Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1159 of 5 August 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1321/2014 and (EU) No 2015/640 as regards the introduction of new additional airworthiness requirements
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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91(1), and in particular point (h) of Article 17(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Pursuant to Article 76(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (the ‘Agency’) issues certification specifications (‘CS’) and regularly updates them. However, an aircraft, the design of which has already been certified, is not required to comply with an updated version of CS when it is produced or while in service. Therefore, in order to maintain a high level of aviation safety and environmental requirements in the Union, compliance of such aircraft with additional airworthiness requirements that were not included in the initial CS at the time of certification of design should be introduced. Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/640(2) sets out such additional airworthiness requirements. That Regulation should now be amended to add new requirements on ageing aircraft.
(2) In 2007, the Agency issued Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) 20-20 which provide technical guidance for developing a continuing structural integrity programme aiming at ensuring safe operation of ageing aircraft throughout their operational life. Due to the non-binding nature of the AMC, the application of that guidance may not be consistent throughout the Union. In consequence, there may be currently large aircraft in operation which were designed, modified or repaired without effectively addressing damage tolerance evaluations, widespread fatigue damage and corrosion prevention. With the objective of preventing catastrophic failures due to fatigue, including widespread fatigue and corrosion, additional airworthiness requirements on ageing aircraft should be introduced in Regulation (EU) 2015/640.
(3) Any aircraft could be considered to be ageing from the moment of its manufacture. The ageing of an aircraft depends on such factors as age, the number of flight cycles and the number of flight hours. Individual aircraft components age differently and some of the ageing factors are fatigue through repetitive cycles, wear, deterioration and corrosion. Those factors could cause significant safety concern if they are not properly managed throughout the life of the aircraft. Service experience has shown that there is a need to continually update knowledge about the structural integrity of ageing aircraft. Therefore, new requirements to keep up to date knowledge about ageing factors on the basis of real-time operational experience and with the use of modern tools of analysis and testing should be introduced in Regulation (EU) 2015/640.
(4) Those requirements on ageing aircraft should ensure that design approval holders produce the data and follow procedures, instructions and manuals necessary to prevent ageing structure failures due to corrosion and fatigue and make them available to operators. In order to achieve this, design approval holders should be required to develop a comprehensive continuing structural integrity programme for the aircraft type and to evaluate existing changes and repair designs for damage tolerance. At the same time, operators should be required to incorporate into their maintenance programme those data whilst addressing the adverse effects of changes and repairs on each airframe and its associated maintenance requirements.
(5) In order to ensure that those data, procedures, instructions and manuals produced on the basis of those new requirements are also used when maintaining large aeroplanes, point M.A.302 of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014(3) needs to refer to the requirements introduced in Part-26 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2015/640.
(6) Several hundred large aeroplanes fitted with Class D cargo or baggage compartments are currently registered in Member States. The risk of uncontrollable fires in this type of compartment is considered high, in particular considering that the carriage of lithium batteries in cargo or baggage compartments has increased over recent years, together with the identified risk of thermal runaways and the subsequent fires related to those batteries.
(7) In September 2007 the Agency had introduced new design standards eliminating Class D cargo and baggage compartments from the certification specifications for large aeroplanes. Those standards were aimed at mitigating the risk of injuries or fatalities in the event of an in-flight fire in the cargo or baggage compartment, but they only apply to large aeroplanes certified on the basis of requests made after September 2007. Considering that certain large aeroplanes might not comply with those standards and having due regard to the nature and risk of operations with large aeroplanes, those standards should now apply to all in service large aeroplanes certified by the Agency.
(8) For the last few decades, runway excursions have been major contributors to accidents worldwide and a significant risk to aviation safety. The EASA Annual Safety Review 2018 identifies runway excursions as one of the two highest key risk areas. Furthermore, runway excursions accounted for 30 % of the non-fatal accidents over the same period and for the same population. The number of occurrences of runway excursions during landings has increased in line with the growth in traffic. As aviation traffic is expected to continue to grow worldwide, as well as in Europe, the number of runway excursions can also be expected to increase further if no action is taken.
(9) In January 2020 the Agency has introduced new design standards for the installation of systems supporting flight crews in their decision-making during approach and landing. Those standards are aimed at mitigating the risk of runway excursions during landing. Having due regard to the nature and risk of operations with large aeroplanes those new standards should apply now to all in service large aeroplanes certified by the Agency.
(10) Commission Regulations (EU) No 1321/2014 and (EU) No 2015/640 should therefore be amended accordingly. In consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, a transition period has been included to avoid additional burden to the industry during this crisis and to facilitate the compliance with the new rules and procedures introduced by this Regulation.
(11) The measures provided for in this Regulation are based on opinion No 12/2016(4) and opinion 04/2019(5) issued by the Agency in accordance with Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.
(12) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 127(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/640 of 23 April 2015 on additional airworthiness specifications for a given type of operations and amending Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (OJ L 106, 24.4.2015, p. 18).
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks (OJ L 362, 17.12.2014, p. 1).
Opinion 12/2016: Ageing aircraft structures.
Opinion 04/2019: Reduction of runway excursions and Class D compartments
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