Page 217 - UK Regulation Part 21 Initial Airworthiness Annex I (consolidated) March 2022

PART 21 - INITIAL AIRWORTHINESS (ANNEX I)

21.B.220 Investigation
(a) The CAA shall appoint a production organisation approval team for each applicant, or
holder of, a production organisation approval to conduct all relevant tasks related to this
production organisation approval, consisting of a team leader to manage and lead the
approval team and, if required, one or more team members. The team leader shall report
to the manager responsible for the activity as defined in point 21.B.25(b)(2).
(b) The CAA shall perform sufficient investigation activities for an applicant for, or holder of, a
production organisation approval to justify recommendations for the issuance,
maintenance, amendment, suspension or revocation of the approval.
(c) The CAA shall prepare procedures for the investigation of a production organisation
approval as part of the documented procedures covering at least the following elements:
1. evaluation of applications received;
2. determination of production organisation approval team;
3. investigation preparation and planning;
4. evaluation of the documentation (production organisation exposition, procedures,
etc.);
5. auditing;
6. follow up of corrective actions;
7. recommendation for issuance, amendment, suspension or revocation of production
organisation approval;
8. continued surveillance.
21.B.220 GM1-ELA Investigation
The AMC indicated with ‘AMC-ELA’ and the GM related to them (as indicated with ‘GM-ELA’), provide
an alternative set of AMC and GM to the other available AMC and GM.
The AMC-ELA provide acceptable means to meet the requirements for small, non-complex
organisations that produce aircraft as specified in AMC ELA No 1 to 21.A.131.
21.B.220(a) GM Investigation team
1. Type of Team
Where the applicant is located in another State, the CAA should appoint a production
organisation approval team (POAT) leader and members appropriate to the nature and
scope of the applicant’s organisation.
Where the facilities of the applicant are located in more than one State, the CAA of the
country of manufacture should liaise with the other involved competent authorities to
agree and appoint a POAT leader and members appropriate to the nature and scope of
the applicant’s organisation.
2. Team leader selection
The team leader should satisfy all of the criteria for a team member and will be selected
by considering the following additional criteria:
a) the capability to lead and manage a team
b) the capability to prepare reports and be diplomatic
c) experience in approval team investigations (not necessarily only Part 21 Section A
Subpart G)
d) a knowledge of production and quality systems for aircraft and related products and
parts
3. Team member selection
The team leader should agree with the CAA on the size of the POA team and the
specialisations to be covered taking into account the scope of work and the
characteristics of the applicant. Team members should be selected by considering the
following criteria:
- training, which is mandatory, for Part 21 Section A, Subpart G and Section B,
Subpart G
- education and experience, to cover appropriate aviation knowledge, audit practices
and approval procedures
- the ability to verify that an applicant’s organisation conforms to its own POA
procedures, and that its key personnel are competent.
21.B.220(a) GM1-ELA Investigation team
1. Type of team
When appointing a production organisation approval team (POAT), it is important for the
member(s) of that team to have a very good understanding of the organisational
processes, as well as of the nature and the established manufacturing practices for
products that are within the scope of work of the applicant.
The AMCELA of Section A of Subpart G for production organisations substantially relies on
product conformity and uses, if possible, existing quality management systems. The team
should, therefore, be familiar with:
(a) conducting product conformity audits;
(b) alternative quality management systems that are typically applied by companies
that produce light aeroplanes, such as ISO 9001, EN 9100, ASTM F2972, or similar
standards;
(c) the typical practices used for the production of light aeroplanes and the related
products and parts.
If the team is not able to cover all the aspects of the product that are considered to be
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