21.A.7 Instructions for continued airworthiness

(a)The instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) should identify the following, in accordance with the applicable certification specifications:

(1)any limitations that are necessary for the continued airworthiness of the product or article;

(2)the means to determine when the product or article has deteriorated to the extent that it is no longer airworthy;

(3)the minimum actions required to restore the airworthiness of the product or article before the limitations (as per point (1)) have been exceeded or before their deterioration (as per point (2)), as an alternative to the withdrawal of the product or article from service.

(b)The ICA should, therefore, include, in accordance with the applicable certification specifications:

(1)any limitations determined through the certification of the product or article, and instructions on how to determine that the limitations have been exceeded;

(2)any inspection, servicing or maintenance actions determined to be necessary by the certification process;

(3)any inspection or troubleshooting actions determined to be necessary to establish the nature of faults and the necessary remedial actions;

(4)sufficient general information on the operation of the product or article to enable the understanding of the instructions in (a)(1) to (a)(3) above.

The instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) may be provided together with other, additional or optional, maintenance information, as described in point 21.A.6, or in another acceptable format as per GM1 21.A.7(a), with the following conditions:

(a)The information that is necessary for the continued airworthiness is clearly identified (refer to AMC1 21.A.7(b)).

(b)The ICA may reference additional instructions for continued airworthiness in separate publications, where necessary (for example, those produced by suppliers). If the product ICA reference the use of supplier’s data (e.g. component maintenance manual (CMM) or section of it) as the appropriate location for the ICA, those applicable instructions are incorporated by reference and become part of the complete set of the ICA for the product.

(c)Additional or optional maintenance information not considered as ICA but referenced by the design approval holder (DAH) together with the ICA should be evaluated appropriately by the DAH in order to ensure that its use will not compromise the continued airworthiness of the product or article.

(d)If the maintenance data made available by a DAH includes data from an operator (i.e. in order to customise the data for the operator, and created under the authority of the operator), the operator’s data should be identified as such, and the DAH is not required to additionally evaluate it.

The DAH may carry out a complete check of the supplier data, or may choose to rely, in whole or in part, on the supplier’s process. In the latter case, the DAH will propose a means to validate the supplier’s process. Supplier data may also be issued by the supplier to the DAH under a contract or an arrangement, addressing the following:

(a)the accuracy and the adequacy of the technical documentation, which should be checked through a verification processes (e.g. component workshop verification);

(b)evidence showing that workshop verification was performed should be kept by the supplier and a clear statement should be given in the introduction to the supplier data as a confirmation that component verification is complete;

(c)evidence that the supplier has taken into account all justified feedback and changes to data requested by any person required to use the ICA; typical examples would be the correction of reported errors, or mistakes. In addition, some validation activities may be decided by the DAH, depending on the articles and the capability level of the supplier. For articles subject to an ETSO authorisation, the validation of the supplier’s process is not needed. This is also valid for other national TSO authorisations (e.g. FAA TSOs) accepted by EASA as stipulated in related bilateral agreements.

(a)ICA can be published in documents or in a manner other than the traditional understanding of a document — for example, as a series of web pages, or Information Technology (IT) tools, or in a publishing format linked to tasks or data modules rather than pages.

(b)The design approval holder (DAH) can decide — within the framework provided by point 21.A.7 and its acceptable means of compliance and guidance material — to publish the ICA in the most suitable location as part of all the information published to support the airworthiness of an aircraft. Publications typically produced by DAHs (e.g. for the demonstration of compliance with a certification basis established on the basis of CS-25), and which may therefore include ICA, consist of: aircraft maintenance manuals (AMMs); scheduled maintenance requirements (e.g. MRBRs); off-wing component maintenance or overhaul manuals; parts catalogues; tooling manuals; wiring diagram manuals; weight and balance manuals; electrical loads analyses; extended range operations (ETOPS) configuration maintenance programs/plans; supplemental structural inspection documentation; certification maintenance requirements; Airworthiness Limitations items; ageing aircraft maintenance requirements; fuel tank safety related limitations (e.g. critical design configuration control limitation (CDCCL)); electrical wiring interconnection system instructions; corrosion prevention and control programmes; troubleshooting manuals. Note: The above is only an example of the publications that may contain ICA according to CS-25; the list is not exhaustive, nor does it represent a minimum list of ICA.

