Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/640 of 23 April 2015 on additional airworthiness specifications for a given type of operations and amending Regulation (EU) No 965/2012

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation applies to:

(a) operators of: (i) aircraft registered in a Member State, unless and to the extent that the Member State has transferred its responsibilities pursuant to the Chicago Convention to a third country and the aircraft is operated by a third-country aircraft operator; (ii) aircraft registered in a third country and operated by an aircraft operator established, residing or with a principal place of business in the territory to which the Treaties apply;

(b) holders of a type certificate, restricted type certificate, supplemental type certificate, design change approval, or repair design approval issued by the Agency in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 (¹) or deemed to have been issued in accordance with Article 3 of that Regulation;

(c) the applicants for a type certificate or a restricted type certificate for a large aeroplane, for which the application was submitted before 1 January 2019 and who are issued with the certificate after 26 August 2020 when specified in Annex I (Part-26).

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation,

(a) ‘maximum operational passenger seating configuration’ shall mean the maximum passenger seating capacity of an individual aircraft, excluding crew seats, established for operational purposes and specified in the operations manual;

(b) ‘large aeroplane’ means an aeroplane that has the Certification Specifications for Large Aeroplanes ‘CS-25’ or equivalent in its certification basis;

(ba) ‘small aeroplane’ means an aeroplane that has the Certification Specifications for Normal-Category Aeroplanes ‘CS-23’ or equivalent in its certification basis;

(c) ‘large helicopter’ means a helicopter that has the Certification Specifications for Large Rotorcraft ‘CS-29’ or equivalent in its certification basis;

(ca) ‘small helicopter’ means a helicopter that has the Certification Specifications for Small Rotorcraft ‘CS-27’ or equivalent in its certification basis;

(cb) ‘small category A helicopter’ means a small helicopter that has all the characteristics of category A as defined in point (17) of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 and has in its certification basis the additional specifications set out in the Certification Specifications for Large Rotorcraft (CS-29) that are applicable by virtue of the reference in Appendix C to CS-27, or equivalent;

(cc) ‘Substantiated sea conditions’ means those sea conditions which were selected by the applicant for a type certificate or supplemental type certificate against which the resistance of the rotorcraft to capsize has been demonstrated and subsequently certified for ditching or emergency flotation provisions;

(d) ‘low-occupancy aeroplane’ means an aeroplane that has a maximum operational passenger seating configuration of: (1) up to and including 19 seats, or; (2) up to and including one third of the maximum passenger seating capacity of the type-certified aeroplane, as indicated in the aeroplane type-certificate data sheet (TCDS), provided that both of the following conditions are met: (a) the total number of passenger seats approved for occupancy during taxiing, take-off or landing does not exceed 100 per deck; (b) the maximum operational passenger seating configuration during taxiing, take-off or landing in any individual zone between pairs of emergency exits (or any dead-end zone) does not exceed one third of the sum of the passenger seat allowances for the emergency exit pairs bounding that zone (using the passenger seat allowance for each emergency exit pairs as defined by the applicable certification basis of the aeroplane). For the purpose of determining compliance with this zonal limitation, in the case of an aeroplane that has deactivated emergency exits, it shall be assumed that all emergency exits are functional;

(e) ‘limit of validity’ (LOV) means, in the context of the engineering data that supports the structural maintenance programme, a period of time, stated as a number of total accumulated flight cycles or flight hours or both, during which it is demonstrated that widespread fatigue damage will not occur in the aeroplane;

(f) ‘airworthiness limitation section’ (ALS) means a section in the instructions for continued airworthiness, as required by points 21.A.61, 21.A.107 and 21.A.120A of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, that contains airworthiness limitations that set out each mandatory replacement time, inspection interval and related inspection procedure;

(g) ‘corrosion prevention and control programme’ (‘CPCP’) means a document reflecting a systematic approach to prevent and to control corrosion in an aeroplane’s primary structure, consisting of basic corrosion tasks, including inspections, areas subject to those tasks, defined corrosion levels and compliance times (implementation thresholds and repeat intervals);

(h) ‘widespread fatigue damage’ (WFD) means a simultaneous presence of cracks at multiple locations in the structure of an aeroplane that are of such size and number that the structure will no longer meet the fail-safe strength or residual strength used for certification of that structure;

(i) ‘baseline structure’ means the structure that is designed under the type certificate or restricted type certificate for that aeroplane model (that is, the ‘as delivered aeroplane model configuration’);

(j) ‘fatigue-critical baseline structure’ (‘FCBS’) means the baseline structure of an aeroplane that is classified by the type-certificate or restricted type-certificate holder as a fatigue-critical structure;

(k) ‘fatigue-critical modified structure’ (FCMS) means any fatigue critical structure of an aeroplane introduced or affected by a change to its type design and that is not already listed as part of the fatigue-critical baseline structure;

