Stage: Final Publications

Regulatory Agency Final Publications

FAA Notice N8900_671 Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP), and Compliance Program

This notice supplements current policy relating to the Aviation
Safety Action Program (ASAP) and the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP). The
changes are to policy contained in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 8900.1,
Volume 11, Chapter 1, Section 1, Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program for Air Carriers and
Regulated Entities; and Volume 11, Chapter 2, Section 1, Safety Assurance System: Aviation
Safety Action Program. These changes primarily address the impact and application of the
Compliance Program, calling for the removal of Administrative Action as a required outcome for
accepted voluntary disclosures under the VDRP, and eliminate Administrative Action and the
Enforcement Decision Process (EDP) tool from application to accepted reports within the ASAP
and from the current edition of FAA Order 2150.3, FAA Compliance and Enforcement Program.

EASA Opinion No 02/2023 Regular update of the standardised European rules of the air

This Opinion addresses safety and regulatory coordination issues related to the standardised European rules of the air (SERA). Its main objective is to maintain a high level of safety and environmental performance of the European Union (EU) air navigation system, by ensuring the necessary maintenance and development of the SERA regulatory framework.

To achieve this objective, this Opinion includes proposed amendments to Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 (the SERA Regulation) which:

  • ensure synchronisation between the SERA regulatory framework and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provisions, especially those of ICAO Doc 4444 ‘PANS-ATM’ up to its Amendment 9, particularly in relation to new procedures on standard instrument departures (SID) and standard instrument arrivals (STAR) and other provisions identified as being of a ‘rules-of-the-air’ nature;
  • introduce changes to the existing radio communication failure procedure in anticipation of a future amendment to ICAO Annex 2, thus bringing forward in time the related operational benefits;
  • remove the Supplement to the Annex to the SERA Regulation, containing the commonly agreed differences to ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), and amend the requirements on the notification of differences by introducing regulatory references to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
  • address issues in the implementation of the SERA Regulation as either identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) through its standardisation activities or raised by stakeholders; and
  • remove editorial mistakes and identified consistency issues.

The Opinion also includes minor proposed amendments to Annexes I ‘Part-DEFINITIONS’, IV ‘Part-ATS’ and VI ‘Part-AIS’ to Regulation (EU) 2017/373 (the ATM/ANS Common Requirements Regulation) and to Regulation (EU) No 139/2014 (the Aerodromes Regulation) for consistency purposes.

A safety recommendation (SR) addressed to EASA, related to the inclusion of information with regard to the on-board ballistic parachutes in the flight plan, is also addressed by this proposal

FAA Notice 8900.669 Carriage of 14 CFR Part 25 Exemption Authorized Persons Aboard All-Cargo Airplanes and OpSpec/Part 125 LOA A005 Requirements

This notice provides clarification and guidance to principal
inspectors (PI) who carry certain persons onboard an all-cargo airplane with a Class E1
cargo
compartment. Additionally, this notice will ensure that any exemptions authorized by Title 14 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 25 relating to the carriage of authorized persons
will be listed in Operations Specification (OpSpec) or part 125 Letter of Authorization
(LOA) A005, Exemptions and Deviations. Part 125 LOA A005 is also applicable to A125 Letter
of Deviation Authority (LODA) holders, so this notice applies to those PIs as well.

FAA AC-120-119 Voluntary Safety Management System for Other Regulated Entities Transporting Dangerous Goods by Air

This Advisory Circular (AC) provides information on how entities subject to requirements codified
at Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 171-180 (e.g., entities performing
functions such as, but not limited to, handling or shipping of dangerous goods by air and
hereinafter referred to as “other regulated entities”) may choose to voluntarily implement a Safety
Management System (SMS) as described in Title 14 CFR, part 5 – Safety Management Systems.

FAA N8900_670 5G C-Band Radio Altimeter Tolerant Airplanes Affecting OpSpecs C048, C059, and C060 Under 14 CFR Part 129

This notice announces actions for principal inspector (PI) review of
aircraft documentation for 5G C-Band radio altimeter tolerance for foreign air carriers operating
under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 129. It also announces revised
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 8900.1, Flight Standards Information
Management System, guidance associated with the change.