Sir -Your Comment "Under oversight" (Flight International, 31 July-6 August) could give the impression that regulatory authorities rely on their own direct inspections to achieve high safety standards in aviation. This has never been the case.
The aviation-safety process has always relied on regulatory-authority approval and licensing of competent organisations and individuals to carry out statutory functions laid down in legislation - for example, the Air Navigation Order in the UK.
All such approved companies/ licensed individuals are therefore obligated to apply requirements and procedures effectively, to maintain a safe operation at all times while the approval/licence remains valid.
The growth and increasing complexity of the industry has forced careful development of requirements, nationally and internationally. The requirement for commercial-air-transport maintenance organisations (European Joint Aviation Rule 145) specifies an internal quality system, which includes the audit function to ensure continuous monitoring of standards. Direct inspection by authorities can only ever be a small, but vital, part of the whole aviation-safety process.
JOHN SAULL
Executive Director
International Federation of Airworthiness
Ashurstwood, Sussex, UK
Source: Flight International
