MAA/RN/2016/13 Page 1 of 22 24 Nov 16 MAA/RN/2016/13 – THE APPROVED DESIGN CHANGES CERTIFICATE EXPLAINED Issue 1. RA5820 1 provides regulation on changes in Type Design for Air Systems on the UK Military Aircraft Register (MAR), operating in the Service Environment. The RA provides two outcomes following satisfactory certification of Major Changes in Type Design: a. For Air System Types with a Military Type Certificate (MTC), an up-issue to the MTC. b. For legacy Air System Types 2 , an Approved Design Change Certificate (ADCC). 2. Regulation for MTCs and the Military Air System Certification Process (MACP) is provided in RA5810 3 with supplementary information in MAA/RN/2016/12: Military Type Certificates Explained. It has been recognised that further information on ADCCs would also be of benefit to the Regulated Community (RC). Scope 3. This Regulatory Notice (RN) is supplementary to RA5820 and provides additional information to the RC on the purpose of ADCCs and their management through the life of an Air System, including the reasons for, and implications of, their suspension or revocation. It should be read in conjunction with MAA/RN/2016/12. Implementation 4. The information contained within this RN is effective immediately. Approved Design Changes Certificate 5. Type Airworthiness Authorities (TAA) of legacy Air Systems are required to complete the MACP for all changes in Type Design; those categorized as Major must be notified to the MAA and may be subject to certification assurance by the MAA. RA5820 infers that one ADCC will be issued per design change. However, in order to standardize the manner in which certificates are managed, a single Approved Design Changes Certificate will be issued per Type that will be up- issued following every subsequent Major Change to the Type Design. 6. Where ADCCs have already been issued for individual design changes to an Air System Type, these will all be incorporated into the single certificate following the next certificated design change (Procedure 1.1 at the Annex). Similarly, where a legacy Air System has been through a tailored MACP that resulted in a Statement of Type Design Assurance (STDA), either for the entire Type Design or for a change to the Type Design, then this will also be referenced on the ADCC. Consequently, an ADCC will document the full extent of assurance provided by the MAA for legacy Air System Types. 7. An ADCC will certify that each design change: a. Has been designed by an approved organisation. 1 RA5820 - Changes in Type Design (MRP 21 Subpart D). 2 Legacy in the context of this Regulatory Notice is used to mean Air System Types not included on a MTC. 3 RA5810 - Military Type Certificate (MTC) (MRP 21 Subpart B). Regulatory Notice
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MAA/RN/2016/13 Page 1 of 22
24 Nov 16
MAA/RN/2016/13 – THE APPROVED DESIGN CHANGES CERTIFICATE EXPLAINED
Issue
1. RA58201 provides regulation on changes in Type Design for Air Systems on the UK Military Aircraft Register (MAR), operating in the Service Environment. The RA provides two outcomes following satisfactory certification of Major Changes in Type Design:
a. For Air System Types with a Military Type Certificate (MTC), an up-issue to the MTC.
b. For legacy Air System Types2, an Approved Design Change Certificate (ADCC).
2. Regulation for MTCs and the Military Air System Certification Process (MACP) is provided in RA58103 with supplementary information in MAA/RN/2016/12: Military Type Certificates Explained. It has been recognised that further information on ADCCs would also be of benefit to the Regulated Community (RC).
Scope
3. This Regulatory Notice (RN) is supplementary to RA5820 and provides additional information to the RC on the purpose of ADCCs and their management through the life of an Air System, including the reasons for, and implications of, their suspension or revocation. It should be read in conjunction with MAA/RN/2016/12.
Implementation
4. The information contained within this RN is effective immediately.
Approved Design Changes Certificate
5. Type Airworthiness Authorities (TAA) of legacy Air Systems are required to complete the MACP for all changes in Type Design; those categorized as Major must be notified to the MAA and may be subject to certification assurance by the MAA. RA5820 infers that one ADCC will be issued per design change. However, in order to standardize the manner in which certificates are managed, a single Approved Design Changes Certificate will be issued per Type that will be up-issued following every subsequent Major Change to the Type Design.
6. Where ADCCs have already been issued for individual design changes to an Air System Type, these will all be incorporated into the single certificate following the next certificated design change (Procedure 1.1 at the Annex). Similarly, where a legacy Air System has been through a tailored MACP that resulted in a Statement of Type Design Assurance (STDA), either for the entire Type Design or for a change to the Type Design, then this will also be referenced on the ADCC. Consequently, an ADCC will document the full extent of assurance provided by the MAA for legacy Air System Types.
7. An ADCC will certify that each design change:
a. Has been designed by an approved organisation. 1 RA5820 - Changes in Type Design (MRP 21 Subpart D). 2 Legacy in the context of this Regulatory Notice is used to mean Air System Types not included on a MTC. 3 RA5810 - Military Type Certificate (MTC) (MRP 21 Subpart B).
