CAA and FAA agree maintenance update
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed to a revised version of the Maintenance Implementation Procedures for the approval and monitoring of maintenance and alteration or modification facilities.
Above:
CAA offices at Gatwick.
Copyright CAA
The UK and US aviation regulators updated the arrangement to include a transition period for US-based organisations until 31st December 2024.
This means both parties can continue to provide maintenance services and maintain aircraft parts for installation on UK-registered aircraft using a FAA/ European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) dual release during the transition period.
The Maintenance Implementation Procedures address the approval and monitoring of maintenance facilities, enabling both countries to cooperate and provide technical support in evaluating and accepting each other's approved maintenance organisation systems.
The UK CAA and the FAA will also update the Maintenance Agreement Guidance (MAG), relating to the certification of Repair Stations/Approved Maintenance Organisations that perform maintenance and alterations of modifications on civil aeronautical products.
Both arrangements were first signed in 2020, following the UK’s exit from the European Union, under the existing Bilateral Safety Agreement from 1995.
An initial transition period of two years had been introduced in which the UK CAA continued to accept EASA maintenance releases from US-based organisations until a maintenance approval is obtained in the UK.
The updated arrangements were signed in the UK and US following the ongoing bilateral cooperation between the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration, working together to build and maintain close working relations and confidence in each other’s systems.