formed

which led the way to the establishment of Airbus Industrie which became a
viable competitor to the US giants – Boeing, McDonald Douglas and Lockheed.

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EXAMPLES OF AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
Because of the complexity of building, operating and maintaining aircraft, the
requirements are categorized into functional groups. There are also categories for
different class of aircraft – large aircraft, small aircraft (General Aviation), very light
aircraft, rotorcraft, etc…

Here are some examples :

FAR 1 Definitions and Abbreviations

FAR 11 General Rule Making Procedure
FAR 21 Certification of Procedures for Products and Parts
FAR 25 Airworthiness Standards : Transport category Airplanes
FAR 36 Noise Standards
FAR 39 Airworthiness Directives
FAR 45 Identification and Registration Marking
FAR 66 Training syllabi and Examination (EASA 66/SAR 66)
FAR 121 Certification of Air Carriers
FAR 125 Certification and Operation : Airplanes with >20 seats or 6,000 lb payload
FAR 145 Repair Station (EASA/SAR 145)
FAR 147 Aviation Maintenance Training Schools (EASA/SAR 147)

CAAS is responsible for Singapore Airworthiness Requirements which are issued under the Air
Navigation Order with the authority of the Air Navigation Act.

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MA4872 – Aircraft Reliability
EXAMPLES OF AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES

Introduction to Part 121 Air Carrier Certification

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses the air carrier certification
process to ensure that you, the applicant, are able to design, document,
implement, and audit safety critical processes that do two things:
1.Comply with regulations and safety standards.
2.Manage hazard-related risks in your operating environment.

FAA regulations and policy: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), with which
you will be expected to comply, includes Title 14 CFR, Aeronautics and Space,
and Title 49 CFR, Hazardous Materials.

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AC 120-92B - Safety Management Systems
Provides information for Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(14 CFR) part 121 air carriers that are required to implement Safety
Management Systems (SMS) based on 14 CFR part 5. Specifically, this
document provides a description of regulatory requirements,
guidance, and methods of developing and implementing an SMS. This
AC may also be used by other aviation service providers interested in
voluntarily developing an SMS based on the requirements in part 5.

AC 120-82 - Flight Operational Quality Assurance

Provides guidance on one means, but not necessarily the only means,
of developing, implementing, and operating a voluntary Flight
Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program that is acceptable to
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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One of the primary function of an airworthiness authority is the
certification of products and processes.

Hear are some examples of the Certificate in use in aviation :

Type Certificate (TC),

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC)

Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A)
Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC)

Certificate of Maintenance Review (CMR)

Certificate of Release to Service (CRS)

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 THE USE OF STANDARDS

Standards are developed from experience. The main purpose of developing

Standards is to reduce cost of production.

1. Standards are developed by manufacturers, operators and industry associations.

2. The Airworthiness Authorities enforce the use of prescribed Standards in the
various processes use in industry.
3. Safety standards and Environmental Protection standards are further enforced by
other government agencies.

Georgia State University’s Aviation Policy Research, Aviation and Transport Studies conducted a study
called "The Economic Impact of Avionics Standardization on the Airline Industry."

It estimates that the airlines save more than $291 million annually from the use of ARINC standards.

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 COMMON STANDARDS USED IN AVIATION
1. There are standards for Commercial, Finance, Operations, Technical, Engineering, Safety and Environment
2. In the Airline Industry, IATA (International Air Transport Association sets standards for commercial operations
including currency exchange, ticketing format, in-flight service, ground handling contracts and before de-
regulation, fares.
3. Aviation Finance standards are set by the Banks.
4. ICAO sets standards for flight operations, maintenance and the focus is on Safety.
5. Many technical and engineering standards are developed by aerospace manufacturer and later become
international standards.
6. Some technical standards and specifications originates from Boeing. BMS,(Boeing Material Spec), MSG-3
(Maintenance Steering Group), MEDA (Maintenance Error Decision Aid).
7. The most common standards for aircraft operations and maintenance is ATA (Air Transport Association of
America).
8. Many aerospace engineering standards are common industry standards such as SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineering), MIL (Military), ANSI (American National Standards Institute), NACA (National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics), etc
9. In Avionics, the main standard used are ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Inc) and RTCA (Radio Technical
Commission for Aeronautics).

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 WHAT IS ARINC

The Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee

develops the standards, and all interested parties contribute actively to
developing and maintaining the standards.

