This Opinion addresses a safety issue related to aeroplane loss of control in-flight (LOC-I). The following initiatives are linked to this Opinion: various accident Safety Recommendations (SRs); European Aviation Safety Plan (EASp) safety actions; and amended International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

This Opinion proposes to integrate upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) requirements and provisions into the EU pilot training regulatory framework. The proposed training requirements aim to provide pilots with competencies to prevent upsets or to recover from developed upsets. The main focus of the new training standards is on pilots who intend to pursue a pilot career with a commercial airline. Such pilots would likely complete either an aeroplane airline transport pilot licence(ATPL) or a multi-crew pilot licence (MPL) integrated training course, followed by training to act as a pilot in a multi-crew environment on respective aircraft. The proposed pilot training aims to deliver enhanced pilot competencies through additional upset-prevention- and upset-recovery-related theoretical knowledge (TK) and flight instruction for the commercial aeroplane licences. The newly developed advanced UPRT course, which is to be mandated as an addendum to ATP and MPL training courses and also to serve as a prerequisite prior to commencing the first type rating course in multi-pilot operations, is seen as an important step towards enhancing a commercial pilot’s resilience to the psychological and physiological aspects often associated with upset conditions. In support of the new standards, the proposals place greater emphasis on the training of instructors involved in the flight and synthetic training who are foreseen to deliver the various UPRT elements. For training towards non-commercial licences (light aircraft pilot licence (LAPL), private pilot licence (PPL)), the existing training syllabi in AMC will be slightly revised to introduce UPRT elements, taking into account already existing training syllabi.

The proposal is expected to increase safety and ensure harmonisation with ICAO. The entry into force date of the proposed requirements and provisions is envisaged for April 2018, followed by an 1-year transition period until April 2019.

The objective of this Opinion is to address a safety and regulatory coordination issue related to flight crew licensing (FCL).

The main objective of this Opinion is to resolve any inconsistencies identified after the adoption of the FCL implementing rules. This is necessary to ensure that the European aviation regulatory system reflects the state of the art, and specifically the best practices developed in the Member States, in the field of pilot training, testing and checking. The specific objective of this Opinion is to maintain a high level of safety, to ensure harmonised implementation of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Aircrew Regulation’), and to consider at all levels the importance of General Aviation (GA) issues.

This Opinion proposes changes to the rule text of ‘Annex I — Part-FCL’, ‘Annex II — Conditions for the conversion of existing national licences and ratings for aeroplanes and helicopters’, and ‘Annex III — Conditions for the acceptance of licences issued by or on behalf of third countries’.

The proposed changes are expected to increase safety, reduce regulatory burden on Member States, improve harmonisation within the EASA Member States, ensure compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements, and improve proportionality of the rules for GA by applying the principles of the ‘General Aviation Road Map’.

The objective of this Opinion is to maintain a high level of safety in air operations by proposing amendments to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Air OPS Regulation’). The proposed amendments apply to all Parts of the Regulation (Definitions, Part-ARO, Part-ORO, Part-CAT, Part-SPA, Part-NCC, Part-NCO, Part-SPO).

This Opinion includes also the outcome of RMT.0352 on non-commercial operation of aircraft by a holder of an air operator certificate (AOC) proposing to remove the prior approval of the operational procedures used for non-commercial flights when these procedures differ from those employed in a commercial air transport (CAT) operation. It also introduces a regulatory framework to allow the use of aircraft registered on an AOC by other operators for other-than-CAT operations, and as a result, proposes an amendment to Part-M of Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Continuing Airworthiness Regulation’).

The proposed changes are expected to ensure alignment with ICAO. In addition, through said changes, EASA expects to ensure an efficient and proportionate set of implementing rules (IRs) and acceptable means of compliance (AMC)/guidance material (GM) on air operations and to resolve any inconsistencies identified following the adoption of the Air OPS Regulation, reflecting thus the state of the art and best practices in the fields concerned. The addition to the maintenance programme in Part-M mirrors the changes to the operational requirements brought about by RMT.0352.For information, EASA developed the related draft AMC/GM which are published for information together with this Opinion.