(c)The requirement for ICA is not intended to ensure that all products or articles may be restored to an airworthy condition. A certain level of deterioration may require a product or an article to be permanently withdrawn from service, and restoration may not be reasonably achievable. Notwithstanding the above, the existence of an MRBR task other than ‘Discard (DS or DIS)’ should be a clear indication of the necessity/obligation to produce a corresponding ICA. Certain deteriorations or levels of deterioration may require specific instructions (e.g. inspection or restoration) that will only be developed and provided on a case-by-case basis, as needed, for a given product or article, and as such, will not be included in the ICA. In some exceptional cases, product ICA may ultimately instruct the user to contact the DAH in order to define the specific instructions on a case-by-case basis. This typically happens when the definition of generic instructions covering all possible cases is not possible. For example, following an aircraft hard landing, a detailed analysis may have to be carried out by the DAH to determine the specific instructions to be followed, which depends on the touchdown loads, recalculated postflight, based on recorded flight data.

Note 1: For the purpose of this GM, the term ‘supplier data’ also applies to similar types of data when issued directly by the DAH (e.g. component maintenance manuals issued by the DAH). Note 2: For the purpose of this GM, the term ‘supplier data’ has to be understood as data coming from the supplier and related to either a full CMM or to part of a CMM. Note 3: The link between the aircraft ICA and the engine/propeller CMM, as detailed below, is similar to the link between engine/propeller ICA and the CMM of equipment fitted to the engine/propeller. Note 4: If the supplier is also the DAH (for instance, an engine or propeller manufacturer), then the ICA for these items will be made available by virtue of the DAH obligations as type-certificate holder (TCH) and need not be included in the aircraft ICA.

(a)When determining whether a supplier data is part of the ICA, the following should be considered:

(1)Supplier data related to the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the ICA is part of the ICA. A typical CS-25 example is critical design configuration control limitation (CDCCL) items that are included in CMMs.

(2)Supplier data related to instructions on how to accomplish the scheduled maintenance part of the aircraft ICA (such as MRBR) are part of the aircraft ICA. A typical case is the periodical removal of a component to perform a workshop task. Example: Escape slide removal for restoration in accordance with the supplier data instructions.

(3)Supplier data related to scheduled maintenance on the component should be endorsed by the DAH before becoming part of the aircraft ICA, to define and confirm that the supplier data is applicable and effective.

(4)If the ICA are defined at aircraft level, the following principles apply to the other supplier data that is not related to the ALS nor to scheduled maintenance:

(i)If the supplier data includes a maintenance instruction for an action identified in the aircraft-level ICA, including an engine or propeller, this supplier data should be referenced in the aircraft-level ICA and should be made available like any other ICA. As an alternative to linking such supplier data to the aircraft-level ICA (e.g. with cross references), it is possible to include the relevant data directly into the aircraft ICA. In such a case, the supplier data is not part of the aircraft ICA since the aircraft ICA already contain all the required information.

(ii)If an aircraft ICA task only requires a replacement task for an engine, propeller, part or appliance (i.e. ‘remove and replace’ or ‘discard’) and does not refer to the supplier data for further maintenance of the removed engine, propeller, part or appliance, this means that the aircraft airworthiness may only be maintained by replacement action, and that the supplier data is not part of the ICA for the aircraft. In such cases, the supplier data does not need to be referenced in the aircraft ICA. Example: If supplier data provides off-aircraft maintenance instructions for an engine, propeller, or other article (i.e. workshop maintenance), then this data may not be considered as part of the complete set of ICA for the aircraft, but may be considered as part of the complete set of ICA for the engine or propeller. However, the procedure for removal from / installation on the aircraft is necessarily part of the aircraft ICA.

