INVESTIGATIONS In the case that the applicant for a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness issues an EASA Form 52 or an EASA Form 52B under the privileges granted as an approved production organisation under points (b) and (d) respectively of point 21.A.163 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, then no further action (i.e. no further showing) to investigate the conformity of a particular aircraft is required before issuing the certificate. EVALUATION OF THE NEED TO CONDUCT A PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT TO ENSURE THE CONFORMITY AND SAFETY OF FLIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT In the case where the production organisation has not been granted the privileges under points (b) and (d) of point 21.A.163 of Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, the evaluation of the need to conduct a physical inspection of the aircraft prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness will depend on the factors detailed in points (1) to (4) of point 21L.B.161(c). Further explanations on how these factors will influence the need to conduct a physical inspection are provided below:
(a)Results of the physical inspection of the first-article inspection by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture Under points 21L.B.143(b) and 21L.B.251(b) the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture is required to conduct a first-article inspection of an aircraft that has been produced for the first time by the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B. This first-article inspection should be considered to provide sufficient investigation to issue the first certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness by the competent authority of the Member State of registry provided there are no findings raised during the first-article inspection. If findings are raised, then the competent authority of the Member State of registry, in direct coordination with the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture, should determine whether there is a need to conduct a further physical inspection to ensure that the findings have been resolved to enable the issuance of the first certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness by the competent authority. It is foreseen that any findings that affect the airworthiness or safety of flight of the aircraft that was inspected should be resolved to the satisfaction of the competent authority of the Member State of registry in direct coordination with the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture before the first certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness can be issued. The results of the first-article inspection should be shared by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture with any other competent authority that has been requested to issue a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness in order for them to determine whether there is a need to conduct a physical inspection prior to issuing the certificate.
(b)Time period since the last physical inspection conducted by the competent authority of the Member State of registry If the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B has a low annual production rate (and, therefore, does not often request a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness), then the competent authority of the Member State of registry may wish to conduct a larger number of physical inspections of the aircraft that are produced (e.g. higher sample rate) prior to issuing the certificate. Conversely, if the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B has a high production rate and frequently issues EASA Forms 52B (and, therefore, requests a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness more often from the competent authority of the Member State of registry), and provided there are no issues, then the competent authority of the Member State of registry may decide to conduct a smaller number of physical inspections of the aircraft that are produced (e.g. lower sample rate) prior to issuing the certificate. If the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B has not produced an aircraft and has not issued an EASA Form 52B for a long time or has been dormant (and, therefore, has not requested a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness for a long time), then the competent authority of the Member State of registry may wish to conduct a physical inspection more frequently (e.g. higher sample rate) until sufficient trust can be restored in the production organisation or the natural or legal person. The exchange of information among the competent authorities of the Member States of registry on the outcome and results of physical inspections that have been conducted prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness will help to facilitate the decision to conduct a physical inspection or not. If the competent authority of a Member State of registry has recently conducted (or is frequently conducting) a physical inspection, then the results may be shared with other competent authorities to avoid duplication or a larger than necessary number of physical inspections (e.g. the overall sample rate among all competent authorities is too high).
(c)Results of oversight activities conducted by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture During the evaluation of the need to conduct a physical inspection of an aircraft, the outcome of oversight activities of the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture should be taken into consideration. For example, if level 1 findings or multiple level 2 findings have been raised by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture in the past, then it is logical that the competent authority of the Member State of registry will want to conduct a physical inspection more frequently (possibility focusing more on the identified weaknesses that resulted in the findings being raised). Likewise, if the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B is performing well and no issues have been discovered during oversight by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture, then this will have an influence and the competent authority of the Member State of registry will decide to conduct physical inspections less frequently (e.g. lower sample rate) prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness. The competent authority of the Member State of manufacture should provide, upon request, the outcome, results and any findings as a result of oversight activities of the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B to the competent authority of the Member State of registry to enable it to determine the need to conduct a physical inspection of an aircraft prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness. This information exchange will help the competent authority of the Member State of registry to avoid a larger than necessary number of physical inspection of manufacturers that perform well during oversight.
(d)Time period since the last oversight visit conducted by the competent authority of the Member State for manufacture If the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture has recently conducted an oversight of the production organisation or the natural or legal person, and provided no issues have been discovered, then there would be a reduced need for the competent authority of the Member State of registry to conduct a physical inspection of an aircraft shortly afterwards. Conversely, if it has been a while since the last oversight visit conducted by the competent authority of the Member State of manufacture, then there may be a greater need for the competent authority of the Member State of registry to conduct a physical inspection of the aircraft prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness. The competent authority of the Member State of manufacture should, upon request, provide the time period (and any other relevant information) since the last oversight visit of the production organisation or the natural or legal person that has issued an EASA Form 52B to the competent authority of the Member State of registry in order to allow it to determine the need to conduct a physical inspection prior to issuing a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness. This information exchange will help avoid unnecessary physical inspections of aircraft (e.g. physical inspections conducted of aircraft that have been produced by a production organisation or a natural or legal person that has recently had an oversight visit).