*EPF304 10/27/2004
Fact Sheet: U.S. Civil Aviation Agency on Certifying Foreign Aircraft
(Details process for validating other countries' certification) (1120)

Following is an October U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fact sheet explaining the agency's procedures for certifying aircraft manufactured in other countries:

(begin fact sheet)

Federal Aviation Administration

October 2004

Fact Sheet

How the FAA Certificates Foreign Aircraft

"VALIDATION" VS. "CERTIFICATION"

Validation is FAA certification based on a foreign civil aviation authority's certification. At the heart of FAA's acceptance of products from another country is a Bilateral Agreement between the United States and the exporting country. These bilateral agreements are concluded after the FAA has determined that the partner civil aviation authority (CAA) is competent to make technical decisions about its aircraft's compliance with FAA requirements.

When validating the exporting CAA's certification of their aircraft, the FAA routinely exercises its right to examine any data at any time to satisfy itself that the product complies with U.S. requirements. The FAA generally focuses on areas that are controversial, covered by new regulations or that have been shown to raise certification or service issues on other programs. In determining its level of involvement, the FAA also pays particular attention to its familiarity and recent interactions with the exporting authority.

Throughout the process, there is constant dialogue between the certification project teams. In practice, the FAA's level of activity varies depending on the nature of the product, the exporting country's prior experience with the type of product and the capabilities of the foreign CAA.

By following a validation process, the FAA retains control over the certification program and stays involved in the significant issues, while relying on the exporting CAA to make compliance determinations on basic, low risk certification items. Ultimately, the FAA issues its own Type Certificate, which allows acceptance of these products in the U.S. system.

HOW THE VALIDATION PROCESS WORKS

The FAA issues a type certificate for an aircraft, aircraft engine or propeller manufactured in a foreign country in accordance with 14 CFR part 21 (Part 21), section 21.29, "Issue of type certificate: import products." A typical validation program involves the following steps:

-- The FAA establishes a team of technical specialists, and holds technical familiarization meetings. These meetings let the FAA team members familiarize themselves with the product design as well as the general compliance methods proposed by the applicant.

-- Certification issues of special interest to the FAA are documented in FAA issue papers, or their equivalent. Issue papers are a normal part of all certification programs, both domestic and foreign; they convey certification requirements, acceptable compliance methods, procedures, lessons learned and other valuable information to the applicant and foreign authority. Issue papers clarify any concerns the FAA may have about a particular certification subject, and both the foreign authority and the applicant are able to share in resolving the issue.

-- The FAA maintains constant contact with the exporting CAA and the applicant throughout the type certification program, which typically lasts five years for transport category airplanes. The FAA typically holds numerous meetings with the applicant and CAA throughout the program as the design matures and compliance methods are finalized. Ultimately, the FAA may continue this involvement in critical areas all the way through the final compliance determinations.

-- The FAA conducts a limited flight evaluation of the airplane prior to type certification;

-- Once the FAA believes the validation issues are understood and the means of compliance are acceptable, the exporting CAA makes most of the routine determinations of compliance on behalf of the FAA. However, the FAA frequently retains the compliance determination for significant issues related to Exemptions, Special Conditions and Equivalent Level of Safety Findings.

-- Finally, prior to issuing a type certificate, the FAA makes its own determinations of compliance, and determines that no feature or characteristic makes the type design unsafe for the category in which certification is requested. These findings are made by working through (and in cooperation with) the exporting CAA.

CASE FILE: THE EMBRAER ERJ-170

The Embraer ERJ 170 is a 78-passenger regional jet, manufactured in Brazil, that received its US type certificate on February 20, 2004. The FAA completed certification according to the validation procedures described above under the terms of a bilateral agreement between the United States and Brazil.

The ERJ 170 incorporates many design features with which both Embraer and the Brazilian authority (the CTA) had no previous certification experience. Also, the ERJ 170 makes significant use of technology that was new to the civil transport airplane industry as a whole.

The FAA was able to identify these areas through the technical familiarization process, and ultimately, the FAA exercised its rights for detailed involvement in review of the design and compliance methods in several areas.

Evacuation demonstration. The ERJ 170 is the first Embraer airplane to require automatic escape slides. The FAA kept a close eye on the slide design and certification testing, including witnessing some key certification tests. The FAA also worked closely with the CTA in reviewing plans for the full-scale evacuation demonstration. Ultimately, FAA employees traveled to Brazil to witness the certification testing.

Electrical system design. The ERJ 170 is the first Embraer airplane to use fly-by-wire flight controls. The FAA performed a detailed design review of the electrical power generation and distribution systems to ensure that the design met FAA standards. This detailed review included direct involvement in design reviews and system safety analyses, as well as meetings with Embraer, Embraer system partners and the CTA. As a result of this design review and direct FAA involvement, Embraer made several changes to the electrical and flight control system designs.

Primary Inflight Ice Detection System. The ERJ 170 is the first Embraer airplane to employ an ice detection system as the primary means for ice detection and activation of ice protection systems. During the FAA validation, the agency became aware of potential deficiencies in similar systems used on other aircraft. The FAA told the CTA about these concerns, and conducted a detailed review of the ERJ 170 sensor design and compliance data to make sure the system met FAA certification standards.

Integrated Avionics System. The ERJ 170 uses a highly integrated Honeywell avionics system that was under parallel development by a number of aircraft manufacturers. Due to the novel degree of integration, and the potential for common issues across numerous aircraft (both domestic and foreign), the FAA was closely involved in avionics certification. The agency's involvement included detailed design review, review of safety analysis documentation, review of integration test plans and review of software certification planning and compliance documentation. Also, a major focus of the FAA flight test involvement was directed towards evaluation of the ERJ 170 avionics and related system integration.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents