CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW, PHYSICAL INSPECTION AND FIRST-ARTICLE INSPECTION The oversight of a declared design organisation should be built around the product design and the investigations performed by EASA during the certification or the registration of a declaration of design compliance. These investigations are performed as follows:
(a)for the certification of design compliance:
(1)a critical design review is performed, as applicable, before the approval of the flight conditions (see point 21L.B.242(a)(1) and (a)(3));
(2)a physical inspection is performed, as applicable, before the approval of the flight conditions (see point 21L.B.242(a)(1) and (a)(3)); and
(3)a physical inspection of the first article (first-article inspection) is performed, as applicable, after receiving the declaration of compliance and before the issuance of the respective product design certificate or approval (see points 21L.B.46(c), 21L.B.83(c), 21L.B.102(c) and 21L.B.203(c));
(b)for a declaration of design compliance:
(1)a physical inspection is performed, as applicable, before the approval of the flight conditions (see point 21L.B.242(a)(2) and (a)(4)); and
(2)a physical inspection of the first article (first-article inspection) is performed, as applicable, after receiving the declaration of design compliance and before the registration of the respective declaration (see points 21.B.62(b), 21.B.121(b) and 21L.B.221(b)). Note: The physical inspections mentioned above are: for a certified product: compliance inspections during which EASA verifies that the product is compliant with the applicable type-certification basis and the applicable environmental protection requirements; for a declared aircraft: safety inspections during which EASA ensures that the aircraft is capable of safe flight and environmentally compatible; these physical inspections may include ground, functional and flight tests, as relevant. For the contents and methodology to perform critical design reviews, physical inspections and first-article inspections, refer to AMC2 21L.B.46(c), AMC1 21L.B.62(b), AMC1 21L.B.241(a)(1) and point 21L.B.242(a)(1), and AMC 21L.B.241(a)(2) and point 21L.B.242(a)(2).