Harmonien mellom EASA og FAA i fare, mener republikanere - AIN

 

House Republicans Worry EASA Is Changing Cert Approach

Republican leaders on the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee are expressing concern that EASA may be considering approaches to certification that are contrary to bilateral agreements. In a letter last week to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Reps. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) cited EASA Director-General Patrick Ky’s statements made before the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism in January that EASA “will increase our level of involvement [and] our level of independent review of U.S. projects in order to build our own safety assessments.”

The lawmakers worry that this statement is being interpreted to mean that EASA “intends to move away from the established practice of relying on the FAA for the certification of U.S. aircraft and products, and…will assert a more independent role in clearing their airworthiness.” They further fear these changes are intended to apply to all U.S. aircraft and products, regardless of existing practices under the U.S.-EU Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA). “His statement appears to unilaterally undermine the core premise of the BASA, which is based upon reciprocity between comparable certification systems,” the lawmakers said.

The BASA is built on a partnership between the regulatory authorities and the recognition of their respective work is a key tenet, they said. The lawmakers asked Buttigieg to confirm that EASA’s plans do not violate the BASA.