Regulatory Report

Part 145 Training Rules Delayed

The FAA has delayed implementation of the Part 145.163(a) training program requirements by one year, until April 6, 2006. The reason given for the delay is that guidance material was not yet available to help repair stations meet the regulation this year. According to the FAA, "the delayed date will give repair stations sufficient time to develop their programs and will give the FAA time to evaluate and approve them."

Deadline for Human Factors Training in Europe

September 28, 2006 is a final deadline chalked up for the employment of human factors training in maintenance by all eligible organizations within the qualifying member-states of the European Union. This covers airlines, maintenance companies, training schools, and other aircraft operators. This is an entry into force date, which follows on the interim regulatory date of July 1, 2005 requiring all staff to be trained and competent in applying human factors principles, and which preceded the EU's expanded membership to 25 European states. Human factors training is now a requirement for practitioners to obtain their Part 66 certificate, and most companies conducting MRO are already complying. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is happy with this and has already issued Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Guidance Material to Parts 145, 66, and 147 on the matter.

Now established in its permanent home in Cologne, Germany, EASA is steadily adopting the authoritative stance expected of the regulator as its importance grows. Where maintenance work is concerned, EASA did not make any major change to the JAR 145 issued by the JAA. The only major change is the new Part M, which was derived from JAR Ops Sub Part and where an impact assessment has been carried out. The results of this assessment were expected to be available by April and will be published.

Next on the agenda is the holding of workshops in Europe, which EASA is planning. The first of these was scheduled in April on Part 66 and 147. The objective is to discuss issues surrounding the implementation of these parts in Europe and to exchange views. A regional workshop will then be held in June covering Part 145 and Part M, hosted by the DGAC (France) and jointly organized with EASA. Then over June 7 to 9, an international aviation safety conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Cologne, hosted by EASA and jointly organized with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Joint Aviation Authorities. The venue for this event is a stone's throw from EASA's headquarters in Cologne and is intended as a forum for interested parties. It will also serve to further strengthen the ties between EASA and the FAA, which association is currently reflected in four regular meetings per year.

A further item on the EASA agenda is the establishment of a common databank of maintenance standards and procedures. This will be created during 2005 and 2006. -- By Roy Allen

FAA Clarifies Seat Configuration

There has been confusion recently regarding how many seats an airplane has when it comes time to apply regulations that refer to number of seats. The recent TAWS mandate (terrain avoidance and warning system), for example, applies to turbine-powered airplanes with six or more passenger seats.

In the past, some operators and regulators have chosen to recognize the actual number of seats in the aircraft, even if that means some seats were merely removed. Others refer to the aircraft's original type certificate and any supplemental type certificates.

The correct choice is to go by the actual number of passenger seats in the airplane, according to the FAA, which issued Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Airworthiness 05-04 on March 22. The FSAW notes that the number of pilot seats is the same number of seats "from which the aircraft may be operated..." An airplane with a throwover yoke, like some Beech Bonanzas, still has two pilot seats, according to the FSAW.

For passenger seats, the answer is: "A passenger seat is any seat in the aircraft that is approved to be used during takeoff and landing, except for pilot seats or a forward observer seat (jump seat) certificated by type certificate (TC) or amended by supplemental type certificate (STC) and limited to `crew use only.'"

Many airplanes are certificated for more passenger seats than are installed. To make the determination easy, the FAA requires that the actual number of passenger seats be counted. The operator of a six-passenger turbine-powered airplane, for example, could get by without meeting the TAWS mandate by removing, in a legal fashion, one passenger seat. Simply removing the seatbelts doesn't count, as that seat would still be counted as a passenger seat. If the operator physically removed one seat, according to an STC or per some allowable process in the maintenance manual and made proper entries in the weight and balance paperwork, then the TAWS mandate would no longer apply. If that extra seat were reinstalled, then the airplane could not fly without TAWS.

Another alternative would be to obtain an STC to make a seat non-passenger approved so that it is just another piece of interior furniture. This seat could never be used by passengers, except as a table or footrest.