SUMMARY AUDIT REPORT DIRECTORATE OF CIVIL AVIATION OF MOROCCO

Transcription

1 ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme SUMMARY AUDIT REPORT DIRECTORATE OF CIVIL AVIATION OF MOROCCO (Rabat, 26 October to 3 November 1999) INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION

2 ICAO UNIVERSAL SAFETY OVERSIGHT AUDIT PROGRAMME Summary Audit Report of the Safety Oversight Audit Mission to the Kingdom of Morocco (Rabat, 26 October to 3 November 1999) 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 The Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Morocco was initially assessed under the ICAO Safety Oversight Assessment Programme. The follow-up assessment audit was carried out from 26 October to 3 November 1999 by an ICAO safety oversight audit team, pursuant to Assembly Resolution A32-11 and the revised Memorandum of Understanding of 11 September 1999 between Morocco and ICAO to determine the progress made in implementing the action plan submitted by the State and, if need be, to reconfirm the safety oversight capability of the DCA of Morocco. The follow-up assessment audit was also intended to ensure that that capability was in conformity with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) as contained in Annexes 1, 6 and 8 to the Chicago Convention, the associated guidance material and generally applicable aviation safety practices. 1.2 On 24 January 2000, Morocco sent ICAO the action plan responding to the findings and recommendations made during the safety oversight audit mission. On the whole, the action plan submitted by Morocco was entirely satisfactory and was accepted by ICAO. To respond to the ICAO recommendations, Morocco proposed to revise or develop procedures and orders. It would therefore be advisable for Morocco to provide ICAO regularly, in so far as possible, with updated information on the progress of the work in accordance with the schedule proposed in its action plan. 2. AVIATION ACTIVITIES IN MOROCCO The following information related to aviation activities in Morocco has been taken from the summary section of the pre-audit questionnaire and was confirmed by the team during the audit itself: a) number of technical staff employed by the organization at Headquarters: 120 b) total number of active pilot s licences (ATPL and CPL commercial licences): 553 c) total number of other crew member active licences (flight engineers): 25 d) number of public air transport operators (not including air taxis): 2 e) number of air operator certificates (AOCs): 2 f) number of aircraft operations inspectors: 4 g) number of aircraft registered: 201 h) number of certificates of airworthiness: 201 i) number of aircraft airworthiness engineers: 5

3 -2- j) number of approved maintenance organizations (AMOs) (approved under the new regulations): 3 k) number of aircraft maintenance workshops: 9 3. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 3.1 General Morocco has promulgated a decree which constitutes the primary civil aviation regulatory text implementing the provisions of the Chicago Convention. That decree has been amended regularly since it was promulgated in 1962 and enables the Minister responsible for civil aviation to develop the necessary orders governing the civil aviation sector. The audit team noted that the Moroccan DCA has recently done laborious work updating and amending the regulatory arrangements and texts at various levels dealing with the provisions of the Chicago Convention and the Annexes thereto, particularly Annexes 1, 6 and 8. The audit team noted, however, that the DCA has not systematically notified ICAO of differences between the implementation of the Moroccan regulations and the Annex provisions and particularly the non-implementation of certain Standards The organization of the Moroccan DCA is defined by a decree determining the functions and organization of the Ministry of Transport and subdividing the DCA into four Divisions and an Aeronautical Meteorology Department. The tasks related to the audit fields are mainly carried out by the Aviation Safety Division (DSA) and the Aviation Safety Inspectorate (ISA). The audit team noted that DCA s technical personnel assigned to those tasks, within DSA and ISA, were competent and had adequate material resources to perform their daily tasks. Nevertheless, competence criteria for all the technical posts as well as a policy relating to initial and ongoing training should be established for DCA personnel and the procedures currently established should be supplemented and include the actions, responsibilities and coordination means to be implemented for tasks entailing simultaneous or complementary involvement by DSA and ISA The Moroccan DCA has established an aviation personnel licensing system which includes regulations, a system for approving training programmes, approval of schools and training centres and implementation procedures for DCA personnel. The system put in place in Morocco currently allows for direct issuance, issuance by equivalence and validation of private pilot, commercial pilot and airline transport pilot - aeroplane licences as contained in Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention, and an assessment system in the form of examinations and proficiency checks is organized and supervised by the DCA. A system for licensing flight operations officers/flight dispatch officers, aircraft maintenance technicians/engineers/mechanics and air traffic controllers is being prepared. However, the audit team noted that no arrangements have been made to designate medical practitioners for staff medical examinations and that monitoring of private pilot training and examinations, although provided for by the texts, is not in actual fact performed Morocco has published a series of regulations in the form of decrees, orders, circulars and instructions governing the operation of aircraft. The audit team noted that those regulations need to be supplemented to incorporate the Annex 6, Part I provisions relating to flight preparation and operations, aeroplane performance limitations, aeroplane equipment and instruments and aeroplane communication and navigation equipment and that certain texts which have been issued in circulars should be adopted at an adequate regulatory level. Since 1996 the Directorate of Civil Aviation has had personnel with the skills

