AIRWORTHINESS NOTICE NO. B035, EDITION 3 – 22 AUGUST 2002

TECHNICAL ARRANGEMENT - MAINTENANCE BETWEEN THE
 JOINT AVIATION AUTHORITIES AND TRANSPORT CANADA CIVIL AVIATION 

(This Airworthiness Notice supersedes AN No. B035 Edition 2, dated 1 October 2001)

Purpose

This airworthiness notice (AN) is issued to provide information and guidance:

(a)	On the acceptance of JAR-145 maintenance organizations by Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) where those maintenance organizations are under the jurisdiction of one of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) full member states;

(b)	On the acceptance of Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMO) by the JAA where those maintenance organizations are under the jurisdiction of TCCA; and

(c)	To Canadian Air Operators contracting or intending to contract maintenance with these organizations.

Introduction

Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) Part VII Subpart VI (CAR 706) and Standards 726 require that an AMO approved under CAR 573 maintain Canadian registered aircraft and aeronautical products operated in a commercial air service.

CAR 706 and CAR 573 include provisions for the acceptance of maintenance performed on Canadian registered aircraft and aeronautical products by foreign maintenance organizations where an agreement or arrangement is in force.

On 24 June 1996, the Director General TCCA signed a Technical Arrangement - Maintenance (TA-M) with eighteen National Airworthiness Authorities (NAA) of the JAA full member States.  This TA-M allows for the reciprocal acceptance of maintenance organizations qualifying under the terms of the arrangement.

In addition, TCCA has Bilateral Airworthiness Agreements/Technical Airworthiness Arrangements (BAA/TAA) presently in effect with the following states:  Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  The June 1996 TA-M replaces the acceptance of maintenance organizations procedures of these BAA/TAA.  All other articles remain in force.  The BAA/TAA and the TA-M can be viewed at www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/aircert/internat/Index.htm.

By signing the TA-M, TCCA acknowledges that maintenance organizations, approved in accordance with JAR‑145 and qualifying under the terms of the TA‑M, are considered equivalent to a Canadian maintenance organization approved under CAR 573.  Those JAR-145 Organizations which qualify are listed on the TCCA Approved Organizations Database.  Those member NAA which signed the TA-M also acknowledge those Canadian AMOs which have been accepted through the JAA as being considered equivalent.

To meet the requirement of CARs 706 a JAR145 organization must be accepted by TCCA.  For an aeronautical product certified by an AMO to meet JAR 145 requirement, the AMO must be accepted by the JAA.

For the Purposes of clarity the remainder of this AN is presented in two parts:

Part I – acceptance of JAR-145 Maintenance Organizations by TCCA;  and
Part II – acceptance of Canadian AMOs by the JAA.

Definitions

For the purpose of this AN, the following definitions apply:

JAR-145 Organizations - maintenance organizations approved by the NAA of a full member State of the JAA. 

Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) – Canadian maintenance organizations approved by TCCA.

Part I - Acceptance of JAR-145 Maintenance Organizations by TCCA

Conditions

The following conditions must be met to consider an organization for acceptance by TCCA:

The applicant must hold an approval as a JAR-145 Organization issued by an NAA that signed the TA-M and the organization is listed with the JAA as an approved and valid organization.

A Canadian supplement to the Organization’s MOE must be submitted and accepted by TCCA.  A sample form of this supplement is available at www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/MAINTEN/Regs&Docs/download_e.htm or through the TCCA contact below.  As a minimum it must contain the following information:

Statement signed by the Accountable Manager committing the organization to complying with both the supplement and Maintenance Organization Expostion (MOE).

A statement allowing TCCA and JAA access for monitoring compliance with the requirements.

An acknowledgement that, when necessary, TCCA may subject the company to enforcement actions.

A commitment to comply with customer work orders taking particular note that requested airworthiness directives, modifications, repairs and parts are acceptable to TCCA.

Recognition that the customer establishes the appropriate approval authority for any repairs or modifications.

Statement of aircraft release procedures against JAR145.50 include the TCCA acceptance number and other aeronautical products are released on JAA Form One with block 13 indicating the TCCA acceptance number.

A commitment that any civil aeronautical product under the jurisdiction of TCCA found in an unairworthy condition will be reported to TCCA and the customer.