(l) ‘damage tolerance evaluation’ (DTE) is a process that leads to a determination of maintenance actions necessary to detect or preclude fatigue cracking that could contribute to a catastrophic failure. When applied to repairs and changes, a DTE includes the evaluation of the repair or change and the fatigue critical structure affected by the repair or change;

(m) ‘damage tolerance inspection’ (DTI) means a documented inspection requirement or any other maintenance action developed by holders of a type certificate, restricted type certificate, supplemental type certificate or existing major change approval as specified in Annex I (Part-26) as a result of a damage tolerance evaluation, including the areas to be inspected, the inspection method, the inspection procedures (including the sequential inspection steps and acceptance and rejection criteria), the inspection threshold and any repetitive intervals associated with those inspections and also, where appropriate, specification of maintenance actions such as replacement, repair or change;

(n) ‘repair evaluation guideline’ (‘REG’) means a process and implementation schedule for conducting surveys established by the type-certificate or restricted type-certificate holder for repairs that affect fatigue-critical structures to ensure the continued structural integrity of all relevant repairs, as specified in point 26.309 of Annex I (Part-26);

(o) ‘fatigue-critical structure’ (FCS) means a structure of an aeroplane that is susceptible to fatigue cracking that could lead to a catastrophic failure of the aeroplane.

Article 4

Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012

Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation, in order to contain a reference to this Regulation.

Article 5

Transitional provisions

Aircraft for which operators demonstrated to their competent authority compliance with JAR-26 ‘Additional Airworthiness Requirements for Operations’ (hereinafter ‘JAR-26 requirements’), issued by the Joint Aviation Authorities on 13 July 1998, as amended by the Amendment 3 of 1 December 2005, before the dates of application referred to in Article 6 shall be deemed to comply with the equivalent specifications set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

Aircraft for which compliance with the JAR-26 requirements equivalent to the specifications set out in points 26.50, 26.105, 26.110, 26.120, 26.150, 26.155, 26.160, 26.200, 26.250 of Annex I to this Regulation has been demonstrated in accordance with the first subparagraph shall subsequently not be modified in a way that would affect its compliance with the JAR-26 requirements concerned.

Article 6

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 14 May 2015.

However, points 26.50, 26.105, 26.110, 26.120, 26.150, 26.155, 26.160, 26.200 and 26.250 of Annex I shall apply from 14 May 2017.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

PART-26

ADDITIONAL AIRWORTHINESS SPECIFICATIONS FOR OPERATIONS

SUBPART A

GENERAL PROVISIONS

(a) For the purposes of this Annex, the competent authority to which an aircraft operator needs to demonstrate compliance of its aircraft, the design of which has already been certified, with the requirements of this Annex shall be the competent authority responsible for the oversight of that operator or the Agency if the responsibility for the oversight of the operator has been allocated to the Agency in accordance with Article 64 or 65 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

(b) For the purposes of this Annex, the competent authority to which a holder of a type certificate (TC), restricted TC, supplemental type certificate (STC), design change approval or repair design approval needs to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this Annex shall be the Agency.

A flight shall not be commenced when any of the aircraft's instruments, items of equipment, or functions required by this Part are inoperative or missing unless waived by the operator's Minimum Equipment List as defined in Part-ORO.MLR.105 and approved by the competent authority.

(a) The Agency shall issue, in accordance with Article 76(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, certification specifications as standard means to demonstrate compliance with this Annex. The certification specifications shall be sufficiently detailed and specific to indicate the conditions under which compliance with the requirements of this Annex may be demonstrated.

(b) Aircraft operators and holders of a TC, restricted TC, STC, design change approval, or repair design approval may demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this Annex by complying with either of the following: (i) the specifications issued by the Agency under point (a) or the equivalent certification specifications issued by the Agency under point 21.B.70 of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012; (ii) technical standards offering an equivalent level of safety to that of the standards included in those certification specifications.

(c) Holders of a TC, restricted TC, STC, design change approval, or repair design approval shall make available any change to the instructions for continued airworthiness (‘ICA’) developed for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Annex to all known operators of the affected aircraft and, on request, to any other person required to comply with such instructions, including continuing airworthiness management organisations. For the purposes of this Regulation, the ICA also include damage tolerance inspections (‘DTIs’), repair evaluation guidelines (‘REGs’), a baseline corrosion prevention and control programme (‘CPCP’) and a list of fatigue-critical structures (‘FCSs’) and airworthiness limitation sections (‘ALSs’).

SUBPART B –   AEROPLANES

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport, type certified on or after 1 January 1958, shall ensure that each flight or cabin crew member seat and its restraint system are configured in order to provide an optimum level of protection in an emergency landing whilst allowing the occupant's necessary functions and facilitating rapid egress.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport of passengers, type-certified on or after 1 January 1958, and for which the individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued on or after 26 February 2021 shall demonstrate for each seat type design approved for occupancy during taxiing, take-off or landing that the occupant is protected when exposed to loads resulting from emergency landing conditions. The demonstration shall be made by one of the following means:

(a) successfully completed dynamic tests;

(b) rational analysis providing equivalent safety, based on dynamic tests of a similar seat type design.

