Aviation Authority Support
Having years of experience ourselves in the domain of regulatory oversight in aviation, SIG Aviation has been providing assistance to a variety of Civil Aviation Authorities, either inside or outside the EASA territory. SIG Aviation was a founding member of the Association of European Qualified Entities.
To ensure that a legal framework exists for this support, we work under the provisions of EU Regulation 2018/1139. This regulations allow EASA or national authorities to delegate certain functions to Qualified Entities. This delegation is particularly useful when immediate additional expertise or resources are needed at a Civil Aviation Authorities, using existing operational budgets without entering in staff hire and qualification topics.
Our role as Qualified Entity
Under the provisions of Qualified Entity, SIG Aviation has been tasked with various responsibilities, including:
-
Performing safety inspections and audits.
-
Conducting certification processes for aviation products, services, or organisations.
-
Carrying out technical assessments and evaluations.
-
Verifying compliance with aviation safety regulations and standards.
-
Performing training for CAA staff on AOC, CAMO, Part-145 and Specific Approval items.
Quality Matters
To be designated as a QE, SIG Aviation meets strict qualifications. For the purpose of ensuring our work meets the highest standards, we have a established a rigorous internal procedures manual that includes quality control processes and many of the typical (Flight) Operations Inspector tasks, including:
-
Competence and expertise in the specific tasks to be performed.
-
Impartiality and independence to ensure unbiased assessments.
-
Resources and capacity to carry out the delegated functions effectively.
-
Quality management processes in place to ensure consistent standards.
Qualified and Experienced staff
We work exclusively with experienced Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) and Certification Staff that is either still actively working for a European Civil Aviation Authority, or has recently retired. This ensures that our staff add's value and experience to your project from the first day on the job.
In addition, we ensure that our staff is thoroughly trained to interact to the highest level of professionalism with your clients and employees, based on rigid confidentiality agreements. You will find that we select only those that have excellent personal communication skills, and are able to understand and value the importance of hierarchical structures.
The typical staff inspectors that we employ have:
-
A bachelor's or Masters degree in aviation, aeronautical engineering, or a related field such as Risk Management
-
An Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) with at least 3.000 hours as Pilot in Command on large complex aircraft in a worldwide operation.
-
An extensive familiarity and knowledge with:
-
Authority Oversight
-
Certification processes for EASA CAT/NCC, ATO, FSTD's, CAMO, Part-145 organisations
-
Ramp Inspection Programs (SAFA/SANA)
-
Flight operations and inflight inspections, including all Part-SPA (specific approvals for EDTO, RNP-AR, LTS, etc)
-
Aircrew Training programs, including EBT, CRM, Competency Frameworks, TEM, Crew Behaviour, etc
-
Safety management systems, including risk based oversight, Safety Performance Indicators, Safety Culture Assessments, SIRA, etc
-
Compliance monitoring processes, including Root Cause Analysis methods, compliance audits, corrective action assessments and much more.
-
Example scenario's
1
New AOC
A small aviation authority lacks specialised personnel to assess an application for a new AOC, and some inspection tasks were delegated to SIG Aviation with the necessary expertise. We then conducted the inspections, tests, or evaluations and report findings back to the authority.
2
Windturbine Safety
A new windturbine is planned in proximity to a helicopter test site. The aviation authority lacks capacity to assess the aeronautical safety study submitted by the operator and contested by the helicopter manufacturer. SIG Aviation provides the expertise to objectively assess the plan and study, and provides a clear advice.
3
Flight Operations Inspectors (FOI) training
After an ICAO audit, a civil aviation authority finds it needs a practical and documented training for it's inspectors on the approval of highly specialised tasks such as the approval of Evidence Based Training programs, EDTO approvals, SET commercial approvals, etc.