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TECHNICAL AIRWORTHINESS MANAGEMENT MANUAL

SECTION 3 LEAFLET 8

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTINUING AIRWORTHINESS (ICA)

Applicable Regulations: 3.5.3 Maintenance Engineering Analysis 3.5.11 Special Technical Instructions 3.5.15 Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness 3.5.16 Flight Manuals and Operating Instructions

INTRODUCTION 1. Large quantities of Technical Information (TI) flow through AEOs every week, however, not all will result in a design change and therefore need to be processed through a Design Control System. Instead, where there is no change to the current approved configuration (the type design) a different approach is available. This approach still requires approval by a competent and approved individual, however requires no Design Approval or Design Acceptance, and is called Technical Approval. The documents that Technical Approval applies to are collectively called Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness (ICA). PURPOSE 2. The purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance to AEOs on Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness (ICA) and Technical Approval. SCOPE 3. The scope of this chapter is limited to management of Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness. It must be noted that where any conflicts occur between the guidance and the regulations, regulation takes precedence. INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTINUING AIRWORTHINESS Philosophy and Concept 4. Documentation required to disclose the design of a piece of technical equipment, and also ensure the continuing integrity of the design, encompasses more than just configuration documentation such as drawings, specifications and a configuration status account. The following information is also necessary to fully disclose a design and, in particular, redress departures from the initial design condition as a result of degradation and operation: a. in-service monitoring requirements, maintenance processes and authorised (standard) repairs; b. c. maintenance lives and intervals, and fatigue life; and operating procedures and limitations. 3.8 - 1 of 5 TERHAD

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5. This information is called Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness (ICA). ICA is normally documented in the technical series publications which include, but are not limited to: a. b. c. d. e. f. flight manuals; maintenance manuals; repair and overhaul manuals; illustrated parts breakdowns; structural repair manuals; and technical maintenance plans.

6. Any amendments to ICA require Technical Approval by a competent and authorised person prior to their issue. Note that this person does not have to be a DE; it can be any competent person who has been authorised by the SDE (or a DSDE if applicable). Some amendments to ICA will also require a complimentary design change. TECHNICAL APPROVAL 7. Technical Approval is a process that is unique to ICA, and has been created in order to separate the management of key publications affecting airworthiness from the design process. In this way, the discrete act of amending an ICA is not considered a design change (in isolation). Regulation 3.5.15 stipulates the requirements prior to providing Technical Approval, which have been further explained as follows: a. The instructions or amendment must be suitable for their intended purpose, technically sound and have been adequately validated. In other words, care must be taken to ensure that the correct ICA is being amended or published, and that the information is either suitable or consistent with information already present. Instructions that are technically sound and have been adequately validated may have been subject to a review by maintenance personnel or other staff within the AEO, and will have been written without excessive jargon, in the correct tone, and using correct terminology. In short, the instructions should make sense to all personnel expected to read them. Further, the instructions must accurately reflect the design change, in terms of consistency and terminology. b. Instructions being issued or amended as part of a design change require Design Approval and Design Acceptance of the design change prior to Technical Approval of the instructions. In these cases, the AEO may choose to embed the Technical Approval of ICA amendments within the Design Approval step. For ICA amendments that are not related to a design change (eg. OEM amendments to correct errors in user manuals), the AEO must have a separate procedure for Technical Approval. AMENDMENT PROCESS 8. ICA (Regulation 3.5.15). Technical publication amendments, such as changes to the way a particular maintenance task is performed, or changes to allowable limits and processes, are often initiated via form AO 11 Publication Improvement Report and Reply (PIRR), or other direct input from maintainers and operators. Amendment proposals such as these will routinely flow through the TIR process, and if appropriate will result in the drafting of a publication amendment, as well as a design change if applicable. In all cases the publication amendment will receive Technical Approval, while any design changes will www.dgta.gov.my 3.8 - 2 of 5 TERHAD

