KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON
Pilatus Aircraft says the delay by Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities in adopting commercial operations for single engine turboprop aircraft operating in instrument flight rules conditions (SEIFR) is destroying the single-engine aircraft manufacturing industry.
Pilatus PC-12 engineering manager Dominik Waser says: "We can't afford to wait around for the JAA anymore. This process started 10 years ago and now we have completely lost confidence." He adds: "Although the JAA says it could adopt NPA-29 [notice of proposed amendment] by the end of the year, we don't expect it to be signed off for at least two more years. This delay could cost us at least 10 PC-12 sales and even more for the industry as a whole."
Frustrated by the lengthy JAA process, Pilatus is pursuing SEIFR approval in Switzerland as a stepping stone to securing country-by-country certification in the JAA area. Each national aviation authority can define and apply national rules where there are no JAA requirements.
Pilatus is working with PC-12 operator Lions Air and the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA), and says it expects SEIFR approval before the end of June.
Waser says Pilatus and FOCA have used NPA-29 as the basis for obtaining this approval. The process involved Pilatus and Lions Air demonstrating, through flight tests and documentation, that the PC-12's performance meets the requirements of NPA-29.
Pilatus is calling on Cessna and EADS Socata to adopt similar approaches to European certification by working with European operators of their respective Caravan and TBM 700 types.
Correction We incorrectly stated in our 20-26 May issue that a Boeing 737-200 was chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent on behalf of the US government from Chapman Freeborn Airchartering. The aircraft was chartered by Chapman Freeborn on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross with no US involvement.Source: Flight International
