Avionics News December 2015 - 14

F R O M
R I C
P E R I
A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

The Aircraft Electronics Association's international membership continues to grow. Currently, the AEA represents avionics
businesses in more than 40 countries throughout the world. To better serve the needs of the AEA's international membership,
the "International News and Regulatory Updates" section of Avionics News offers a greater focus on international regulatory
activity, international industry news and an international "Frequently Asked Questions" column to help promote standardization.
If you have comments about this section, send emails to avionicsnews@aea.net.

UNITED STATES

News & Regulatory Updates
Reciprocal TSOs now accepted by the
FAA, EASA and TCCA
On Sept. 15, the Federal Aviation Administration signed
agreements with two international regulatory partners, the
European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada
Civil Aviation, that allow the authorities to rely on each
other's regulatory systems in the design and certification of
aviation articles.
The agreements will eliminate duplicate processes, get
safety-enhancing equipment installed on aircraft more
quickly, and save time and money for both industry and the
regulatory authorities involved.
The international agreements with the EASA and the
TCCA now allow reciprocal acceptance of technical
standard orders. That is, FAA TSO'd articles are now
acceptable for installation on European and Canadian
aircraft without additional certification. Reciprocally,
European and Canadian TSO'd articles are acceptable for
U.S. installations.
By relying on the robust regulatory oversight
demonstrated by the EASA, the TCCA and the FAA,
the reciprocal acceptance allows the agencies to
eliminate their duplicative approval processes, get
safety-enhancing equipment installed on aircraft more
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2015

quickly, and will make the agencies' workload more
manageable. In addition, for industry, the elimination of
duplicate approvals will eliminate duplicate international
certifications, thereby saving time and money and, in
many cases, will allow the installation of the latest safetyenhancing technologies years sooner.
The new agreement with the EASA also facilitates a
simplified acceptance and validation of basic supplemental
type certificates. An audit process will ensure that technical
classifications continue to meet established criteria and
make sure standards are being met.
More information on the new agreements can be found
at www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/bilateral_
agreements/baa_basa_listing/.
The Aircraft Electronics Association commends
and thanks the FAA for its leadership in promoting
globalization of the aviation industry. The topic of the
enhanced global acceptance of TSOs and the simplified
validation of basic STCs was a topic of discussion at the
2015 AEA Regional Meetings.
While the changes to the Bilateral Aviation Safety
Agreements have been penned, none of the authorities
have published guidance regarding the implementation
of these changes.
The AEA encourages the FAA to develop and publish
policies and guidance as soon as possible so that
industry can fully benefit from the efforts.
It is important to note that guidance for the
implementation of this most recent change is not
expected before mid-year 2016.

http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/bilateral_agreements/baa_basa_listing/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2015