Regulatory Notice
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b. Meets the approved Type Certification Basis (TCB), or that any airworthiness provisions not complied with are compensated for by controls or mitigations that provide an equivalent level of safety.
8. Not all changes will be subject to MAA Release to Service Recommendations (RTSR) Audit but, where they have been4, the ADCC will also certify that the Air System is supported by appropriate Aircrew Publications, Technical Information and RTSR containing instructions for its safe operation and sustaining type airworthiness, and a comprehensive Equipment Safety Assessment.
9. The ADCC provides assurance to the Release to Service Authority (RTSA) and Aviation Duty Holder (ADH) that, for the design changes covered by the certificate, the Type Airworthiness arrangements in place have been assessed to be adequate by the MAA as an independent authority.
10. Like MTCs, ADCCs will have a supporting Annex that details the certificated changes in Type Design. For a Restricted ADCC (see below), the Annex will also stipulate a Validity Restriction and/or any MAA-mandated Operating Restrictions.
TAA responsibilities for ADCC
11. In time, every UK military Air System Type operated in the Service Environment will be covered by an MTC and the term MTC Holder (MTCH) has been introduced to recognise the Crown Servants with responsibility for maintaining the MTC. Since ADCCs will be issued as an interim arrangement for legacy Air System Types there is no intention to specifically recognise the role of the holder in regulation. However, the responsibilities of the TAA holding an ADCC are the same as those for a MTCH, detailed in RA58055.
Restricted ADCCs
12. A Restricted ADCC (RADCC) will be issued where the regulatory requirements have not been fully satisfied but the MAA has deemed that, subject to any caveats, there is no significant reduction in airworthiness. Examples of occasions when a RADCC might be issued include:
a. The design change or its supporting Air System Document Set (ADS) is incomplete6 and requires additional validation gained from early in-service experience and/or on-going Test & Evaluation.
b. Shortcomings in certification evidence were identified during the review of the TCE and RTSR (where carried out) that result in actions being placed on the TAA.
c. The Air System (new Mark/variant) not being ready to be transitioned to Under Ministry Control (UMC, as defined in Def Stan 05-057 ) at initial RTS. In this circumstance the MAA would expect to understand from the TAA how they would intend to maintain oversight of the Air System configuration such that changes to the configuration, including the need to update the ADS whilst Under Contractor Control (as defined in Def Stan 05-057), would not increase risk.
13. In cases where the TAA will be required to present additional evidence to the MAA, a validity period will be stipulated on the RADCC. Failure of the TAA to satisfy the evidence requirements within this period, or to provide appropriate justification for an extension to the validity period (Procedure 1.4 at the Annex), will result in the instigation of Enforcement Action in accordance with MAA01 that may, ultimately, lead to suspension or revocation (in part or in full) of the ADCC
4 RA5810(1) Para 9, explains the circumstances when the MAA will carry out RTSR Audit. 5 RA5805 - Responsibilities of the Holders of a Military Type Certificate (MTC) and MAA Design Organization Approvals (MRP 21 Subpart A). 6 For example, when released under an Interim Certificate of Design (CofD).
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(Procedures 2.1 to 2.4 at the Annex). In cases where it is felt that the deficiencies in evidence present a potential airworthiness issue that has not been addressed through controls or mitigations proposed by the TAA, one or more Operating Restriction(s) will be detailed on the ADCC. These restrictions will be communicated to the RTSA (and Aviation Duty Holders (ADHs)) for inclusion in their RTS.
Management of ADCCs
14. Issue of ADCCs. ADCCs will be issued in the following manner:
a. ADCCs will be issued in hard-copy to the TAA. The ADCC Management Procedures at the Annex detail the actions to be taken (by the TAA and MAA) for the initial issue of, and subsequent revisions to, an ADCC.
b. Electronic copies of certificates will be issued to the TAA in parallel with the hard-copy certificate; this is for information purposes pending delivery of the hard-copy certificate. The hard-copy certificate is the master document and must always be surrendered to the MAA before an up-issued certificate can be issued. This procedure ensures that only one hard-copy of an ADCC exists at any one time. Hard-copy ADCCs will be embossed to establish authenticity of the certificate.
c. Replacement certificates may be issued following the loss/unintended destruction of an ADCC (Procedure 4.4 at the Annex); however, they will be clearly annotated as such.
