STC Applications can be of two types:
An application from an EU organization for the EASA approval of a new STC. This requires that the applicant has Design Organisation Approval (DOA) or, at least, Alternative Procedures (AP to DOA).
An application from a non-EU organization for the EASA validation of a non-EU STC.
The application must be made in accordance with any Working Arrangement or Bilateral agreement. In the case of STCs issued by the FAA, for example, the STC holder must make the application via the FAA Aircraft Certification Office (ACO) that did the original approval.
Management of the STC / Major Change Certification Process
The initial process of applying to EASA for an STC approval should list the documents that are submitted at the time of the application.
This should include, as a minimum, the EASA Form 33, and the certification programme.
Validation of the Organisation’s scope of work.
Appropriate provisions should be put in the procedure to ensure the Project is within the current scope of work of the organisation.
Delivery Process
For a particular project and as part of the technical familiarisation, the applicant provides a certification programme plan that includes the following –
a) Description of the project and the kind of operations envisaged.
b) The proposed certification specifications, special conditions, equivalent safety findings and environmental protection requirements. The description on how compliance will be demonstrated, with proposed means of compliance. Document templates should be defined for the different types of compliance documents.
c) The description of the means of compliance should be sufficient to determine that all necessary data will be collected and compliance can be demonstrated.
d) A compliance checklist addressing each paragraph of the type-certification basis and environmental protection requirements applicable to the project, with reference to the means of compliance and to the related compliance documents. If flight testing is anticipated as a means of compliance, the flight test organisation and procedures must be defined.
Aspects to be addressed in the procedure are:
Test aircraft
Personnel
Facilities and equipment
Deliverables
e) Identification of relevant personnel making decisions affecting airworthiness and environmental protection interfacing with the Agency, unless otherwise identified to the Agency
f) A project schedule including major milestones.
1/ The Organisation should be able to provide an overview of the design processes used by the organisation including the associated logic and time sequence.
2/ The procedure should highlight the typical milestones of the organization design process, e.g. checkpoints, design reviews, showing of compliance, etc.
3/The control of time schedule, for the accomplishment of the tasks in due time, shall be described. A responsible person for the preparation, recording, and update of the time-schedule shall be identified.
g) The organisation’s process for configuration control of the product “subject to the change” should be described including Configuration Identification, Configuration Control, Configuration Verification.
Note – The configuration control system shall be appropriate to the working methods and size/complexity of the organization. The system shall ensure that changes in the (Supplemental) Type investigation process during any phase are properly managed, so that correlated documentation is evaluated and updated as necessary. Any design changes or document updates (especially after STC approval) will be appropriately classified and approved.
Process to Create Compliance Documents
The type of document and the technical objectives for each document are determined at the beginning of the process; each compliance document should normally contain:
a) Numbering system to identify the compliance documents, with the corresponding certification programme. (Each compliance document should have a number and issue date.) – The issue control system should ensure the traceability between the various issues of each compliance document (e.g. by issue number and/or log register).
b) The reference of the certification specifications, special conditions or environmental protection requirements addressed by the document.
c) Data demonstrating compliance.
d) A statement by the applicant declaring that the document provides the proof of compliance for which it has been created.
e) The appropriate authorised signature.
f) The production of the documents is carefully managed all along the process, in accordance with the milestones defined in the certification programme.
Note If so agreed by the Agency, some compliance documentation may be produced after issuance of the final statement of compliance.
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