The JAR-145 Organization must accept that TCCA staff may enter their premises for the conduct of verification of standards and any necessary investigations.  Where necessary TCCA may take action against a company where a serious violation exists and the NAA have had unsatisfactory results.

The JAR-145 Organization must accept that TCCA will contact the JAA for verification of the Organization’s certificates. 

The JAR-145 Organization must submit the appropriate fees prior to issuance of an acceptance certificate.  

Limitations

JAR-145 Organizations from NAA who have not signed the TA-M are not accepted through this process.

JAR-145 Organizations approved by an NAA that has signed the TA-M but are located wholly outside the NAA territory are not accepted through this process.

JAR-145 Organizations approved by an NAA that has signed the TA-M and has its main location within the NAA territory may also have line stations located outside of the NAA territory.  These line stations are not normally accepted as part of the JAR-145.  They may, however, be accepted subject to a case-by-case review upon the request of a Canadian AOC holder.  A letter accepting the specific location will be issued to the Canadian AOC holder applying to use the facility after TCCA confirms with the JAA that the JAR-145 line station is included in regular monitoring by the NAA.

Acceptance Fees

The acceptance fees are currently CAD$1200.00 for the initial acceptance, which is valid for two years, and CAD$800.00 for the renewal, which is valid for an additional 2 years.  These fees are published in CAR Part 1.

In the event that a certificate of acceptance expires prior to application for renewal, the higher fee for initial issue will apply.

These fees can be paid by certified cheque made out to the Receiver General of Canada, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or bank transfer.  The applicant is responsible to pay any additional bank charges.  Billing details will be exchanged at the time of application.

These fees are non-refundable should the JAR-145 Organization choose to withdraw from completion of the acceptance procedure.
  
Note:  Bank transfers may take additional time, as our Finance department must identify the proper payment with the bank records.

Application Procedure

A JAR-145 Organization wishing to be recognized as a organization equivalent to one approved under CAR 573 will have to submit an application, in either the English or French language, requesting acceptance.  The application may be sent to the TCCA contact below, in the form of a letter, with the appropriate documentation demonstrating the conditions above have been met.  In addition to the supplement and fees this includes as a minimum:

The name and contact information for the person to communicate with regarding the acceptance.

A copy of the JAR-145 Certificates with limitations.

The legal name of the organization and address where correspondence should be directed.

The application may be faxed, mailed or e-mailed, however, an original signature in the supplement will be required to be mailed.  This may be the only mailed page of the supplement.

Letter of Recommendation

The JAA will be contacted to confirm the validity of the JAR-145 certificate(s) before acceptance is granted.

Renewal Procedure

For renewal, JAR-145 Organizations shall review their documents against current conditions listed above and any operational considerations and make necessary changes.  During the 60 days prior to expiry of the current acceptance, a letter requesting renewal needs to be sent the TCCA contact below.  This letter will include any changes to the supplement, or a statement that the current supplement is the organization’s method of compliance, copies of the latest certificates, and the correct fee.

Notification of Change Procedure

There is no fee associated with notification of changes.  The holder of a TCCA acceptance shall inform the TCCA contact below when a change that may affect TCCA acceptance is made to the JAR-145 organization approval.  Examples of these are:  a change in the Accountable Executive, company name change, and issuance of a new certificate or changes to the existing certificate(s).

TCCA Acceptance of a JAR-145 Organization

This is processed in accordance with Maintenance Staff Instruction (MSI) 10, which follows these general procedures.

Upon receipt of an application for TCCA acceptance, the Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch will forward to the applicant an acceptance information package that details all the requirements to be satisfied.  

On receipt of appropriate payment and required documents, TCCA will review the package and will communicate with the applicant as required.  There may be a need to verify the size of organization and, for this, a request may be made for the sections of the Maintenance Organization Exposition (MOE) that comply with JAR 145.70(a).  In particular the items 7 (manpower), 8 (facilities) and 14 (subcontracts), which are usually located in sections 1.7, 1.8 and 5.2 respectively in the MOE.

When the documents submitted are found acceptable, TCCA will issue a certificate of acceptance, valid for a period of two years, to the applicant.  In the event of a renewal the two-year period will commence from the date of expiry for the last acceptance.  In the event of a notification of change the dates will not change.