(b)However, for the above cases, aircraft-level ICA can provide, as additional or optional maintenance information, the references to the supplier data even if it is not considered part of the ICA. In such cases, it should be made clear that the supplier data references are provided as additional or optional maintenance information and is not part of the product ICA. Besides, it should be ensured that the use of additional or optional maintenance information not considered as ICA but referenced together with the ICA will not compromise the continued airworthiness of the product or article.

(b)For the supplier data identified as part of the ICA, the DAH should:

(1)identify the supplier data that is part of the ICA; this can be achieved either by creating a listing or by any other acceptable means that allow to identify which data is part of the ICA and which data is not part of the ICA (refer to AMC1 21.A.7(b));

(2)just as for any other ICA, ensure the publication of the supplier data;

(3)ensure the accuracy and the adequacy of the technical content of the supplier data (refer to GM No. 1 to 21.A.239(a), point 3.1.5)

(a)Non-ICA supplier data referenced together with the ICA Supplier data, or parts of the supplier data, which is not considered to be part of the ICA but is additional or optional maintenance information referenced together with the product-level ICA, may be issued by the supplier to the DAH under a contract or an arrangement, using the methodology proposed in AMC3 21.A.7(a).

(b)Other non-ICA supplier data Non-ICA supplier data, which is not referenced together with the ICA, but which can be used for the maintenance of components approved for installation by the DAH, should be acceptable to the DAH. This non-ICA supplier data may be documented in a list.

The design approval holder (DAH) should identify the complete set of ICA according to point 21.A.7(b) in such a way that the complete set can be:

(a)directly listed in the product TCDS; or

(b)indirectly referenced in the TCDS through other means, which allow the complete list of the ICA to be obtained (e.g. a complete listing of ICA contained in a ‘principal manual’ or a reference to a DAH’s website); or

(c)directly listed in the product STC; or

(d)indirectly referenced in the STC through other means, which allow the obtainment of the complete list of the ICA; or

(e)if direct reference is made to the ICA in the TCDS or the STC, no reference to the revision level of the ICA should be made; in this case, the revision level should be available elsewhere (e.g. on the DAH’s website). For changes to type certificates and repairs, the identification of ‘a complete set of the changes to the instructions for continued airworthiness’ should be performed by the DAH by a statement to provide this information, or by confirmation that there are no changes to the ICA. This statement can also be made in the accomplishment document (e.g. embodiment instructions). For products and articles for which the DAH holds a design organisation approval (DOA), the ICA are considered to be issued under the authority of the DOA and, therefore, the approval of the ICA should be made explicit to the reader in accordance with point 21.A.265(h), unless otherwise agreed with EASA.

For the purpose of this GM, ‘any other person required to comply’ means: any independent certifying staff who performs maintenance on a product or article, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, in the framework of a contract (or work order) with the person or organisation responsible for the aircraft continuing airworthiness; any maintenance organisation approved to maintain a product or article, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, in the framework of a contract (or work order) with the owner of the engine or article, or the person or organisation responsible for the aircraft continuing airworthiness; any organisation approved to manage the aircraft continuing airworthiness in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, in the framework of a contract with the aircraft owner or aircraft operator.

ICA can be furnished or made available by various means (including paper copies, electronic documents, or web-based access). Regardless of the format, the design approval holder (DAH) is expected to furnish or make ICA available in a means that is readily accessible for and useable by the owner and any person required to comply with the ICA. Service documents, such as service information letters, may be used for transmitting ICA information and updates.

(a)Formatting standards Applicants may use the latest ATA, AECMA/ASD or GAMA formatting standards such as:

(1)AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), ASD-S1000D, International Specification for Technical Publications Utilizing a Common Source Data Base, version 4 or higher;

(2)the Air Transport Association’s (ATA) iSpec 2200, Information Standards for Aviation Maintenance, latest edition (ATA is now known as Airlines for America (A4A) but the standard is still listed as ATA); or

(3)General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Specification No. 2, Specification for Manufacturers Maintenance Data, latest edition. In regard to scheduled maintenance, applicants may also refer to the glossary of the ATA MSG-3 standard, latest revision, for standardised task definitions and designations.

