A new agreement between the US and Australia may permit Australian PMAs to be imported into the United States.
In 2005, the U.S. and Australia signed a bilateral agreement entitled “Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness.” Pursuant to this agreement, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) agreed to accept, without further investigation, parts manufactured under Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agreement did not include a reciprocal provision requiring the U.S. to accept Australian PMAs.
Now CASA is reporting that they have come to an agreement with the FAA to make changes to the bilateral that would result in Australian PMAs becoming accepted by the U.S. The proposed changes to the bilateral were agreed to by CASA and the FAA last month, and the bilateral document is expected to be presented to the Parliament in Australia sometime later this year for final approval. If both countries sign off on these proposed changes, Australian manufacturers of PMA parts will be able to enter the U.S. marketplace with much less hassle and expense than they are able to currently.
The detriment of the U.S. accepting Australian issued PMAs is that U.S. PMA parts would face increased competition in the U.S. marketplace. However, there is a clear benefit to any movement towards accepting PMAs from other countries. The U.S.’s acceptance of Australian PMAs would show that the international community is capable of producing high quality, safe PMA parts, and this could ultimately result in raised awareness of the benefits of using PMA parts. As the word spreads that PMA parts are safe and cost-effective, the PMA market worldwide will only grow, creating plenty of opportunities for all manufacturers of PMA parts, be they made under Australian or U.S. issued PMA.
Further details can be found in CASA’s June newsletter.