4 -3- required to oversee the operations of aircraft operated in Morocco. Even though improvements can be made, it can be considered that Morocco has implemented an air operator certification and supervision system which is satisfactory on the whole. That certification and supervision system does not cover air taxis operating aircraft with a capacity beneath a threshold defined by the texts The DCA has drawn up several new regulations implementing, among others, the provisions of Annex 8 and Annex 6, Part I, Chapter 8, and has developed a monitoring plan aimed at the approval and supervision of all maintenance organizations in order to meet the ICAO requirements. However, to date the DCA has not established an air inspection and supervision system for all approved maintenance organizations. Furthermore, the DCA has worked in collaboration with the industry to develop regulations relating to maintenance technician licences. Since those regulations are still at the draft stage, an effective system must be established to ensure that personnel authorized to declare an aircraft fit to be returned to service are sufficiently qualified. 3.2 Primary aviation legislation in Morocco Abstract of findings The primary Decree contains the main provisions governing the different civil aviation-related fields and activities and refers to implementation orders to be established by the Minister responsible for civil aviation The process and procedure for amending the primary Decree are established by a law which defines the means of revising and publishing regulatory texts at various levels. The audit team was informed that the average time needed to amend the primary Decree was six months. An article in the primary Decree also permitted the Minister responsible for civil aviation, in an emergency, to take the necessary measures to amend the Decree s provisions as required by the circumstances The main DCA units involved in the process of developing and monitoring the regulations in the audit fields are the Aviation Safety Division (DSA) and the Aviation Safety Inspectorate (ISA). The audit team noted that the operations and airworthiness inspectors do not have the authority or delegated powers under the provisions of the primary Decree to take urgent action to safeguard aviation safety The provisions governing civil aviation in Morocco are contained in the aviation safety documentation developed by the DCA recently. That documentation contains the text of the primary Decree, as modified by the different amendments as well as the orders and circulars dealing with the audit fields. The audit team noted that those texts cover the majority of the provisions of the Convention and the Annexes thereto, in effect at the time of the audit, but that the DCA should make an exhaustive study of the regulatory texts published and compare them with the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of Annexes 1, 6 and 8. Such a study of the regulatory texts should enable the DCA to decide on an adequate hierarchical level for the different regulations governing safety oversight and to notify ICAO of differences from the SARPs During the audit, four findings relating to the primary aviation legislation and civil aviation regulations in Morocco were made and four recommendations put forward to rectify them.

5 Action plan proposed and implemented by Morocco In its action plan, Morocco proposed to amend the regulations in force and to notify ICAO of any differences by September In its action plan, Morocco also proposed, by December 2000, to define infractions by fields of activity (to be coordinated with other Divisions), establish criteria for designating officers authorized to submit reports in the event of infractions and the procedures which they must follow, designate such officers by name, develop implementation regulations and develop regulations relating to the delegation of powers Morocco also proposed to identify the primary articles of the Decree regulating civil aviation in order to prepare an amendment, by June Organization of civil aviation in Morocco Abstract of findings With regard to the safety oversight fields, the DCA is responsible for: seeing to the preparation of international air agreements in liaison with the Administrations concerned and the establishment of regulatory texts regarding air navigation, air transport and aerial work; monitoring operations related to aviation safety and regulation of the operations and airworthiness of aircraft; overseeing aviation personnel training; ensuring the safety and regularity of air navigation, defining the requirements relating to air navigation, air transport and aerial work and establishing the necessary equipment plans which it implements and directing, monitoring and coordinating aviation activities Furthermore, the Director of Civil Aviation has established a unit reporting to the Director whose tasks complement the Aviation Safety Division in the fields of the certification and supervision of operators, approved maintenance workshops, flight personnel schools and training centres, and examinations and tests for personnel licensing and rating. The audit fields also related to the functions of the two units within the DCA, i.e. DSA and ISA The Aviation Safety Division (DSA) is responsible for all safety-related operations in the field of aviation personnel training, operations and airworthiness of aircraft. The Aviation Safety Inspectorate (ISA) is responsible for participating in the technical monitoring of air transport enterprises and their staff in flight and on the ground in the areas of training, refresher training, qualifications and work system Although the functions and organization of the Aviation Safety Inspectorate are established by a circular, the audit team noted that the decree relating to the organization of the DCA had not been amended to give legal status to the structure of ISA within the DCA. In addition, the draft amendment to the primary Decree, now being adopted by the Government Council, only mentioned DCA inspectors and not the organization of the Inspectorate or its mission. Furthermore, the inspectors were not able to directly inform the operators and approved organizations in writing of the shortcomings noted during the visits During the audit, six findings relating to the civil aviation organization in Morocco were made and six recommendations put forward to rectify them.

