Ref OTAC – Overseas Territories Aviation Circular – OTAC 39-8
Type Certification Basis
Note 1 An OTAR Type Certificate is only available on the back of FAA / TC or EASA issued Type Certificate.
In accordance with OTAR 21 Subpart B the investigation and acceptance of an aircraft Type Certification will be documented by a Type Acceptance Certificate (TAC) issued by the Overseas Territory Aviation Authority (OTAA).
The issue of the TAC will be based on the Type Certification granted by one of the following National Authorities:
a) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA);
b) Transport Canada; or
c) European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The acceptance of the aircraft by the OTAAs can therefore be based on either the State of Type Design Certification or the State of Type Certification that has validated the State of Type Design Certification.
Airworthiness Directives
It is policy that the embodiment of Airworthiness Directives (AD) shall be consistent across all Overseas Territories.
Therefore any AD required to be embodied in one Territory shall be applicable in all Territories. This will be achieved, where necessary, via co-ordination through ASSI.
State of Type Certification ADs
The issue of an Airworthiness Directive (AD) by the State of Type Certification listed on the TAC will be automatically adopted by the OTAAs without any further investigation.
Operators and owners of aircraft shall therefore comply directly with the requirements of the AD.Mandatory Continued Airworthiness Requirements
State of Type design ADs
State of Type Design AD’s will normally also simply be adopted by the State of Type Certification.
Note 2 Normal Action – Approval is typically automatic The OTAAs will therefore also automatically adopt these ADs.
Mandatory Airworthiness action in absence of a published AD
If an OTAA concludes that mandatory airworthiness action is necessary to address the findings of an investigation into an occurrence, incident or accident it will encourage the State of Type Design and/or the State of Type Certification to work with the Type Certificate Holder and introduce the required AD.
Assuming the satisfactory issue of an AD no further OTAA action would be necessary.
The AD would be adopted within the Territories as per above.
If mandatory AD action is considered necessary by an OTAA and the State of Design and/or State of Certification does not agree, the OTAA will raise the matter with ASSI for further review and action.
Air Safety Support International – (ASSI) will review the details of the investigation and if agreed will petition the State of Design/Certification NAA again for a satisfactory resolution or, if unsuccessful, will initiate mandatory AD action for compliance by all Overseas Territories; i.e. not just the single OTAA in question; therefore the ASSI Airworthiness Directive will be promulgated to all OTAA’s for onward distribution to Operators and aircraft owners.
Permit Directives
If an aircraft type does not qualify for the issue of a Certificate of Airworthiness as detailed in OTAR Part 21.703(b), it may be possible to grant the aircraft a Permit to Fly for the purpose of flying within the Territory of Registry.
These aircraft will have previously been certified for flight by the FAA, Transport Canada or EASA via a National Type Approval (TA) process.
Mandatory Permit Directives (MPDs) issued by either the State of Type Design or State of Type Approval will be automatically adopted by the OTAAs.
Owners of such aircraft are therefore required to comply with the requirements of the MPDs.
If an MPD is considered necessary by an OTAA but the State of Design or State of Type Approval does not agree, the OTAA will raise the matter with ASSI for further review and action.
ASSI will review the details of the investigation and if agreed will petition the State of Design/Approval NAA again for a satisfactory resolution or, if unsuccessful, will initiate MPD action on an Overseas Territories wide basis i.e. not just the single OTAA.
The ASSI instigated MPD will be promulgated to all OTAAs for onward distribution to aircraft owners.
Security Directives
Airworthiness Directives and Mandatory Permit Directives are widely published on NAA websites and other propriety information systems.
Operators and aircraft owners therefore Mandatory Continued Airworthiness Requirements have ready access to the necessary mandatory safety data for continued airworthiness purposes.
In addition there are Airworthiness Directives that address deficiencies in aircraft security measures that are not widely published, for example flight deck door modifications.
5.3 These security ADs are circulated to Airworthiness Authorities as the need arises. ASSI and the OTAAs will therefore advise operators and owners directly of the existence of these security AD’s and the need for compliance, as appropriate.
Alternative methods of compliance
An Alternative Method of Compliance (AMOC) is a different approach or technique not specified in an AD/MPD that can assure a level of safety equivalent to that offered by direct compliance with the subject AD/MPD.
AMOC’s may be issued in respect of, but not necessarily limited to alternative:
a) Design changes (modifications);
b) Inspection procedures and/or maintenance intervals;
c) Changes to specified operating procedures or limitations.
A request for a timescale change (i.e. extension) to an AD/MPD is not a candidate for an AMOC. (A timescale change, if agreed, should be approved by the issue of an exemption to the AN(OT)O for the non-compliance with the AD/MPD.)
When approved, an AMOC should not have a specified period of validity since it has been accepted as an equivalent safety case to an existing AD/MPD.
AMOCs are not considered a routine approach to compliance with mandatory airworthiness requirements.
Compliance with the AD/MPD is often the simplest and most direct method of addressing the airworthiness concern.
The preferred acceptance of an AMOC, by an OTAA, is to utilize an already existing AMOC approved by the State of Design or State of Certification that issued the original AD/MPD.
Applicants will be requested to comply with this existing AMOC. The suitability of any existing AMOC may require assessment using engineering assistance and/or TC/STC/TA support.
An example of a possible alternative AMOC would be one where the aircraft serial number applicability on the AD/MPD is different from that of the subject aircraft which would require further investigation as to its suitability.
If a suitable AMOC does not already exist, the application, to an OTAA, for an AMOC must be from the TC/STC Holder or have the support of the TC/STC Holder, or Type Approval Holder for a Permit Aircraft.
The OTAA will review the content of any proposed AMOC application and determine whether an equivalent level of safety to the original AD/MPD has been demonstrated.
The OTAA will advise the applicant in writing if the AMOC is acceptable on the Territory aircraft.
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