Airworthiness Notices - B020, Edition 3 - 10 March 2005

Annual Airworthiness Information Reporting Requirements

(This Airworthiness Notice supersedes AN No. B020 Edition 2 dated 27 August 1997.)

Purpose

This notice describes the Annual Airworthiness Information Reporting (AAIR) requirements and introduces the option of submitting the AAIR via the Transport Canada Internet. The information contained herein is of particular importance to the owners of all Canadian registered aircraft, except ultra-light aeroplanes.

Background

The Annual Airworthiness Information Report is a method of collecting essential airworthiness data required by Transport Canada (TC) and other governmental agencies. The data is used to ensure accurate and thorough distribution of airworthiness information to aircraft owners, monitor the airworthiness status and activity of the Canadian aircraft fleet, calculate accident and incident statistics, and for planning and performance measurement of the National Air Transportation System.

The introduction in 2005 of a new TC computer system, the Continuing Airworthiness Web Information System (CAWIS) allows aircraft owners the option of electronically submitting their AAIR via the TC Internet.

CAR 501 Requirements

Pursuant to Part V, Subpart 1 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CAR) and Standard 501, the owner of every Canadian registered aircraft, other than an ultra-light aeroplane, is required to submit to Transport Canada, a completed AAIR not later than a specified due date, which is normally the anniversary of the day on which the aircraft’s flight authority was issued. Through the AAIR, the owner provides current details of the aircraft configuration; inspection, damage and repair information; and the number of hours flown.

In addition, to ensure transmission of emergency airworthiness directives (ADs) and other urgent safety information to affected owners and operators (who are responsible for AD receipt and compliance), the AAIR provides a space for recording a facsimile number and an e-mail address to which such notices can be sent.

While submission of the AAIR is not a condition of maintaining the flight authority, owners who fail to submit the report are liable to a monetary fine.

Annual Reporting Procedure

Under CAR 501, the annual reporting procedure operates as follows:

1. A personalized 2-part AAIR form (#24-0059) is sent to each owner approximately 5-6 weeks in advance of the due date. The form, which is generated by the CAWIS system in Ottawa, is pre-printed with airworthiness data currently on file with the Continuing Airworthiness Division.
    
   Note: To help ensure delivery of the form and avoid the risk of penalty for non-submission of the AAIR, correct ownership details (name and current mailing address) should be provided to the appropriate Aircraft Registration and Leasing office at all times.
    
2. The aircraft owner must complete the form, by providing new and/or corrected information about the aircraft, and then submit it to TC by one of two means:
    
   1. One option is to fill in the paper form, sign it, and mail it to the appropriate TC regional office, which is pre-addressed on the form. One copy may be kept as proof of submission.
       
   2. Alternatively, the owner may access and fill in an equivalent AAIR form on the TC Internet website and submit it electronically. The use of a Transport Canada-supplied confidential access code, which is printed on the paper form sent by TC, serves as a password to allow secure access to the appropriate aircraft data. (Use of the code also constitutes an equivalent certification by the owner that the submitted data are correct.) Once they have received their access code, owners may complete and submit a web AAIR by accessing their personalized AAIR file at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/cawis-swimn

      After entering all of the required information, the system provides to the owner a dated and printable on-line acknowledgement of the AAIR submission. The system will not accept an incomplete AAIR.

Reporting Exceptions

CAR 501 provides for a number of special reporting circumstances, including:

Alternative Reporting Date

With mutual agreement between TC and the owner, any date other than the normal flight authority anniversary may be selected as the report due date (this may be convenient for owners who are away at certain times of the year, or who may wish to complete their reports for several aircraft at the same time).

Consolidated Fleet Reports

Instead of submitting individual AAIRs for each aircraft in a company’s fleet, a consolidated report for some or all of the aircraft in a designated fleet may be submitted at one time, in a form and manner pre-approved by TC. The consolidated report must provide, for each fleet aircraft, all of the information that would normally be provided through individual AAIRs. Fleet reporters will not normally receive any reminder from TC prior to their report due date and cannot submit their reports via the Internet.

Out-of-Service Aircraft

Subject to certain conditions, the owner of an aircraft that is out of service (not flown) for all of a complete calendar year is not required to submit an AAIR. Owners must claim this non-reporting privilege by using the tick-off box on the AAIR form to indicate that the aircraft will be out of service for all of the current calendar year, and by providing an estimated date for the aircraft’s return to service; the owner must also notify TC when the aircraft actually does return to service. AAIR forms will not be sent to the owner during the out-of-service period. This non-reporting privilege is intended for owners of aircraft that will be out of service for several reporting periods (full calendar years).

Prior to exercising the alternative reporting date and fleet reporting options, owners must first make written application to the appropriate Transport Canada Centre (TCC) (AN No. A002 provides a list of all such offices).

Effectivity

CAWIS is going into operation in the spring of 2005. Throughout the following 12 months, individual aircraft owners will be notified, by way of a flyer inserted with their AAIR form (in a revised two-part 8½ x 14-inch format) that they may then choose to submit a web AAIR via the TC Internet.

Further Information

Full details of the AAIR procedure are provided in CAR 501 and Standard 501, both of which are available via the TC Civil Aviation home page at http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation. Instructions for completing the AAIR are supplied with each copy of the reporting form #24-0059 and on the website. Enquiries related to the AAIR for a particular aircraft should be addressed to the appropriate TCC.