6 Action plan proposed and implemented by Morocco With regard to the implementation of a training programme, the DCA proposed to develop an initial and ongoing training programme for technicians and develop refresher training courses for the ISA inspectors no later than December With regard to competence and experience criteria, the DCA proposed to define the competence and experience criteria of the different technical posts and to define the relevant levels of competence and empowerment no later than December In addition, Morocco will provide the DCA inspectors with snap sets so that they can notify those concerned of the findings and malfunctions identified during the visits In respect of the procedures relating to joint actions by the three parties ISA, DSA and BV, the DCA proposed to develop interface summaries and examine DSA-related issues in order to clearly define the actions assigned to each unit, by September Morocco also proposed to develop for December 2000 an order relating to the functions and structures of the organizations making up the DCA. In addition, an arrangement will be finalized to ensure the dissemination of aviation safety documentation by September Personnel licensing and training Abstract of findings The Moroccan DCA has established a framework for issuing private pilot licences to the holders of first-degree military certificates and commercial pilot licences to the holders of second-degree military pilot certificates. At present, there is no provision fixing potential conditions for converting a military pilot s training to a civil airline transport pilot licence or means capable of evaluating and assessing the level and conditions for acquiring knowledge and experience as military pilots. If such conversion were accepted by the State for licensing airline transport pilots, the conditions for evaluating such knowledge and experience would need to be established to determine the additional checks and examinations required prior to such conversion and to guarantee harmonization of the levels of knowledge and experience required for the Moroccan airline transport pilot licence, as stipulated in the texts in force An Order allows the DCA to issue all the flight personnel licences provided for in Annex 1. Such licensing is done directly by the DCA, after the examinations and checks required for that purpose. Pilot licences may also be issued by equivalence with licences issued by other Contracting States and a practical test is required for the issuance of commercial pilot and airline transport pilot licences. In this case, the applicant must have Moroccan nationality. The validation of licences is also provided for by the texts. A practical test and a work contract are required in this case. With regard to the maintenance technician/engineer/mechanic, flight operations officer/flight dispatch officer and air traffic controller licences provided for by an order and whose non-issuance was referred to in a notification of differences to ICAO, the DCA is at the stage of preparing a system to issue them. A notification will be sent to ICAO once that system is put in place The Operations and Airport Operation Division (DOEA) is the unit responsible for questions relating to private pilot licences and a theoretical examination has been set up and supervised by DOEA for licensing. However, the audit team noted that the Moroccan DCA has not established procedures to support flight training or practical tests aimed at obtaining a private pilot licence. Such a system should include the accreditation of flying clubs as aviation training centres, the approval of the training programmes (number

