The provisions of the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Regulation RACR-OPS / LAAG "Air work operations and general aviation", ed. 01/2009, applies to air operators, Romanian or foreign natural or legal persons, who perform general aviation operations with airplanes and / or helicopters, other than light aircraft and / or helicopters and who do not hold an EASA type certificate, in the airspace of Romania.
General aviation operations are those operations performed by Romanian air operators, natural or legal persons with:
- complex motorized aircraft or
- non-complex motorized aircraft
According to RACR-OPS 2.175, complex motor-powered aircraft means:
- Planes:
- with a maximum certificated take-off mass over 5700 kg; or
- which have been certified for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than nineteen; or
- which have been certified to be operated with a minimum crew of at least two pilots; or
- equipped with one or more turbojet engines or more than one turboprop engine
- Helicopters:
- with a maximum certificated take-off mass over 3175 kg; or;
- which have been certified for a maximum passenger seating configuration of more than nine; or
- which have been certified to be operated with a minimum crew of at least two pilots.
- Tilting engine aircraft.
Non-complex aircraft are the other aircraft that do not fall under point A, except the ultra-light ones.
The manner of conducting the authorization of general aviation operations with complex motor-powered aircraft not holding an EASA certificate and the inclusion of the air operator in the surveillance program is described in Part NCC-NCO / GA, Section 2, of the PIAC-OPS Procedures “Procedures and Instructions of Civil Aeronautics for conducting air operations ”.
1. General aviation operations with complex motorized aircraft
A. AACR information
An air operator intending to conduct general aviation operations with complex motor-powered aircraft may request a meeting with AACR representatives in order to obtain the necessary information by submitting to AACR information on the intention to conduct such operations.
The meeting takes place between a team established internally in AACR and the responsible manager of the operator.
At this meeting, the operator shall receive information on the regulations, directives, circulars and procedures that he must know and apply. At the request of the applicant, the AACR shall provide it with a package of information necessary to be implemented for the safe conduct of general aviation operations with complex motor-powered aircraft.
B. Authorization of general aviation operations with complex motor-powered aircraft
If an air operator intends to conduct general aviation activities with complex motorized aircraft, following the completion of the information phase, it may request authorization in this regard, based on the provisions of RACR-OPS LAAG.
The request for authorization shall be made by the aircraft owner submitting a standard application to the AACR registry at least 30 days before the proposed start date.
The standard application shall be completed in Romanian or English and shall be accompanied by supporting documentation which shall include at least:
- the nomination made by the aircraft owner of the person responsible for compliance with the applicable provisions and for the safe conduct of general aviation operations and supporting documentation, unless prior acceptance has been obtained in this regard, the Procedures Manual developed for the conduct of operations general aviation,
- any document required to operate an aircraft for which prior approval has not been obtained (eg flight manual, MEL, etc.).
- copy of third party liability insurance contracts,
- proof of the training of the personnel involved in the operation necessary to obtain specific approvals, if any.
The process of obtaining specific approvals, if requested, is carried out according to the provisions of Chap. 2 of Part GEN of PIAC-OPS.
Authorization of general aviation operations with complex motorized aircraft consists of:
- the acceptance of the person proposed by the owner of the aircraft as being responsible for compliance with the applicable provisions and for the safe conduct of air operations, and
- approval of the Procedures Manual.
The letter of authorization shall remain valid as long as the air operator complies with the provisions of RACR-OPS LAAG.
C. Continuous supervision
After the issuance of the authorization letter, AACR continuously evaluates and monitors their holders through inspections / surveillance audits, in order to carry out operations in safe conditions according to the provisions of the applicable legislation.
If during the supervisory inspections deficiencies with multiple implications are found between the air operator's departments, the inspections may turn into an audit of the entire air operator's management system. At the same time, when financial deficiencies are identified, the AACR may adopt other supervisory measures, including requesting a financial audit.
AACR will apply a planning cycle for the supervision of Romanian air operators once every 24 months.
However, if the AACR finds that the safety performance of the air operator has decreased or if regulations / amendments have been issued to the applicable regulations that need to be implemented by the Romanian air operators, audits / inspections may be performed on the air operators concerned. whenever deemed necessary, in which case those audits / inspections will be unplanned.
D. Findings and corrective actions
AACR has a system for analyzing findings in terms of their safety significance, as follows:
- a Level 1 finding is issued when any significant non-compliance with the applicable requirements, the organisation's procedures and manuals or the conditions of an approval or certificate is found, which reduces the level of safety or seriously endangers the safety of the flight.
- a level 2 finding shall be issued when any non-compliance with applicable requirements, the organisation's procedures and manuals or the conditions of an approval or certificate is detected, which could reduce the level of safety or endanger the safety of the flight.
When a non-compliance is issued, the AACR communicates that finding in writing to the organization and requests corrective action to resolve the identified non-compliance (s). The corrective action plan must be formulated so as to allow the identification of the cause of the non-compliance, its correction and the corrective action as well as the time period necessary for the implementation of the proposed corrective action.
In the case of Level 1 findings, the AACR shall take immediate and appropriate measures to prohibit or restrict activities and, where appropriate, take measures to revoke the certificate or specific approval or to limit or suspend it in whole or in part, in depending on the extent of the level 1 finding, until the organization has successfully taken corrective action.
In the case of Level 2 findings, AACR:
- gives the organization a deadline for the implementation of corrective actions corresponding to the nature of the finding, which, in any case, does not exceed three months in any case. At the end of this period and depending on the nature of the finding, AACR may extend the period by three months subject to the existence of a satisfactory, previously accepted corrective action plan; and
- assess the corrective actions and implementation plan proposed by the organization and, if the evaluation concludes that they are sufficient to resolve the non-compliance (s), accept them.
If an organization does not submit an acceptable corrective action plan or does not execute the corrective action within the timeframe accepted or extended by the AACR, the finding becomes a Level 1 finding and action is taken on this type of non-compliance.
2. General aviation operations with non-complex motorized aircraft
In the case of operation with aircraft other than complex motorized aircraft, the responsibility for the safe conduct of general aviation air operations, as well as compliance with the applicable provisions lies entirely with the pilot-in-command of the aircraft.