ML.A.302 Aircraft maintenance programme

(a)     The maintenance of each aircraft shall be organised in accordance with an AMP.

(b)     The AMP and any subsequent amendments thereto shall be, alternatively:

(1)     declared by the owner in accordance with point (c)(7) of point ML.A.302, where the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft is not managed by a CAMO or CAO;

(2)     approved by the CAMO or CAO responsible for managing the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft.

The owner declaring the AMP in accordance with point (b)(1) or the organisation approving the AMP in accordance with point (b)(2) shall keep the AMP updated.

(c)      The AMP:

(1)     shall clearly identify the owner of the aircraft and the aircraft to which it relates, including any installed engine and propeller, as applicable;

(2)     shall include, alternatively:

(a)     the tasks or inspections contained in the applicable minimum inspection programme (MIP) referred to in point (d);

(b)     the instructions for continuing airworthiness (ICA) issued by the design approval holder (DAH);

(c)      the ICA issued by the declarant of a declaration of design compliance.

(3)     may include additional maintenance actions to those referred to in point (c)(2) or maintenance actions alternative to those referred to in point (c)(2)(b) at the proposal of the owner, CAMO or CAO, once approved or declared in accordance with point (b). Alternative maintenance actions to those referred to in point (c)(2)(b) shall not be less restrictive than those set out in the applicable MIP;

(4)     shall include all the mandatory continuing airworthiness information, such as repetitive ADs, the airworthiness limitation section (‘ALS’) of the ICAs, and specific maintenance requirements contained in the type certificate data sheet (‘TCDS’);

(5)     shall identify any additional maintenance tasks to be performed because of the specific aircraft type, aircraft configuration and type and specificity of operation, whereas the following elements shall be taken into consideration as a minimum:

(a)     specific installed equipment and modifications of the aircraft;

(b)     repairs carried out in the aircraft;

(c)      life-limited components and flight-safety-critical components;

(d)     maintenance recommendations, such as time between overhaul (‘TBO’) intervals, issued through service bulletins, service letters, and other non-mandatory service information;

(e)     applicable operational directives or requirements related to the periodic inspection of certain equipment;

(f)      special operational approvals;

(g)     use of the aircraft and operational environment;

(6)     shall identify whether the Pilot-owners are authorised to perform maintenance;

(7)     when declared by the owner, shall contain a signed statement by which the owner declares that this is the AMP for the particular aircraft registration and that he is fully responsible for its content and, in particular, for any deviations from the DAH’s recommendations;

(8)     when approved by the CAMO or CAO, shall be signed by this organisation, which shall retain records with the justification for any deviation introduced to the DAH’s recommendations;

(9)     shall be reviewed at least annually in order to assess its effectiveness, and this review shall be performed, alternatively:

(a)     in conjunction with the airworthiness review of the aircraft by the person who performs such an airworthiness review;

(b)     by the CAMO or CAO managing the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft in those cases where the review of the AMP is not performed in conjunction with an airworthiness review.

If the review shows deficiencies of the aircraft linked with deficiencies in the content of the AMP, the AMP shall be amended accordingly. In this case the person performing the review shall inform the competent authority of the Member State of registry if he does not agree with the measures amending the AMP taken by the owner, CAMO or CAO.  The competent authority shall decide which amendments to the AMP are necessary, raising the corresponding findings and, if necessary, reacting in accordance with point ML.B.304.

(d)     A MIP:

(1)     shall contain the following inspection intervals:

(a)     for aeroplanes, touring motor gliders (‘TMGs’) and balloons, every annual or 100-h interval, whichever comes first, to which a tolerance of 1 month or 10 h may be applied. The next interval shall be calculated as from the time the inspection takes place;

(b)     for sailplanes and powered sailplanes other than TMG, every annual interval to which a tolerance of 1 month may be applied. The next interval shall be calculated as from the time the inspection takes place;

(2)     shall contain the following, as applicable to the aircraft type:

(a)     servicing tasks as required by the DAH’s requirements;

(b)     inspection of markings;

(c)      review of weighing records and weighing in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Regulation (EU) 2018/395 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1976;

(d)     operational test of transponder (if installed);

(e)     functional test of the pitot-static system;

(f)      in the case of aeroplanes:

(i)      operational tests for power and revolutions per minute (rpm), magnetos, fuel and oil pressure, engine temperatures;

(ii)      for engines equipped with automated engine control, the published run-up procedure;

(iii)     for dry-sump engines, engines with turbochargers and liquid-cooled engines, an operational test for signs of disturbed fluid circulation;

(g)     inspection of the condition and attachment of the structural items, systems and components corresponding to the following areas:

(i)      for aeroplanes:

airframe, cabin and cockpit, landing gear, wing and centre section, flight controls, empennage, avionics and electrics, power plant, clutches and gearboxes, propeller and miscellaneous systems, such as the ballistic rescue system;

(ii)     for sailplanes and powered sailplanes:

airframe, cabin and cockpit, landing gear, wing and centre section, empennage, avionics and electrics, power plant (for powered sailplanes) and miscellaneous systems, such as removable ballast and/or drag chute and controls, as well as water ballast system;

(iii)     for hot-air balloons:

envelope, burner, basket, fuel containers, equipment and instruments;

(iv)     for gas balloons:

envelope, basket, equipment and instruments.

As long as this Annex does not specify an MIP for airships and rotorcraft, their AMP shall be based on the ICA issued by the DAH, as referred to in point (c)(2)(b).

(e)     By derogation from points (b) and (c), a declaration by the owner or an approval by a CAMO or CAO is not required, and an AMP document is not required to be produced when the following conditions are met:

(1)     all the ICA issued by the DAH are being followed without any deviations;

(2)     all maintenance recommendations, such as TBO intervals, issued through service bulletins, service letters, and other non-mandatory service information, are being followed without any deviations;

(3)     there are no additional maintenance tasks to be performed resulting from any of the following:

(a)     specific installed equipment and modifications of the aircraft;

(b)     repairs carried out in the aircraft;

(c)      life-limited components and flight-safety-critical components;

(d)     special operational approvals;

(e)     use of the aircraft and operational environment.

(4)     Pilot-owners are authorised to perform Pilot-owner maintenance.

This derogation is not applicable if the pilot-owner or, in case of jointly-owned aircraft, any of the pilot-owners is not authorised to perform Pilot-owner maintenance because this has to be specified in the declared or approved AMP.

(f)      If the conditions provided for in points (e)(1) to (e)(4) are met, the AMP applicable to the aircraft shall consist of the following:

(1)      the ICA issued by the DAH;

(2)     the maintenance recommendations, such as TBO intervals, issued through service bulletins, service letters, and other non-mandatory service information;

(3)     the mandatory continuing airworthiness information, such as repetitive ADs, the ALS of the ICA and specific maintenance requirements contained in the TCDS;

(4)     the tasks due to specific operational or airspace directives or requirements in relation to particular instruments and equipment.