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receive Design Approval and Design Acceptance. Note that these activities must be performed prior to Service Release (refer to regulation 3.5.13 concerning Service Release). 9. Flight Manuals and Aircraft Operating Instructions (Regulation 3.5.16). Unlike most technical series publications, aircrew publications such as SAO flight manuals, are not usually sponsored by an AEO. Nevertheless, AEO procedures should include a step to firstly notify flight manual sponsors of TI received which is likely to affect such publications. Conversely, arrangements need to be in place with sponsors of the flight manual and aircraft operating instructions to ensure that these publications are not amended without prior endorsement by the AEO for technical content. SPECIAL TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION (STI) 10. An STI, as per regulation 3.5.11, is an instruction of a technical nature, issued by an AEO responsible for CI management of an aircraft or item, in those instances where the urgency cannot be satisfied by other types of implementing instructions (eg. publication amendment, modification order). An STI fulfils a similar purpose to that of a civil Airworthiness Directive (AD) or urgent/mandatory Service Bulletin (SB). 11. An AEO responsible for the management of a whole aircraft or Configuration Items (CIs) is required to establish an STI management system. Further explanation of regulation 3.5.11 requirements for the STI management system is as follows: a. STI format. The regulations require that the first page of any hardcopy STI is compliant red and white hatching. Beyond this, the regulations do not stipulate a format for STIs, providing the minimum content requirements of Regulation 3 Annex E are met. Further, there is no regulatory requirement for STIs released as messages to be converted to another format. b. STI Release. The regulations for STI release are consistent with those for technical approval of ICAs. Firstly, the STI must meet the content requirements of Regulation 3 Annex E. Further, for any design change implemented by the STI, the STI must accurately reflect that design, and the design must have received Incorporation Approval (IA) (and therefore, by definition, Design Acceptance certification). c. STI Amendments. Regulation 3.5.11 requires that no amendments are performed on STIs post STI release that reduces the applicability of the STI. Due to the nature of STIs, reduction in applicability is an engineering decision, and therefore should be subject to further rigour prior to release. This is particularly relevant for STIs relating to an inspection for defects or damage, or repairs resulting from such inspections. d. STI dispatch and receipt. Due to the urgent and often safety critical nature of STIs, it is important that the method of dispatch does not compromise readability. AEOs should consider carefully the quality of STIs transmitted by facsimile to deployed aircraft locations, as an example. Further, it is critical that recipients acknowledge receipt of the STI, to avoid operations with aircraft in a potentially unsafe condition. STIs for multifit items 12. The TAR is not prescriptive in the title and number of STI series that are generated. Therefore, while each aircraft AEO generally manages an STI series for the aircraft Type, an AEO performing CI management of CIs may establish an STI series specifically for those items. For CIs fitted to multiple platforms, STI generation should apply the following principles: www.dgta.gov.my 3.8 - 3 of 5 TERHAD

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a. The AEO performing CI management of the item should already have agreements in place with the aircraft AEOs that detail the organisational and technical interfaces (regulation 3.4.1) by which design changes to the CI are processed. The agreements should include the following: (1). Design Acceptance certification. A design change to a CI requires Design Acceptance certification by the DAR for each aircraft type for which the CI is fitted. The DAR may alternately allow the CI manager to perform Assumption of Design Acceptance certification for a certain scope of design changes. (2). STI dispatch. There should be an understanding as to whether an STI for the item is dispatched directly to user units, or forwarded to the aircraft AEO for dispatch as an aircraft STI. This ensures that the aircraft AEO has visibility of all STIs applicable to the aircraft, as well as user unit awareness of the authority for the STI once received. b. Regulation 3.5.11.b(2)(iii) requires that a design change implemented by an STI is to receive IA prior to STI release. Further, regulation 3.5.11.b(11) requires that STIs are traceable to any related Design Approval and Design Acceptance records. Therefore, the CI manager of a multifit item processing an STI involving a design change requires Design Acceptance certification (or authority to Assume) from each applicable DAR prior to STI release. FOREIGN SOURCE DATA (FSD) 13. Conversion to SAO Format. There is no regulation mandating if and when FSD is to be converted to SAO format. Such a consideration is the domain of the SAO Publications Agency, and further guidance may be obtained from RMAF Publication System Technical and Non-technical Manuals Section. 14. Amendments to FSD. The requirements of Regulation 3.5.14 Management of Type Design data are to be met irrespective of whether or not FSD is converted to SAO format. In particular, where the AEO has chosen not to assume control of the content of the FSD (and hence has not converted the FSD to SAO format), arrangements must be in place with the publisher of the FSD regarding the amendment process. The FSD publisher should be a member of the AEOs DSN, in which case consideration has already been given to how the publishers services are to be treated. 15. Amendments to FSD that involve a design change must be traceable to Design Approval and Design Acceptance records in accordance with Regulations 3.5.15 and 3.5.16 as appropriate. The status of the FSD publisher as a DSN member will determine the routing of FSD amendments received by the AEO. Amendments to FSD that are ICA must receive Technical Approval in accordance with Regulation 3.5.15. Amendments to FSD that are flight manuals or aircraft operating instructions must receive technical endorsement by the AEO in accordance with Regulation 3.5.16. Annex: A. Technical Information Flow Diagram

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PU 2103 Annex A to. Sect 3 Chap 8

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