Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/699 of 21 December 2020 amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 as regards the instructions for continued airworthiness, the production of parts to be used during maintenance and the consideration of ageing aircraft aspects during certification

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 (1), and in particular Article 19(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 (2) lays down the requirements for the development and availability of instructions for continued airworthiness, for the production of parts and appliances to be installed in civil aircraft, for design approval holders to produce the data, procedures, instructions and manuals necessary to ensure the continued airworthiness of a civil aircraft, as well as for the approval of changes and repairs to type certificates and restricted type certificates.

(2) Instructions for continued airworthiness have to be developed by design approval holders as part of the product or part certification which, if properly implemented, should ensure that the product or part remains airworthy during its intended life. As the existing rules are not clear enough, type-certificate holders may interpret differently what is a complete set of instructions for continued airworthiness and to what level they are required to control the data that constitutes the instructions for continued airworthiness.

(3) Therefore, it is necessary to provide a definition for ‘instructions for continued airworthiness’ and to establish instructions for continued airworthiness as part of the type certificate in order to strengthen their control by the design approval holder, including the amendments to the instructions for continued airworthiness.

(4) The requirements for record keeping, manuals and instructions for continued airworthiness are spread among the various subparts of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, leading to duplication of similar requirements. Therefore, those requirements should be merged into a single requirement for each of those subjects.

(5) A part or appliance is only eligible for installation in a type-certified product, when it is in a condition for safe operation and an EASA Form 1 is issued to certify that the part or appliance was manufactured in conformity with approved design data, unless it is a standard part or it meets certain requirements and is installed in an ELA 1 or in an ELA 2.

(6) An EASA Form 1 can only be issued by a production organisation which is approved in accordance with Subpart G of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, or which demonstrates the conformity of parts and appliances with the applicable design data in accordance with the procedures established in Subpart F of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012. In the latter case, the EASA Form 1 issued by the production organisation also has to be validated by the competent authority. For parts and appliances for which their effect on the safety of the operation of aircraft is negligible in case of non-conformity with their design, a high production standard, as certified with an EASA Form 1, does not provide additional safety for air operations, and the issuance of an EASA Form 1 creates an unnecessary administrative burden.

(7) Therefore, it should be permitted to produce certain parts and appliances without the need to certify their conformity with the approved design data through the issuance of an EASA Form 1, as well as to permit the installation of such parts and appliances in type-certified products.

(8) Any aircraft could be considered to be ageing from the moment of its manufacture. The ageing of an aircraft depends on such factors as age, the number of flight cycles and the number of flight hours. Service experience has shown that there is a need to continuously update knowledge about the structural integrity of ageing aircraft. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1159 (3) introduced new requirements for aircraft in service in order to keep up to date knowledge about ageing factors on the basis of real-time operational experience and with the use of modern tools of analysis and testing. Those requirements should ensure that design approval holders follow procedures, produce the data and make instructions and manuals for existing design available to operators for them to implement in a timely manner in order to prevent ageing structure failures.

(9) When the structure of a type-certified large aeroplane is modified and after complying with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1159, the approval of such future changes or repairs is not subject to these requirements for continuing structural integrity. Furthermore, when a new type certificate or restricted type certificate for large aeroplanes is applied for, no requirement exists to ensure that the continuing structural integrity programme remains valid throughout the operational life of the aeroplane.

(10) Therefore, it is necessary to amend existing rules to achieve the same level of safety when large aeroplane structure will be subject to future structural changes or repairs developed and approved in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, and to add a requirement that any future holder of the type-certificate or restricted type-certificate for a large aeroplane shall ensure that the continuing structural integrity programme remains valid throughout the operational life of the aeroplane.

(11) Furthermore, the recent Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1383 (4) introduced a rule that the person or organisation that conducts an airworthiness review on aircraft subject to requirements set out in Annex Vb (Part-ML) to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 (5) also issues the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC). Points 21.A.174 and 21.B.325 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 should therefore be amended to align with the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014.

(12) Furthermore, the term ‘continued airworthiness’ is not used consistently in Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, when referring to the data established by the design approval holder. Therefore, it is necessary to correct points 21.A.181, 21.A.211 and 21.A.431B of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.

(13) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/897 (6) amended points 21.A.15, 21.A.93 and 21.A.432C of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012. In points (b) and (d) of point 21.A.15, in point (b) of point 21.A.93 and in point (b) of point 21.A.432C a grammatical error occurred when referring to the possibility of supplementing the initial application later with the certification programme. Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 should therefore be corrected.

(14) In order to ensure the proper implementation of this Regulation, Member States and affected stakeholders should be given sufficient time to adapt their procedures to the new regulatory framework before this Regulation applies.

(15) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with Opinions 12/2016 (7) and 07/2019 (8) of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency submitted pursuant to Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 is amended as follows:

(1) in Article 9, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   An organisation responsible for the manufacture of products, parts and appliances shall demonstrate its capability in accordance with the provisions of Annex I (Part 21). This demonstration of capability is not required for the parts or appliances that an organisation manufactures which, in accordance with the provisions of Annex I (Part 21), are eligible for installation in a type-certified product without the need to be accompanied by an authorised release certificate (i.e. EASA Form 1).’;

(2) Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 2

Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 is corrected in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 3

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

This Regulation shall apply from 18 May 2022, with the exception of Article 2 and point 4, point 6, point 9 and point 15 of Annex I which shall apply from 18 May 2021.

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

Done at Brussels, 21 December 2020.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 212, 22.8.2018, p. 1.

(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 of 3 August 2012 laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as well as for the certification of design and production organisations (OJ L 224, 21.8.2012, p. 1).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1159 of 5 August 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 and (EU) 2015/640 as regards the introduction of new additional airworthiness requirements (OJ L 257, 6.8.2020, p. 14).

(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1383 of 8 July 2019 amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 as regards safety management systems in continuing airworthiness management organisations and alleviations for general aviation aircraft concerning maintenance and continuing airworthiness management (OJ L 228, 4.9.2019, p. 1).

(5) Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks (OJ L 362, 17.12.2014, p. 1).

(6) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/897 of 12 March 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 as regards the inclusion of risk-based compliance verification in Annex I and the implementation of requirements for environmental protection (OJ L 144, 3.6.2019, p. 1).

(7) Opinion 12/2016: Ageing aircraft structures.

(8) Opinion 07/2019: Instructions for continued airworthiness – Installation of parts and appliances that are released without an EASA Form 1 or equivalent.