Avionics News February 2023 - 18

F R O M R I C
P E R I
AE A VICE PRE SIDENT OF GOVERNMEN T & INDUS TR Y AFFAIR S
The Aircraft Electronics Association's international membership continues to grow. Currently, the AEA
represents avionics businesses in more than 40 countries throughout the world. To better serve the needs of the
AEA's international membership, the " International News and Regulatory Updates " section of Avionics News
offers a greater focus on international regulatory activity, international industry news and an international
" Frequently Asked Questions " column to help promote standardization. If you have comments about this
section, send emails to avionicsnews@aea.net.
UNITED STATES
News & Regulatory Updates
CANADA
News & Regulatory Updates
FAA publishes long-awaited
SMS mandate
The Federal Aviation Administration proposes to update
and expand the requirements for safety management
systems and require certain certificate holders and commercial
air tour operators to develop and implement an SMS
program. This proposed rule would extend the requirement
for an SMS program to all certificate holders operating
under the rules for commuter and on-demand operations,
commercial air tour operators, production certificate holders
who are holders or licensees of a type certificate for the
same product, and holders of a TC who license out that TC
for production. Noticeably absent from the proposal is any
direct requirement for Part 145 repair stations.
Part 5 currently applies only to persons authorized to
conduct operations under Part 121. The FAA proposes to
amend § 5.1 and expand the applicability of Part 5 to: (1)
any person authorized or applying to conduct operations
under Part 135 or § 91.147; (2) any person that holds or
applies for a PC issued under Part 21 for a product for
which they are the TC holder or licensee; and (3) TC holders
who license the TC for production.
The AEA will continue to review the NPRM throughout
the next month. Comments must be submitted before
March 12, 2023. q
18 avionics news * february 2023
Requirement for PRM
interview removed
The Canadian Aviation Regulations have been revised
to remove the requirement for Transport Canada
Civil Aviation to interview and assess the ability of the
person appointed to the PRM position (person responsible
for maintenance/manufacturing). The amendment
to the CARs was introduced in 2019 as a result of a
review conducted by the Standing Joint Committee for
the Scrutiny of Regulations, which identified these requirements
as having no legal basis. The changes were
published Dec. 7, 2022.
The changes affect CAR 406.19, 561.04, 573.04 and
706.03 as well associated changes to the relevant standards.
This leaves the responsibility on the accountable executive
to properly assess that the person assigned as PRM has
the proper ability to do the job. There are some who have
objected to this change stating the concern that, in many
cases, the accountable executive does not have the capacity
to assess this ability. However, the intent of this rule change
is to not leave the assessment to the accountable executive
alone. They may use whatever resources necessary to make
this determination. In the end, it is the accountable executive's
decision to appoint, and the minister can evaluate this
decision during PVIs or other inspections that may occur.

Avionics News February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2023