(b)General considerations ICA should be easy to read and to follow. All ICA should include a means to identify their applicability (model, type, etc.), and the associated revision status. Refer to sample formats in the Air Transport Association’s iSpec 2200, Information Standards for Aviation Maintenance, latest edition, or AECMA/ASD standards. There is no requirement for any specific format or arrangement of the ICA in document or documents. However, the specific format selected by the applicant should be used and applied in a uniform manner. Empty pages in a document should contain a statement like ‘Intentionally left blank’ or similar. At the beginning of each procedure, the ICA should contain cautions and warnings regarding possible mistakes that can be made when following the instructions. Abbreviations, acronyms and symbolisation should be either avoided or explained as part of the ICA documentation. ICA contain units of measurement. Measurements could be, for instance, instrument readings, temperatures, pressures, torque values with tolerances, limits, and ranges when applicable. If the ICA contain units of measurement of a system other than the metric, the ICA should include a conversion to the metric system for each measurement, tolerance, or torque value. A general conversion table alone should not be provided, as it may introduce an additional source of error. The DAH should use a means to indicate changes to the ICA directly in relation to each item of the information/data of the ICA, e.g. using a vertical change bar in the margin next to the line.

(c)Publication of ICA in multiple documents DAHs may prepare ICA as a document, or several documents, depending on how much data is necessary to provide a complete set of ICA. If there are multiple documents, there should be a principal document that describes the general scope of all other documents, in order to provide an overview of the multiple document structure. According to different standards, the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) needs to be included in the principal document as a dedicated section. However, EASA may also accept a separate Airworthiness Limitations document, when it is at least referenced as such in the principal document. DAHs who decide to segregate information dedicated to a specific subject from a principal document into a separate document, e.g. ‘Fuel Pipe Repair Manual’, ‘Cable Fabrication Manual’, ‘Duct Repair Manual’ or ‘Instrument Display Manual’, should declare these documents to be ICA. DAHs may decide to integrate certain information in a principal document (as, for example, troubleshooting information as part of the aircraft maintenance manual (AMM) instead of a separate troubleshooting manual (TSM)).

(d)Language ICA should be provided in any of the official language(s) of the European Union which is (are) acceptable to the competent authority. Note: In certain countries, such as the USA, English is required for ICA. EASA, therefore, recommends that DAHs include a version of the ICA in simplified technical English (e.g. in accordance with ASD Specification STE100).

(e)Electronic media ICA may be provided in an electronic format (e.g. CDs, via the internet, etc.) instead of paper copies or microfilms (refer to AMC1 21.A.7(b)). When an electronic format is used, the DAH should consider aspects such as the traceability of updates, keeping previous versions (record keeping), data security and the obligations of the person(s) or organisation(s) responsible for the aircraft continuing airworthiness, considering that the ICA form the basis of the data used for continuing airworthiness activities.

When the ICA refer to a document for a specific component or article, it is possible that this document is used for products from more than one DAH. In such cases, instead of placing approval statements from each DAH in the same manual, it may be more practical to identify the approved status of the relevant document through its inclusion in lists managed by the DAH in accordance with the AMC1 21.A.7(b).

The aircraft/engine/propeller type-certificate holder (TCH) should ensure the availability of ICA to allow maintenance of the aircraft, including engines/propellers when installed on the aircraft. When referring to engine/propeller ICA directly in the aircraft ICA, the aircraft TCH should not perform additional verification and validation. However, the integration and interface aspects between the aircraft and the engine/propeller are still under the responsibility of the aircraft TCH. If the ICA published by the aircraft TCH include some engine/propeller ICA developed by the engine/propeller TCH, the engine/propeller TCH should make an arrangement with the aircraft TCH setting out engine/propeller TCH and aircraft TCH shared responsibilities with respect to the ICA under point 21.A.7. This arrangement should: define the part of the engine/propeller ICA which is published in the aircraft ICA; and address the development, publication and update processes of these ICA, including completeness and timely availability aspects. The incorporated engine/propeller data content remains under the responsibility of the engine/propeller TCH, and the publication is under the responsibility of the aircraft TCH. Therefore, the aircraft TCH must coordinate with the engine/propeller TCH regarding any modification or alteration of the incorporated data.

