Who is allowed to submit a voluntary report to an organisation under the reporting system described in GM1 21L.A.3(a)(1);(b)(1)?

Any natural person or legal person may voluntarily report to an organisation any event that is perceived by that person as posing an actual or potential hazard to aviation safety. This includes persons not listed in Article 4(6) of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014, persons listed in that Article even if the event is not in Regulation (EU) 2015/2018, and an organisation that cannot determine whether the event should be mandatorily reported.

What is the regulatory basis for the voluntary reporting system described in this section?

The regulatory basis is ED Decision 2023/013/R, which provides guidance material (GM1) for point 21L.A.3(a)(1) and (b)(1) of the EASA regulations.

GM1 21L.A.3(a)(1)

Q: Under what condition can an organisation itself voluntarily report an event to a type-certificate holder or declarant?

An organisation can voluntarily report an event to a type-certificate holder or declarant if it cannot determine whether a safety risk exists due to a lack of competence, lack of data, or similar reasons, and therefore cannot decide if the event should be mandatorily reported.

Q: If a maintenance organisation receives a voluntary report about a design issue and determines it may involve a safety risk, what must it do next?

It must mandatorily report the event to the type-certificate holder or declarant, the competent authority, etc., as per point 145.A.60 'Occurrence reporting' of Annex II (Part-145) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014.

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GM1 21L.A.3(a)(1);(b)(1) Reporting system

ED Decision 2023/013/R

EVENTS REPORTED VOLUNTARILY TO THE ORGANISATION

Any natural person or legal person may voluntarily report to an organisation any event that is perceived by that person as posing an actual or potential hazard to aviation safety.

Voluntary reports may be originated by:

(a) persons that are not listed in Article 4(6) of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014; or

(b) persons that are listed in Article 4(6) of Regulation (EU) No 376/2014, even though such events are not included in Regulation (EU) 2015/2018;

Example:

A maintenance staff member in a maintenance organisation reports to their maintenance organisation a perceived aircraft design issue that is not covered by Regulation (EU) 2015/2018. The maintenance organisation should make a final assessment on the voluntary report and if it assesses that the reported event ‘may involve an actual or potential aviation safety risk’, then it should mandatorily report it to the type-certificate holder or declarant, the competent authority, etc., as per point 145.A.60 ‘Occurrence reporting’ of Annex II (Part‑145) to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014^[58]. If the maintenance organisation cannot determine whether a safety risk exists (due to a lack of competence, lack of data, etc.), it could voluntarily report it to the type-certificate holder or declarant for further assessment.

[58] Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks (OJ L 362, 17.12.2014, p. 1) (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32014R1321&qid=1669641196734).

Details

Source-Title: GM1 21L.A.3(a)(1), (b)(1) Reporting system View latest amendments

Erulesid: ERULES-1963177438-21986 Compare versions

Domain: Initial airworthiness

Amendedby: Issue 1

Applicabilitydate: 21 October, 2023

Entryintoforcedate: 21 October, 2023

Regulatorysource: ED Decision 2023/013/R Navigate

Regulatorysubject: Part 21 Light

Typeofcontent: GM to IR (Guidance material to implementing rule)

Parentir: 21L.A.3 Reporting system

Origin: EASA

Category: EAR