ARINC sponsors three committees that develop standards for the airline community:

Airlines Electrical and Electronic Committee (AEEC)

Avionics Maintenance Conference (AMC)
Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference (FSEMC)

While AEEC is best known for the development of ARINC standards, over the years, AMC has
taken a lead in the development of many industry standards as well in the areas of Shop and
Test Equipment Standards, Process Standards, Software Transmission and Management
Standards, and Aircraft Maintenance Standards.

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RTCA, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit corporation that develops
consensus-based recommendations regarding communications,
navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system
issues.

RTCA functions as a Federal Advisory Committee.

Its recommendations are used by the FAA as the basis for policy,
program, and regulatory decisions and by the private sector as the basis
for development, investment and other business decisions.

Organized in 1935 as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, RTCA today
includes roughly 400 government, industry and academic organizations from the United
States and around the world. Member organizations represent all facets of the aviation
community, including government organizations, airlines, airspace users and airport
associations, labour unions and aviation service and equipment suppliers.

A sampling of our domestic membership includes the FAA, Air Line Pilots Association, Air
Transport Association of America, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, ARINC
Incorporated, Avwrite, The Boeing Company, Department of Defense, GARMIN
International, Rockwell International, Stanford University, Lockheed Martin, MIT Lincoln
Laboratory, MITRE/CAASD, Harris Corporation, NASA, National Business Aviation
Association, and Raytheon.

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 AS 9001

Representing the first international effort to formulate a quality management system

standard for the aerospace industry, AS9100 is beginning to show its long-term value.

The standard supplements ISO 9001 by addressing the additional expectations of the
aerospace industry. Already, reports along this complicated manufacturing chain attest to
among other benefits. AS9100's contribution to more consistent verification methods and
fewer verification audits.

Initially released in October 1999 by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the Americas
and the European Association of Aerospace Industries in Europe, and shortly thereafter
by standards organizations in Japan and Asia, AS9100 was a cooperative effort of the
International Aerospace Quality Group.

As such, it combines and harmonizes requirements outlined in the SAE's AS9000 and
Europe's prEN9000-1 standards. Recently, AS9100 was revised to align with ISO
9001:2000.

Eugene M. Barker is a technical fellow at The

Boeing Co. responsible for quality industry
association interfaces.

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 LICENSING
STATE MUST SATISFY ITSELF THAT THE APPLICANT ….

 is medically fit and competent to perform authorised activities.

 has completed his training to meet the degree of competency.
 has passed the necessary examinations to prove his knowledge and
proficiency
 has recent experience and has undergone periodic refresher training.

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MA4872 – Aircraft Reliability
 LICENSING
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

 Personnel Licensing is as old as Aviation itself. The first personnel licence

was issued in 1909 and by 1919, the first International Licensing
Standards were established as Annex E of the Paris Convention.
 The early Standards, mainly for flight crew, were essentially based on
experience and medical fitness..
 The first ICAO personnel Licensing Standards were implemented on
15 September 1948.
 The most recent Amendments 161 & 162 to Annex I were implemented on 5
November 1998.
 Besides aircrew, ICAO Personnel Licensing is applicable to Aircraft
Maintenance Engineers and Technicians, Air Traffic Controllers,
Flight Operations Officer and Aeronautical Station operators.

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 What is a LICENCE

 A Licence is not meant to be a Qualification. It is an authorisation given to the

holder who, in the opinion of the issuing authority, is capable to deciding
for himself whether he is competent to carry out an assigned job.
 A Licence is the means by which a State authorises a licence holder to
perform specific activities, which unless performed properly, could
jeopardize the safety of an aircraft.
 The Licence provide the evidence that the issuing State is satisfied that the
holder has demonstrated an internationally acceptable degree of
competency.

WE OPERATE IN A VERY UNFORGIVING ENVIRONMENT. TIGHT REGULATIONS & CONTROLS ARE NECESSARY.

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 Licence vs Qualification

 Licences are granted to relatively few people and give authority to certify
airworthiness.
 Qualifications are proof of particular skills or knowledge.
 The AME is a Licensed Trade rather than an occupational specialty,
but in practice, AME Licensing has been used as an occupational
designation because of the lack of any other formal qualifications
system in the industry.
 The nature and status of AME Licences and Company approvals suppressed
any incentive to develop alternative qualification system.

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