COMPLETENESS AND TIMELY AVAILABILITY OF THE ICA FOR TYPE-CERTIFICATE (TC) AND RESTRICTED TYPE-CERTIFICATE (RTC) APPLICANTS

(a)An applicant may wish to choose among the three options described below. Once the certification programme starts, it may be necessary to modify the initially selected option to accommodate programme changes. All such changes should be coordinated with EASA.

(1)Option 1: Complete ICA are available at the time of the design approval (TC/RTC)

(i)The ICA will be made available at the time of the design approval. This option minimises the risk of incomplete ICA, especially for changes.

(ii)With all ICA available at the time of the design approval, they should also be furnished / made available to the aircraft operator / aircraft owner and made available to any other person required to comply with any of those instructions in accordance with points 21.A.21(c)(4), 21.A.44 and 21.A.7, without using the provision to delay certain parts of the ICA after the entry into service.

(iii)Frequently, there is only a short period of time between the design approval and the entry into service. Nevertheless, applicants/holders may still wish to apply Option 2 or 3 for a part of their ICA as stated below.

(2)Option 2: Complete ICA are available at entry into service (TC/RTC) If an applicant plans to make part of the ICA available to EASA at entry into service, the following approach is acceptable:

(i)For the ALS, as part of the type design, notwithstanding the selection of Option 2: the applicant submits the ALS for approval prior to the design approval. Any ALS content that is incomplete, not yet demonstrated for compliance, or delayed beyond the design approval, requires to be compensated through an interim limitation to establish compliance within this limitation. The interim limitation is notified to the aircraft operator(s) concerned as a temporary operational limitation in a manner agreed with EASA. In this context, ALS content is understood as the task method (e.g. a detailed inspection), including its reference, title and applicability, and the associated threshold / interval / life-limit. The accomplishment procedure itself, i.e. how to carry out the task, is usually described in other parts of the ICA (e.g. in the AMM or NDT manual). However, the feasibility study of the accomplishment procedure is required for compliance with specific requirements (e.g. CS 25.611).

(A)This may typically apply when the aircraft structural full-scale fatigue testing required for compliance with the fatigue- and damage-tolerance requirements, considering the expected operational life, will not be completed prior to the type certificate being issued. In this case, a temporary operational limitation is assigned and stated in the ALS, dependent on the aircraft full-scale fatigue testing progress. The ALS is effectively incomplete beyond this temporary operational limitation, as the required justification and the resulting ICA are not yet available to support the safe operation of the aircraft beyond this limitation.

(B)A TCDS notation is not necessary, since the product is provided with complete ALS content up to the established temporary operational limitation.

(ii)A compliance plan identifying those parts of the ICA that are only to be made available at entry into service is produced, submitted to EASA and agreed between the applicant and EASA prior to the design approval (refer also to (iv) for ICA considered to be necessary at the time of the design approval.

(iii)A commitment is provided to produce, verify and submit (when requested) to EASA the relevant ICA prior to entry into service. This commitment should be provided in a certification document (e.g. the compliance plan) and should also be addressed in a more general manner in a DOA procedure for EU holders/applicants in accordance with points 21.A.239 and 21.A.263. If the respective DOA holder has not previously exercised the practice of delaying the ICA beyond the design approval in order for the DOA to demonstrate this capability in its design assurance system (DAS), the required procedural changes need to be addressed via a significant change to the DAS in accordance with point 21.A.247.