7 -6- of training flight sessions and their content), the criteria for designating instructors and examiners and a sheet for marking the candidates to be completed systematically during each examination. The audit team also noted that, contrary to the regulatory provisions currently in force, the medical examinations required to obtain and renew private pilot licences are carried out by non-designated doctors The audit team noted that the DCA has established a set of procedures to be used by its Licensing Office personnel for issuing, validating and renewing licences. Those procedures have been approved by the Director of Civil Aviation and are contained in the aviation safety documentation The audit team noted, however, that an aviation personnel medical examination system and particularly one applying to flight personnel should be formalized and that the DCA should establish a system for evaluating and designating doctors authorized to issue medical fitness certificates for Moroccan licence holders During the audit, three findings relating to personnel licensing and training in Morocco were made and three recommendations put forward to rectify them Action plan proposed and implemented by Morocco In its action plan, the DCA will develop draft orders and procedures relating to the standards for accrediting aviation medicine assessment centres (AMACs) and validation procedures for foreign AMACs, standards for accrediting medical examiners and procedures for designating them, by December With regard to the conversion of military aviation certificates into airline transport pilot licences and the development of implementation procedures, the DCA proposed to set the necessary criteria in September 2000 at the latest As to the establishment of a support system for flight training and practical examinations for obtaining private pilot licences, the DCA proposed to revise the order relating to the accreditation of flying clubs, to develop a fee schedule relating to the accreditation of flying clubs, to implement a system for the approval and ongoing surveillance of the training programmes given at flying clubs, to develop procedures for issuing, renewing and revalidating instructor ratings and designating private pilot examiners, to revise the system for organizing private pilot examinations and to develop sheets for marking the candidates for the practical tests, to develop standards for accrediting authorized medical examiners and to review the accreditations issued to approved medical examiners, by December Air operations in Morocco Abstract of findings In order to set and specify technical aircraft operating conditions, several orders, circulars and instructions have been adopted by Morocco. Nevertheless, the audit team noted that the Moroccan regulations need to be supplemented to incorporate the provisions of Annex 6, Part I regarding flight preparation and operations, aeroplane performance limitations, aeroplane equipment and instruments and aeroplane communication and navigation equipment. Certain texts which have been disseminated through circulars should be adopted at an adequate regulatory level (orders or decrees). Furthermore, it was noted that the order relating to flight personnel working hours does not contain any provisions regarding duty periods Within the DCA, two units participate in air operator certification and supervision at the operational level, the Aviation Safety Division and the Aviation Safety Inspectorate, which reports directly to the Director of Civil Aviation. The DCA officers in charge of air operator certification and supervision at the operational level have at their disposal a manual entitled Aviation Safety Documentation to assist them

8 in their tasks. That manual includes both the regulations in force and certain instructions to be applied The audit team noted that to date the DCA has issued two operating certificates to the two airlines. For those two companies, a certification process was followed. The operating certificates issued include the elements required by Annex 6, paragraph It was noted, however, that air taxi enterprises operating in Morocco are considered aerial work enterprises and have not been subjected to the certification process As to new applicants, although Morocco has drawn up an order relating to the authorization of public transport air services and aerial work and although the circular and associated fascicle specify a large part of the procedure for issuing AOCs and particularly the criteria to be considered in that context, the applicant certification process is not described in detail and Morocco has not provided for documents which facilitate the processing of candidatures (memoranda, application forms, etc.) With particular regard to minimum equipment lists (MELs), Morocco only requires its establishments to prepare MELs through a circular governing the content of the operations manual and its approval is provided for in an instruction. Furthermore, only some MELs had been approved on the basis of a detailed analysis It was noted that only the leasing or chartering of aircraft registered abroad needs to be authorized by the Director of Civil Aviation. There is no obligation to approve charters between Moroccan companies. In addition, the criteria and level required to authorize a charter are not explicitly described, particularly in the case of a long-term charter Consequently, it is necessary to describe the certification process precisely in order to facilitate the candidature of AOC applicants, to supplement the regulations in order to comply with all the Annex 6 provisions (particularly regarding MELs) and to adopt a sufficient regulatory level for the circulars which have already been published and specify the criteria and level required to authorize a charter. In each of these cases, whenever necessary a procedure and criteria should be developed so that the regulations adopted can be implemented An inspection programme specifying the nature and frequency of the inspections to be carried out has been established and the inspectors use checklists adapted to the type of inspection. The result of these inspections was presented. A procedure is applied in case of shortcomings identified and enables them to be followed up until corrective action is completed. This supervision was considered satisfactory. However, it was indicated to the audit team that no provision was made for the inspectors to inform the operator of their findings and that notification of the findings made by the inspectors can only be provided to the operator by the Director of Civil Aviation. This damages the system s responsiveness DSA personnel participation in the supervisory process was very weak chiefly because of the lack of experience and training on the part of the persons concerned. Even though the current level of supervision of the airlines having received an AOC was satisfactory, DSA personnel should play a greater role in the supervision process in order to improve the present oversight and make it possible to extend it to other companies, particularly those doing aerial work. Such participation could initially be performed in parallel with inspectors who have already been designated. The inspector-designation criteria and the scope of the checks which they are entitled to carry out should be formalized During the audit, eight findings relating to aircraft operations certification and supervision in Morocco were made and eight recommendations put forward to rectify them Action plan proposed and implemented by Morocco

