EUROPEAN GLIDING UNION
______
Draft Part Management Systems – IR’s, AMC and GM – for EASA internal consultation August 2008.
Comments by Roland Stuck
22 August 2008
Implementing Rules
Annex 1 - Part Management System
The whole document seems to be written from the perspective of regulating commercial/professional training schools for aeroplane licences, and which are providing training for CPL/ATPL on a commercial basis. The document does not reflect the realities of managing gliding clubs through volunteers who are just flying, giving instruction and managing clubs as a pastime.
If these proposed implementing rules are not changed fundamentally and made much simpler, it could well presage the end of many existing gliding clubs that currently provide glider pilot training, because the bureaucracy will simply be too burdensome to volunteers.
The whole approach taken in drafting this document and the supporting AMC reflects
(a) a widespread lack of understanding and appreciation of how gliding clubs work (successfully) and the ethos of the sport
(b) a lack of any safety case benchmarked against what this is intended
to replace
(c) a fundamental difference in approach to safety, in thinking that by trying to write down everything that should be done will be done,
just because it is law
(d) a very theoretical doctorate thesis on safety management,
influenced far too much by legal mindsets.
The title of the document (‘Part’) should surely be ‘safety management system’ because a ‘management system’ embraces far more than safety management. This Part is not intended to govern, for example, how a gliding club or indeed any other aviation organisation manages its administrative, financial systems, property, ground equipment maintenance or other functions.
Section 1 GEN
MS. GEN.010findings
(a)“………which lowers the safety standards and seriously hazards flight
safety.”
How can this be objectively measured?
MS.GEN.015Application
“(a)an application shall be made on a form and in a manner established by the Competent Authority.”
Not a standardised system – although the work of the EASA Standardisation Team, every NAA will act individually
MS.GEN.025 Changes to the organisation’s approval
(a)An approved organisation shall notify the competent authority of any proposed change to the organisation that affects the approval before any such change takes place, in order to enable the competent authority to determine continued compliance with this Part and to amend, if necessary, the organisation approval certificate.
Depending on which organisation is granted Competent Authority status in a member state, this requirement will lead to inordinate bureaucracy in processing change requests from each training organisation (club level).
MS.GEN.030 Continued Validity
(a) 2. The Competent Authority being granted access to the organisation to determine continued compliance with the applicable requirements.
This should be restricted to a maximum of once or twice a year, certainly not every day, since this would per se hinder flight activities of the respective group.
MS.GEN.200(Safety) Management system
Contains description of only one system
Nothing mentioned about the promised “Light Training Organisation”
Although mentioned in
(b)The management system shall correspond to the size, nature and complexity etc.
the list under (a) is clearly written for commercial/professional training schools and would in certain countries also be applied to “Light Training Organisations”.
A clear distinction should be made between “sport” and commercial schools
At first sight, we can provide an answer on every request as it is in fact logical and necessary, but what will be the interpretation of the NAA? Will an answer of one sentence do? So, completely over the top.
The related AMC-doc. is even worse…
The requirements – structure /management/staff – is not realistic to sport clubs.
(a) (7) “organisation manual” is in conflict with MS.ATO.050 (application for LPL/PPL training only)
MS.GEN.210PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS
(a)This introduces the concept of financial capability to provide the training services, which may be appropriate for commercial organisations, but should not be a condition for clubs.
(c)&(e)this refers to ‘staff’, implying paid employees. Most gliding clubs are run entirely by volunteers, and so if these rules are to be introduced it would be better to use the word ‘personnel’.
MS.GEN.220RECORD KEEPING
The sub paragraph lettering requires adjustment
Suggest “Records shall, on request, be accessible to the Competent Authority”
Subpart ATO- Approved T.O.’s
Section 1General
MS.ATO.001Scope
(a)… Training for LPL and PPL
It is assumed that the BPL and SPL are included in the phrase ‘LPL and PPL’. If they are not then they should be added specifically.
MS.ATO.005Definitions
Flight Training Device (FTD). In the first part of the first sentence the word ‘aircraft’ should be changed to ‘aeroplane’ to be consistent with the rest of the sentence.
MS.ATO.010Management
(a)“….registered as a legal entity”
In many countries, clubs are organised in a form (such as a non-profit making members’ club) that does not require registration as a legal entity. Furthermore, those types of entities which may be registered usually have rather high capital requirements (which are viewed as a financial security to potential plaintiffs). Indeed, this whole part does not make sense for small clubs which provide training on a volunteer basis. They should be completely exempted from this part. This is clearly visible from the types of training, the fact that this part takes it as granted that every flight training organisation uses FSTDs and the fact that gliding or volunteer activities are nowhere mentioned.
(b)…. sufficient financial resources are available …
Again the approach to commercial schools to guarantee that a student gets his appropriate training, has nothing to do with a club operation
MS.ATO.025Training and testing aircraft
(a)…shall have an adequate fleet….
Whilst this might imply ownership of aircraft or leasing of aircraft by the training organisation, it might be better for clarity to insert ‘available to it’ to allow for aircraft loan or renting arrangements.
MS.ATO.040Requirements for entry to training
(a)…. Enough knowledge of physics, mathematics, …
This is against the (anti-discrimination) law in many countries! It would not be regarded as reasonable to refuse someone entry to a club just because the applicant does not have knowledge of physics and mathematics.
It is a right to do sport!
In BE, for example, a club cannot refuse a club member!
Such a restriction might result, in certain countries, in the (financial) support to air sports from local communities and governments being withdrawn.
Of course you will have a word with the student applicant and if necessary you can advise another sport if in the judgement of the organisation the applicant is unlikely to have the aptitude to do a training course…
This requirement ‘particularly of physics and mathematics’ must be removed for air sports.
MS.ATO.050Application
(a) 1 (ii) In the case of a Members’ club this should read ‘Name of owner or name of club’ as a club is ‘owned’ by many members, usually on a non- profit sharing (non-profit distributing) basis.
(a) 1 (vi) Group, class, type – not a problem for gliding clubs. The other detail is irrelevant. A club may share fleet assets with others with use at any one site dependent on the training task.
(b) The cross reference should be to (a) not (b)
MS.ATO.055Record keeping
(a)(3) The expiry date of medical certificates is the responsibility of the individual (student) pilot. Whilst it may be advisable for the organisation to maintain a record of this, it should not be mandatory.
1/4