(iv)ICA considered to be necessary at the time of design approval are provided or made available in a format that adequately defines the data. Furthermore, the way the data is presented at the time of the design approval offers the same understanding of the data as in the final published format. The applicant should agree with the Agency, in a compliance plan, on all ICA necessary at the time of design approval. The Agency investigation may vary from no involvement or evaluating a limited sample of the ICA to performing a thorough review of specific parts of the ICA.

(v)In cases where the AgencyEASA has doubts as to whether the applicant/holder can fulfil the applicable requirements of point 21.A.44 to control and support delaying the ICA beyond the design approval, or TC/RTC, and until entry into service, EASA can decide to assign a condition for entry into service for non-ALS ICA. As a condition for the entry into service, a note should be included in the type certificate data sheet (TCDS) as a result of these pending issues under the ICA paragraph as follows: ‘Note: The ICA are not complete. As per point 21.A.7 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, they must be completed before the entry into service of the aircraft. Contact EASA for information on the status.’ The decision to assign a condition may be based on the applicant’s performance, e.g. if the applicant has already demonstrated in previous projects that it provided the complete set of ICA before the entry into service, if the applicant has already experienced difficulties in providing the ICA considered necessary at the time of the design approval, or has previously failed on a different project to meet its commitment to complete the ICA prior to entry into service, or if the applicant/holder has no previous experience with the practice of delaying the ICA beyond the design approval.

(vi)Post-TC action is established together with EASA (if EASA requests such a review) to review the ICA status at entry into service.

(vii)If all ICA are made available to EASA at the time of entry into service, they should also be furnished at this time to the aircraft operator / aircraft owner and made available to any other person(s) required to comply with any of those instructions in accordance with points 21.A.21(c)(4), 21.A.44 and 21.A.7, without using the provision to delay certain parts of the ICA beyond the entry into service. For an EU holder/applicant, this should be supported as part of the DOA/ADOA procedure. Flow chart A — ‘Completeness of ICA’, Option 1 and 2 [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.]

(3)Option 3: Complete ICA are available after the entry into service (TC/RTC) As per point 21.A.7(c), certain ICA dealing with the ‘overhaul or other forms of heavy maintenance’ may be delayed until after the aircraft entry into service. Although there is no definition of what is meant by ‘overhaul or other forms of heavy maintenance’, the intention of the rule is to provide flexibility to applicants/holders for long-lead ICA of a scheduled nature. If an applicant plans to make part of the ICA available only after the entry into service, the following is acceptable for the complete set of ICA:

(i)for the ALS, as it cannot be delayed until after the entry into service, point (i) of Option 2 applies;

(ii)for ICA considered to be necessary at the time of the design approval, point (iv) of Option 2 applies.

(iii)a detailed compliance plan identifying those parts of the ICA that are to be provided prior to and after the entry into service. For ICA made available after the entry into service, the plan should account for when the ICA are needed so that they can be complied with. This approach may only be used for scheduled maintenance accomplishment procedures, where threshold / interval / life-limit requirements of the related scheduled tasks are established. In that respect, the following aspects should be considered:

(A)The majority of the ICA are of an unscheduled nature; therefore, these items should be available at entry into service at the latest.

(B)Consideration should be given to the fact that a number of tasks are used for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance (e.g. an operational check of a system is planned as a scheduled task at a certain point in time, but is also required as part of the installation procedure to determine the operational status of the system).

(C)For ICA to be made available after entry into service, the detailed plan should contain threshold(s) controlled by the applicant/holder, stating the maximum value in flight hours (FH) / flight cycles (FC) or calendar time (CT), or a combination of them as applicable, by which point in time the delayed ICA should be made available.

(D)This detailed plan should be available prior to the time of the design approval and should be either directly integrated or cross-referenced in a compliance plan.

(E)Information on the format in which the ICA delayed until after entry into service will be made available in time (e.g. regular revisions or temporary revisions (TRs) or service information (SBs, SIL, etc.).

