Latin America took the first step towards European-style common aviation regulations last month when 11 countries signed the Latin American Regulations Part 145 (LAR 145) covering aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organisations.
Meeting in Caracas, Venuezuela, last month, the civil aviation authorities of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela agreed to accept independent audits of maintenance shops and to harmonise their regulations within five years with LAR 145. José Miguel Ceppi, regional director of the International Civil Aviation Organisation South American regional office, says: “Latin American member states of the regional system have finally reached an agreement and approved LAR 145 Version 2.”
The agreement foresees the licensing of independent auditors, whose facility approvals are legal in every signatory state, which ICAO believes will root out “conflicts of interest” resulting from small circles of aerospace facilities in many countries.
As part of the drafting process, Peruvian national MRO facility Servicio de Mantenimiento (Séman) received the first LAR 145 certificate, which has now been accepted by eight countries’ authorities. Panama has conflicts in its constitution over transfer of safety oversight, while Argentina and Brazil have larger industries that require more time to train and implement the reforms, says ICAO. Aeropostal in Venezuela, Lloyd Aero Boliviano (LAB) and Cubana de Aviación in Havana are also part of initial trials.
The agreement paves the way for future harmonisation of aviation rules, including crew licensing and air operators’ certificates. Personnel licences (PEL) are covered by a set of five regulations and the process is well advanced with training courses taking place across the region, says Ceppi. A final version of the regulations will be drafted next year, which will also take five years to implement, ICAO adds.
LAR Ops for commercial air operations and certification will follow, although it is expected to be more contentious than the former two. Some countries in the region follow US Federal Aviation Regulations, while others follow European Joint Aviation Regulations, says ICAO.
“The policy is not to translate directly any model and also not to try to ‘re-invent the wheel’; we need to develop the capacity in the region to establish its own regulations based on plain language that will be easy to understand by anyone and avoiding different interpretations,” ICAO says.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE/LONDON
Source: Flight International
