ARA.FSTD.100 Initial evaluation procedure

Regulation (EU) 2026/781

(a) Upon receiving an application for an FSTD qualification certificate, the competent authority shall:

(1) evaluate the FSTD submitted for initial evaluation or for upgrading against the applicable qualification basis;

(2) assess the FSTD in those areas that are essential to completing the flight crew member training, testing and checking process, as applicable;

(3) conduct objective, subjective and functions tests in accordance with the qualification basis and review the results of such tests to establish the qualification test guide (QTG); and

(4) verify if the organisation operating the FSTDis in compliance with the applicable requirements. This does not apply to the initial evaluation of basic instrument training devices (BITDs).

(b) The competent authority shall only approve the QTG after completion of the initial evaluation of the FSTD and when all discrepancies in the QTG have been addressed to the satisfaction of the competent authority. The QTG resulting from the initial evaluation procedure shall be the master QTG (MQTG), which shall be the basis for the FSTD qualification and subsequent recurrent FSTD evaluations.

(c) Qualification basis and special conditions.

(1) The competent authority may prescribe special conditions for the FSTD qualification basis when the requirements of ORA.FSTD.210(a) are met and when it is demonstrated that the special conditions ensure an equivalent level of safety to that established in the applicable certification specification.

(2) When the competent authority, if other than the Agency, has established special conditions for the qualification basis of an FSTD, it shall without undue delay notify the Agency thereof. The notification shall be accompanied by a full description of the special conditions prescribed, and a safety assessment demonstrating that an equivalent level of safety to that established in the applicable Certification Specification is met.

[applicable until 29 April 2028 — Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011]

ARA.FSTD.100 Evaluation procedure

(a) Upon receiving an application for an FSTD qualification certificate, the competent authority shall:

(1) verify that the organisation operating the FSTD is in compliance with the applicable requirements;

(2) assess whether the chosen validation data is suitable to support each objective test;

(3) review the ESL for compliance with the applicable requirements;

(4) evaluate whether the FSTD complies with the applicable qualification basis by conducting objective, functions and subjective tests;

(5) assess the FSTD in those areas that are essential to completing the flight crew member training, testing and checking process, as applicable.

(b) The competent authority shall perform the tasks under points (a)(3), (4) and (5) in the event of recurrent evaluation of an FSTD.

(c) In the event of a major modification to an FSTD, the competent authority shall perform those among the tasks listed in point (a) that it deems relevant, taking into consideration the nature of the modification.

(d) The competent authority shall provide a report and notify the organisation operating the FSTD of the results of the evaluation.

(e) If, during an evaluation or by any other means, evidence is found by the competent authority that the FSTD does not perform in accordance with its qualification basis or that the ESL contains inaccurate information about the FSTD, the competent authority shall raise an item, record it and communicate it to the organisation operating the FSTD in writing. The competent authority shall, unless the nature of the item requires the application of enforcement measures in accordance with point ARA.FSTD.135(b), take all the following steps:

(1) grant the organisation a corrective action implementation period appropriate to the nature of the item that, in any case, shall not be more than 30 days. At the end of that period, and subject to the nature of the item, the competent authority may extend the implementation period subject to a satisfactory corrective action plan agreed by the competent authority;

(2) assess whether the corrective action plan proposed by the organisation addresses the item;

(3) assess whether the implementation of the corrective action plan addresses the item.

(f) The QTG resulting from the initial evaluation shall be approved by the competent authority only after all items have been addressed to the satisfaction of the competent authority. After such approval, it shall be referred to as the master qualification test guide (MQTG) and shall be the basis for the FSTD qualification and recurrent FSTD evaluations.

(g) The competent authority shall qualify the FSTD only after having validated that, in accordance with point ORA.FSTD.120(d) of Annex VII, the additional equipment of the FSTD, if applicable, has no adverse effect on the training capability of the FSTD.

(h) Qualification basis and special conditions

(1) The competent authority may prescribe special conditions for the FSTD qualification basis when the requirements of point ORA.FSTD.210(a) of Annex VII are met and when it is demonstrated that the special conditions ensure an equivalent level of safety to that established in the applicable certification specification.

(2) When the competent authority, if other than the Agency, has established special conditions for the qualification basis of an FSTD, it shall without undue delay notify the Agency thereof. The notification shall be accompanied by a full description of the special conditions prescribed and a safety assessment demonstrating that an equivalent level of safety to that established in the applicable certification specification is met.

[applicable from 30 April 2028 — Regulation (EU) 2026/781]