(iv)A procedure/programme that ensures a detailed plan is produced and implemented in the applicant’s organisation in order to ensure the timely availability (to the aircraft operator / aircraft owner and to any other person required to comply with any of those instructions and to the Agency, if involved and when requested). For an EU holder/applicant, this should be part of the design organisation approval (DOA) procedure in accordance with points 21.A.239 and 21.A.263.

(v)A commitment is made to produce, verify and provide the relevant ICA in accordance with the detailed plan. This commitment should be provided in a certification document (e.g. a compliance plan) and should also be addressed in a more general manner in a DOA procedure for EU holders/applicants in accordance with points 21.A.239 and 21.A.263. If the respective DOA holder has not previously exercised the practice of delaying the ICA beyond the design approval in order for the DOA to demonstrate this capability in its design assurance system (DAS), the required procedural changes need to be addressed via a significant change to the DAS in accordance with point 21.A.247.

(vi)In order to ensure that the applicant/holder can meet their obligations as set out in point 21.A.44 to control and support delaying the ICA, EASA may decide:

(A)for ICA delayed until entry into service, to assign a condition/notation for the entry into service to be included in the TCDS as a result of these pending issues under the ICA paragraph, as per point (v) of Option 2;

(B)for ICA delayed until after entry into service, to assign an interim limitation to be published and included in the ALS as a temporary operational limitation, also for non-ALS ICA, to compensate for the delayed ICA; this approach may only be used for scheduled maintenance accomplishment procedures, where task and interval requirements are available. The decision to assign a condition/limitation may be based on the applicant’s performance, e.g. if the applicant has already demonstrated in previous projects that it provided the complete set of ICA before the entry into service, if the applicant had already difficulties in providing the ICA considered necessary at the time of the design approval, or has failed before in a different project to control and support delaying the ICA, or if the applicant/holder has not previously exercised the practice of delaying the ICA beyond the design approval.

(vii)Post-TC action should be established with EASA to regularly review the ICA status, if EASA requests such a review, taking into account the DOA oversight activities.

(viii)An applicant/holder should provide visibility, regarding the ICA that are delayed beyond entry into service, to the aircraft operator / aircraft owner and to any other person(s) required to comply with any of those instructions. This can be achieved by providing this information, for example, on a website or in a document, such as an MPD or AMM, preferably in the principal ICA manual. This visibility information is then itself considered to be ICA information.

(ix)It is assumed that for those ICA that are made available to EASA at the time of entry into service, they are also at the same time furnished to the aircraft operator / aircraft owner and made available to any other person(s) required to comply with any of those instructions in accordance with points 21.A.21(c)(4), 21.A.44 and 21.A.7. This is to satisfy EASA that such a delayed publication will not have an adverse effect on the continuing airworthiness of any individual aircraft. To allow the timely review and incorporation of a delayed part of the ICA into continuing airworthiness activities and processes (e.g. amendment of the aircraft Maintenance Programme) by the person or organisation responsible for the aircraft continuing airworthiness or for performing maintenance, the Agency considers that the delayed ICA should typically be made available two years before the actual ICA has to be used, when using normal revisions as a format. However, shorter time margins may be acceptable, provided that the format used ensures the prompt notification of the availability of the delayed ICA or the ICA itself, but they should not be less than 1 year before the ICA has to be used. Flow chart B — ‘Completeness of ICA’, Option 3 [Figure or form omitted from this preview — available in the Avioverse workspace library.]

(b)Completeness and timely availability of changes to the ICA (TC/RTC) Point 21.A.7(d) regulates the distribution of changes to the ICA required from the TC/RTC holder. Those changes to the ICA could result from the design change process (minor and major changes), in-service experience, corrections, and others. For an EU TC/RTC holder/applicant, a programme showing how changes to the ICA are distributed is part of the respective procedures (e.g. design organisation procedures, or alternative procedures used to demonstrate capabilities). For changes to the ICA triggered by design changes, typically these procedures follow the same principles as those available for TC/RTC, Options 1 to 3, while taking into account the relevant privileges, e.g. that a DOA may approve minor changes in accordance with point 21.A.263(c)(2).