MARPA spent last Thursday and Friday participating at the Certification Management Team quadrilateral meeting in Washington DC. The CMT brings together the FAA, EASA, Transport Canada, ANAC Brazil, and representatives from industry to discuss the status of current initiatives and future plans that affect certification and acceptance of products (and articles) among the authorities.
One of the more intriguing discussions actually occurred after the official close of the meeting when discussing the effects of Brexit—the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
The European Commission has already begun to make clear its position on the matter although the full details are as yet unknown. Back in April, the European Commission published a Notice to Stakeholders detailing the consequences of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union’s aviation safety rules. The Notice explains that when the UK leaves the European Union (EU), from an EU perspective the action will (1) invalidate all certificates issued by the UK CAA, and (2) invalidate all certificates issued by the UK CAA certificate holders. Certificates will be invalid as of the withdrawal date, which is currently set for 11pm on March 29, 2019.
Obviously there will be a number of issues the UK and EU will need to resolve between themselves going forward. But of greater interest to the PMA manufacturing industry is the effect of Brexit on the acceptance of PMA parts in the EU and UK. After some discussions at CMT and follow up discussions with other attendees, we expect the affect to be…
very little to nothing.
As a threshold matter, PMAs will continue to be accepted by EU members regulated by EASA without further showing under the terms of the Technical Implementation Procedures to the US-EU Bilateral Agreement. The only difference is that the UK will no longer be one of those states.
But what about PMA acceptance in the UK itself? The FAA is working closely with the UK CAA to develop parallel strategies depending on the way Brexit occurs. The FAA described the two likely scenarios in its Summer Industry Newsletter as follows:
Scenario 1: The EU and UK reach a negotiated exit agreement. The UK will officially exit the EU on March 29, 2019, but could remain covered under EU laws and regulations during a possible transition period ending December 31, 2020. This could include 3rd country agreements, such as the US-EU safety agreement. The FAA will need to understand the nature of the UK’s future relationship with EASA after that period. The UK could remain aligned to the EASA system post-Brexit.
Scenario 2: The EU and UK fail to reach agreement on the UK exit or the terms of an agreement are such that the UK will no longer be party to the US-EU safety agreement or part of the EASA system. The CAA would need to function as an independent civil aviation authority apart from EASA, and would need to re-establish its aircraft certification capability.
The FAA and UK are working to craft suitable revisions to the antecedent US-UK IPA from 2002 (that was superseded by the US-EU BASA) to account for the different possibilities. In the 2002 US-UK IPA, all PMA parts were accepted without further showing when the US was the State of Design for the product, and all non-critical, licensed, or otherwise UK-approved PMAs were accepted without further showing when the US was not the State of Design. This is largely similar (although a bit MORE permissive) to the method by which PMAs are currently accepted in the UK as a member of the EU. We expect that whatever the outcome, the FAA will seek to retain this provision—or something very similar—in the revised US-UK IPA.
MARPA will of course be working with the FAA to make sure that the acceptance of PMA without further showing is preserved in the new IPA (or whatever form the bilateral implementation procedures take going forward). Given the FAA’s pro-PMA position in bilaterals, we do not anticipate that these provisions are likely to change, unless it is for the better, however we want to make sure that is the case. If any of our members—whether manufacturers or operators—hear of or experience any disruptions with the acceptance of PMAs in the UK please let VP of Government and Industry Affairs Ryan Aggergaard know at ryan@washingtonaviation.com.