9 In its action plan, Morocco proposed that the provisions of Annex 6, Part I, be applied to air taxis. In addition, the completion of the draft orders and the incorporation of the procedures concerning flight operations, aeroplane performance, aeroplane equipment and instruments and aeroplane communication and navigation equipment are planned for December 2000 at the latest As to the certification process applying to AOC applicants, the DCA indicated to ICAO on 25 April 2000 that it has developed a form to request the issuance, amendment or renewal of an AOC. That form has already been used by the national airline Royal Air Maroc in its request that its AOC be renewed With regard to the preparation and approval of MELs through the regulatory channel, Morocco indicated that the verification of the regulatory provisions in the draft order and the revision of the MEL procedures to include the assessment criteria and the approval process will be completed by September With regard to the requirements relating to aircraft charters and leases, Morocco indicated that the following action will be taken before June 2000: incorporation of the provisions of Article 83 bis of the Chicago Convention into the primary decree and amendment of the orders concerned in order to implement the provisions of Article 83 bis of the Chicago Convention. In addition, the DCA indicated to ICAO on 25 April 2000 that it has developed and published circular No. 424 DAC/DSA of 14 March 2000 concerning chartered aircraft. That procedure specifies the conditions for applying Article 134 of Decree No of 10 July 1962, which was dealt with in the audit With regard to the limitations applying to crew member duty periods, Morocco indicated that the revision of the existing order is to be done by December Airworthiness activities in Morocco Abstract of findings The Airworthiness Department of the Aviation Safety Division is responsible for the airworthiness of aircraft in Morocco. The activity in the field of airworthiness consists mainly in: issuing and renewing certificates of airworthiness, approving the manuals of maintenance organizations, technical inspections of air operators, approving aircraft maintenance manuals, importing aircraft and issuing export certificates of airworthiness. Technical monitoring of aircraft is done by the Bureau VERITAS officer, acting under powers delegated by the Civil Aviation Administration Apart from the decree and orders adopted by Morocco, which cover the majority of the airworthiness-related aspects, Morocco has not published any regulations stipulating the qualifications of maintenance personnel authorized to declare an aircraft fit to be returned to service Within the DCA, two units participate in air operator and maintenance organization certification and supervision: the Aviation Safety Division (particularly the Airworthiness Department) and the Aviation Safety Inspectorate. The DCA has established a work manual entitled Aviation Safety Documentation containing the regulations and procedures to be used by the DCA and Bureau VERITAS personnel in their tasks. For procedures not contained in that manual, the DCA has authorized Bureau VERITAS to use its own procedures, which have been evaluated and accepted for that purpose by the DCA. The audit team noted that the Airworthiness Department has not established a control system to oversee the tasks delegated to Bureau VERITAS A technical library, which is fundamental to better ensure control over operators and approved maintenance workshops, does not exist within the DCA. Such a library would have made it possible

10 -9- to monitor the continuing airworthiness status of aircraft, containing, among others, a repository of airworthiness directives and manufacturers documentation for the aeroplane models registered in Morocco During the audit, seven findings relating to airworthiness of aircraft were made and seven recommendations put forward to rectify them Action plan proposed and implemented by Morocco In its action plan, the DCA will develop by December 2000 procedures relating to surveillance of approved maintenance organizations, subcontracted maintenance, approval of the maintenance manual and operator s maintenance manual, approval of the reliability programme, approval of the operating procedures concerning LME/DDM, RVSM, CAT II and ETOPS. Morocco also proposes to develop by December 2000 an order relating to the operating conditions which must be observed by aircraft maintenance technicians during the exercise of their functions With regard to the establishment of a surveillance and evaluation system for work carried out on its behalf by Bureau VERITAS, the DCA has proposed to add procedures specifying the control system and to amend the specifications relating to the delegation to Bureau VERITAS by September In respect of the technical library, the DCA has proposed to draw up a list of equipment and obtain the technical documentation by June With regard to the system for monitoring all the approved maintenance organizations, the DCA has proposed to review approvals of workshops which have not yet been approved in accordance with the new order and to implement the system to monitor all approved maintenance organizations by December As to the qualifications of the maintenance personnel authorized to declare an aircraft fit to be returned to service, Morocco has proposed to develop the order relating to the working conditions which must be observed by aircraft maintenance technicians during the exercise of their functions by December COMMENTS As mentioned above in the background, in paragraph 1.2 of this final report, on 24 January 2000 Morocco sent ICAO an action plan which meets the findings and recommendations made during the safety oversight audit mission. On the whole, that action plan is fully satisfactory and has been accepted by ICAO. In order to permit follow-up by ICAO, it would therefore be advisable that in so far as possible Morocco should keep the Organization regularly informed with regard to the progress of the work under the proposed action plan. END