The obligation set out in the first paragraph shall not apply to the following seats:

(a) flight deck crew seats;

(b) seats in low-occupancy aeroplanes involved only in on-demand non-scheduled commercial air transport operations;

(c) seats in an aeroplane model listed in Table A.1 of Appendix 1 and carrying a manufacturer serial number listed in that Table.

Operators of large aeroplanes that are used in commercial air transport and that have a maximum operational passenger seating configuration of more than 19 with one or more emergency exits deactivated shall ensure that the distance(s) between the remaining exits remains (remain) compatible with effective evacuation, except for large aeroplanes that have an emergency exit configuration installed and approved before 1 April 1999.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport shall provide means to facilitate the rapid and easy movement of each passenger from their seat to any of the emergency exits in case of an emergency evacuation.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport shall comply with the following:

(a) means shall be provided to facilitate the location, access, and operation of emergency exits by cabin occupants under foreseeable conditions in the cabin in case of an emergency evacuation;

(b) means shall be provided to facilitate the location and operation of emergency exits by personnel on the outside of the aeroplane in case of an emergency evacuation.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport shall provide means to ensure that illuminated exit signage, general cabin and exit area illumination, and low level exit path illumination is available to facilitate the location of exits and movement of passengers to the exits in case of emergency evacuation.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport shall comply with the following:

(a) all materials and equipment used in compartments occupied by the crew or passengers shall demonstrate flammability characteristics compatible with minimising the effects of in-flight fires and the maintenance of survivable conditions in the cabin for a time commensurate with that needed to evacuate the aircraft;

(b) smoking prohibition shall be indicated with placards;

(c) disposal receptacles shall be such that containment of an internal fire is ensured; such receptacles shall be marked to prohibit the disposal of smoking materials.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport, type certified after 1 January 1958, shall ensure that the liners of Class C or Class D cargo compartments are constructed of materials that adequately prevent the effects of a fire in the compartment from endangering the aircraft or its occupants.

Operators of large aeroplanes that are used in commercial air transport, and that were type certified on or after 1 January 1958, shall ensure that:

(a) for large aeroplanes for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness was issued before 18 February 2021, when new thermal or acoustic insulation materials are installed as replacements on or after 18 February 2021, those new materials have flame propagation resistance characteristics which prevent or reduce the risk of flame propagation in the aeroplane;

(b) for large aeroplanes for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness was issued on or after 18 February 2021, thermal and acoustic insulation materials have flame propagation resistance characteristics which prevent or reduce the risk of flame propagation in the aeroplane;

(c) for large aeroplanes for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness was issued on or after 18 February 2021 and with a passenger capacity of 20 or more, thermal and acoustic insulation materials (including the means of fastening the materials to the fuselage) installed in the lower half of the aeroplane have flame penetration resistance characteristics which prevent or reduce the risk of flame penetration into the aeroplane after an accident and which ensure survivable conditions in the cabin for the time needed to evacuate the aeroplane.

Operators of large aeroplanes that are used in commercial air transport, and that were type certified on or after 1 January 1958,shall ensure that:

(a) for large aeroplanes, the operation of which involves the transport of passengers, each Class D cargo or baggage compartment, regardless of its volume, complies with the certification specifications applicable to a Class C compartment;

(b) for large aeroplanes, the operation of which involves the transport of cargo only, each Class D cargo compartment, regardless of its volume, complies with the certification specifications applicable to either a Class C or a Class E compartment;

This point shall not apply to operators of an aeroplane model listed in Table A.1 of Appendix 1 to this Annex.

Operators of large aeroplanes used in commercial air transport with a maximum operational passenger seating configuration of more than 19 shall comply with the following:

Lavatories shall be equipped with:

(a) smoke detection means;

(b) means to automatically extinguish a fire occurring in each disposal receptacle.

Operators of large aeroplanes shall ensure that the following extinguishers do not use halon as an extinguishing agent:

(a) built-in fire extinguishers for each lavatory waste receptacle for towels, paper or waste in large aeroplanes for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness is issued on or after 18 February 2020;

(b) portable fire extinguishers in large aeroplanes for which the first individual certificate of airworthiness is issued on or after 18 May 2019.

(a) For large aeroplanes, as well as for small aeroplanes with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) greater than 5 700 kg (12 500 lb), for which the individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued on or after 1 January 2025, the holders of: — TC or restricted TC, or — STC or design change approvals, if the change relates to the aeroplane cargo compartment fire protection capabilities, shall make available information on the aeroplane design characteristics associated with the cargo compartment fire protection capabilities to all known operators of such aeroplanes.