During this two-year period, TCCA acceptance will remain valid provided that the organization continues to comply with its JAR-145 approval and with the conditions under which TCCA issued the certificate of acceptance.

Listing of Accepted JAR-145 Organizations

Accepted JAR-145 organizations will be listed in a TCCA approved/accepted Maintenance Organizations database and posted on Transport Canada Information Service (TCIS) intranet and Transport Canada home page on the World Wide Web (WWW) at www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/mainten/dbases/index.htm.

Surveillance/Audits

Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch reserves the right to visit accepted JAR-145 organizations for the purpose of familiarization with those organizations.  These visits will be scheduled as required and the NAA and accepted organizations will be informed in a timely manner.  These visits are similar to the Maintenance International Standardization Team (MIST) visits to AMOs conducted by a JAA team or may be conducted as part of a Maintenance Standardization Team (MAST) visit.

TCCA Contact

Requests for information and/or application for acceptance by TCCA shall be submitted to:

Benoit Berthiaume at
Transport Canada Civil Aviation
Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch
Standards and Procedures Division (AARPE)
Place de Ville, Tower "C",
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,
K1A 0N8

Facsimile:  (613) 952-3298
Telephone:  (613) 952-4414
E-mail:  berthib@tc.gc.ca

Part II - Acceptance of AMO by the JAA

Conditions

A potential applicant may wish to review JAA Administrative & Guidance Material, Section Two:  Maintenance Part Three:  Temporary Guidance JAA Leaflet No. 23, JAA Acceptance of Canadian Approved Maintenance Organisations.  This document lists the requirements for acceptance by the JAA.  A copy of the document may be obtained through the JAA website at www.jaa.nl/maintenance/maintenance.html or by communication with the JAA contact below.

Acceptance Fees

The acceptance fees are currently US$1000.00 for the initial acceptance, which is valid for two years, and US$800.00 for the renewal, which is also valid for 2 years.  These fees are subject to change and must be reviewed with the JAA at the time of application.

Application Procedure

A Canadian AMO wishing to be recognized as a organization equivalent to one approved under JAR-145 will have to submit an application requesting acceptance to the JAA contact below on the appropriate form contained in Leaflet No. 23.   The details for renewal and notification of change are also contained in this document.

Upon receipt of an application from a Canadian AMO, the JAA will communicate directly with the applicant and will state all the requirements to be complied with.

Letter of recommendation

Prior to the issuance of a JAA acceptance to an AMO, the JAA will request a copy of the last audit executive summary or a letter of recommendation from TCCA.  This may be done through the applicant.  However, the JAA will normally communicate with the Standards and Procedures Division of Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing in Ottawa for the verification of company status. 

When such a request is made of an AMO, the local Transport Canada Center should be contacted to coordinate with Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing in Ottawa to ensure the letter is issued directly to the JAA with the normal verification information.

JAA Acceptance of an AMO

Upon being satisfied that all of the requirements are met, the JAA will issue a certificate to the AMO indicating acceptance.  This acceptance is valid for two-years.

Listing of JAA accepted AMOs

The JAA publishes a listing of all JAA accepted AMOs in Joint Aviation Authorities - ADMIN & GUIDANCE MATERIAL - JAR145 List 3 JAR145 Accepted AM573 Organisations.  The list is updated every 4 months.

Surveillance/Audits

From time to time, the JAA will send a Maintenance International Standardization Team (MIST) to visit accepted AMOs and will perform a mini audit that is normally of a half-day duration for small organizations to a full day for larger organizations.  The mini audit is focused on specific areas of the AMO such as Internal Quality Program, employees’ training etc. to monitor compliance with JAA Requirements within the accepted AMOs.  Follow-up inspections will be carried out by TCCA, and any findings will be communicated to the company with corrective action directed back to the JAA.

JAA Contact

Requests for information and application for JAA acceptance should be submitted directly by mail to:

	Maintenance Approvals Co-Ordinator
	Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) Headquarters
	Saturnusstraat 8-10, PO Box 3000
	2130 KA Hoofddorp
	The Netherlands

	Facsimile:  011 31 2356 21714
	Telephone:  011 31 2356 79711