NCC Declarations and RVSM approvals

Your ref: 24.03.2017 Our ref: 28.04.2017 No 4.4-13/17/1296-2 Dear Mr Lewis, Please find answers from Estonian CAA in the attachment. Best regards, Karl Rattassep Senior Inspector of Flight Operations Department +372 610 3571 www.ecaa.ee | Lõõtsa street 5, 11415 Tallinn Estonian Civil Aviation Administration From: LEWIS Andrew [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 3:48 PM To: Austria <[email protected]>; Belgium <[email protected]>; Croatia <[email protected]>; Cyprus (Melanie Ioannou) <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Denmark <[email protected]>; Kadri Tusis <[email protected]>; Georgia <[email protected]>; [email protected]; France (JEANNIN Benoit DGAC/DSAC) <[email protected]>; Germany <[email protected]>; Greece <[email protected]>; Italy <[email protected]>; Latvia ([email protected]) <[email protected]>; Lithuania (Rytis Dulinskas) <[email protected]>; Luxembourg <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Netherlands <[email protected]>; Poland <[email protected]>; Romania <[email protected]>; Slovakia <[email protected]>; Slovenia <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Sweden <[email protected]>; [email protected]; navapprovals <[email protected]> Subject: NCC Declarations and RVSM approvals The EUR RMA is increasingly identifying non-commercial aircraft operating without RVSM approval within European airspace. In many cases, particularly with private operators, it appears that states are not aware that these operators are operating out of their respective states until we contact them. We are also receiving a variation in the responses for who is responsible for reporting these approvals and under which state’s jurisdiction these come under. We are also receiving notifications of approval direct from private operators who are reporting themselves to us as RVSM approved, prior to making NCC declarations in the states in which they reside. The new EU regulation (800/2013) states that these operators should declare themselves to the State in which they are resident, or in which they conduct their principle business, providing evidence of special approvals (including RVSM). This is contrary to ICAO rules which defines the Competent Authority for non-commercial operators as the state of registry. In our attempts to fully understand how these changes have been implemented and what the implications are for the whole region we are sending you a short questionnaire intended to identify the issues which affect everyone. This should not be considered as a general quality control satisfaction survey, but a genuine effort to identify any problems which may exist, or whether there are differences in interpretation of what the new regulations require. We intend to submit a report to the regional planning group in May, and require feedback so that we know what the problems are (if any). The questionnaire has been put together informally to highlight the issues which we are aware of. However, feel free to only answer those questions which impact you and add any additional information which you consider to be relevant. We are particularly interested in how you manage operators of aircraft which may be registered outside of Europe, or which are registered in your state but which operate in other regions. If you prefer, you can ignore the questionnaire and just send me an e-mail listing any concerns you may have, or problems experienced with managing NCC aircraft. I do not intend to reference any individual responses in the report to the planning group, rather we are trying to identify general issues and trends which are experienced within the region. So all responses will be treated in full confidence. For states which are not part of the EU, we are interested to see if the new regulations within the EU have had any impact on how you manage the information related to NCC aircraft either operating from or to the EU. We would very much appreciate a response before the end of April if possible. Kind regards Andrew Lewis Manager EUR RMA (On behalf of ICAO EANPG) EUROCONTROL ____ This message and any files transmitted with it are legally privileged and intended for the sole use of the individual(s) or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender by reply and delete the message and any attachments from your system. Any unauthorised use or disclosure of the content of this message is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Nothing in this e-mail message amounts to a contractual or legal commitment on the part of EUROCONTROL, unless it is confirmed by appropriately signed hard copy. Any views expressed in this message are those of the sender. EUR RMA Survey on European NCC Declarations and RVSM Approvals The EUR RMA is mandated by ICAO EANPG to maintain centralised records of RVSM approvals for states accredited to the EUR RVSM region, including the majority of EU countries. Since the introduction of Commission Regulation (EU) No 8 00/2013, the Competent Authority (CA), for operators of Non-Commercial Complex (NCC) aircraft, is the state in which they have their residence or principle base of business. This differs from the ICAO requirement which defines the CA as the state of registry. Operators of NCC aircraft registered and based in the EU are required to file an NCC declaration, including evidence of all special approvals held , (PBN, RVSM, MNPS etc.) to the state in which they have their residence or principle base of business. From discussions held with a number of state representatives it is apparent that a number of different interpretations on how, and from whom, an operator should receive their special approvals, prior to submitting the NCC Declaration. This short questionnaire is intended to obtain a broad understanding of how the new changes are being managed in individual states so that a report can be produced for ICAO EANPG. No personal or specific state details shall be included in any report submitted to EANPG. Q1 Does your state provide a mechanism for NCC aircraft, registered in another EU country, to request an RVSM approval prior to submitting an NCC declaration? No mechanism established. Q2. If the answer to Q1 is No , then what is your interpretation on which organisation should provide the R VSM approval to an operator with an aircraft registered in another EU country, prior to his submission of an NCC declaration in your state? State of the operator (NCC operator) must issue RVSM approval. Q3. Under which circumstances do you expect an NCC operator to make their submission of NCC declaration? We expect operators having their principle place of business ( the part of the o rganisation that is responsible for the operation of aircraft ) in Estonia to submit a declaration as required by Regulation 965/2012. Q4. At what point do you become aware of an operator with an aircraft registered in another EU country, becoming resident in your country (and so becoming liable to submit an NCC declaration)? Do you receive any external notification? We become aware of the operator, when the operator itself contacts CAA. Usually there are no external notifications. Q5. Are you aware of any process for identifying operators which should have submitted an NCC declaration but have not? No. Q6. Do you accept NCC declarations from operators of aircraft registered in non-EU countries? Yes. Q7. Do you provide approvals for non-commercial operators of aircraft registered in your country, which may reside/operate wholly outside of the EU? No. Any other information which you may feel is relevant to this topic?