15. Changes to the ADCC. Any changes to the ADCC will be processed as follows:
a. Any future changes in Type Design must be managed by the TAA. Regardless of the change, the principles relating to the change in Type Design detailed within RA5820 should be followed to ensure that an appropriate audit trail of airworthiness evidence is maintained by the TAA to support their Type Design. Where a Design Organization has been granted privileges under RA58507 to categorize and authorize Minor Changes in Type Design, then the TAA should document the extent to which this privilege has been enacted and how oversight is maintained to ensure that the scope of the privilege has not been exceeded. Any changes classified as Major8 must be notified to the MAA and may be subject to independent certification assurance activity by the MAA. It is incumbent on the TAA to ensure the appropriate categorization of changes and apply for MAA certification well in advance of Main Gate (or equivalent Business Case Decision Point).
b. Should there be a change to the Air System Coordinating Design Organisation listed on the ADCC then the TAA will need to apply to change the ADCC (Procedure 4.2 at the Annex). The TAA will need to provide evidence of the competence of the organization (eg appropriate DAOS approval) and a declaration that all necessary contractual arrangements are in place for them to adequately support the Military Type Design.
c. It is recognised that there may be occasions where minor administrative changes are required to the ADCC. This could be because of spelling mistakes, a new name for a TAA’s position or a change in the Design Organisation’s name (where there is no underlying change to airworthiness structure of the organisation). In these instances, the TAA should apply for a minor administrative change to the ADCC (Procedure 4.3 at the Annex).
d. The MAA will record details of all changes to ADCCs in the ADCC Register. This will be administered by the MTC Registrar (email: DSA-MAA-Cert PTC Group).
Enforcement Action
7 RA5850 - Military Design Approved Organization (MRP 21 Subpart J). 8 As defined in RA5820.
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16. MAA oversight of TAA. Following military certification of an Air System, the MAA will maintain oversight of a TAA’s safety processes and their management of airworthiness issues. This is achieved through audits and attendance at airworthiness meetings. Failure of the TAA to adequately manage a significant airworthiness issue will result in the instigation of Enforcement Action in accordance with MAA01. This process commences with the issue of a Corrective Action Requirement and, if the issue continues to remain unresolved, could lead to the suspension or revocation of an ADCC.
17. Suspension of ADCCs. Suspension of an ADCC, in part or in full, could occur as the result of continued failure of the TAA to meet their airworthiness responsibilities and where the MAA judge the non-compliance to present a significant risk to Air Safety in accordance with MAA01. A partial suspension applies to a particular element of an ADCC. Typically it would be applied to a specific Mark/variant of the Type as detailed on the ADCC, but could be applied specifically to a lesser Major change that has resulted in an unsafe condition. A full suspension applies to all Marks/variants of the Type as detailed on the ADCC. A TAA may apply to have a suspension lifted. They will need to demonstrate to the MAA, through the provision of necessary evidence, that the conditions which led to the ADCC suspension have been rectified. Procedures for full and partial suspension of ADCCs (Procedure 2.1 and 2.3), and their subsequent removal (Procedures 2.5 and 2.6), are provided at the Annex.
18. Revocation of ADCCs. Revocation of an ADCC, in part or in full, will occur for one of two reasons:
a. Following voluntary surrender by the MTCH (Procedures 3.1 and 3.2 at the Annex), because either the Air System Type (or Mark/Variant) is no longer in service, or the TAA no longer feels that they are able to meet their responsibilities for managing the Type (or Mark/Variant).
b. As the result of continued failure of the TAA to meet their airworthiness responsibilities and where the MAA judge the non-compliance to present a high risk to Air Safety in accordance with MAA01.
Similar to suspension, an ADCC can be revoked in part or in full. Part revocation applies to a particular design change recorded on an ADCC. Typically it would be applied to a Mark/Variant of the Type, but could apply more specifically to a Major change that has resulted in an unsafe condition. A full revocation applies to all Marks/Variants as detailed on the ADCC. Following revocation, a complete re-certification of the Type or revoked element of ADCC would need to be completed. When a MTC has been revoked in full, re-certification would result in a new ADCC being issued. Procedures for full and partial revocation of ADCCs (Procedure 2.2 and 2.4) are provided at the Annex.
19. Implications of Suspension or Revocation on Military Flying
a. The TAA and applicable ADH(s) and RTSA(s) will be kept informed throughout the stages leading to the suspension or revocation of an ADCC. This correspondence will inform all parties of the non-compliance, its assessed impact on Air Safety and the actions necessary to avoid suspension or revocation. If suspension or revocation action is ultimately taken, the TAA will receive a Notification Letter and will be required to surrender their ADCC to the MAA. In parallel, the ODH and RTSA will be notified so that appropriate actions can be taken.
b. For a civil TC, revocation or suspension will invalidate all Certificates of Airworthiness which, by law, requires all operators to cease flying. The implications for revocation or suspension of a MTC or ADCC, however, are not derived from law. ADCC revocation or suspension represents removal of MAA assurance to the Secretary of State for Defence and
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ADH(s) that the TAA is able to demonstrate continued Type Airworthiness of the Air System9. Revocation or suspension of an ADCC, therefore, provides a clear statement to the ADHs that the MAA can no longer provide assurance that one or more of the design changes covered by the ADCC are airworthy.
Queries
20. Any queries or requests for further guidance on the content of this RN should be submitted in the first instance to DSA-MAA-Cert-DepHd via [email protected].
MAA Head Regulation and Certification Division
Annex:
A. ADCC Management Procedures.
9 Whether as a result of technical issues that cannot be resolved or a failure of their type airworthiness management processes.
