Certifying Staff - Maintenance
Categories, privileges and authorisations
Part-66 licences are issued by the NAA once the applicant meets basic knowledge, experience and age requirements. Categories: A (line maintenance, minor scheduled work and simple defect rectification within an authorised scope), B1 (mechanical - airframe, engine and mechanical/electrical systems), B2 (avionics and electrical systems), B2L (limited avionics on light aircraft), B3 (light non-pressurised piston aeroplanes up to 2000 kg) and C (base maintenance supervision and release).
The licence alone does not permit certification. In a Part-145 organisation the holder must also hold a company certification authorisation naming aircraft types and task limits. The licence is the technical qualification; the authorisation is the permission, and it can never exceed licence privileges.
Typical experience: A - 3 years, reducible to 1 with a Part-147 basic course; B1/B2 - 5 years, reducible to 3 with Part-147. A licence is valid 5 years and renewable. Recency: six months of relevant maintenance experience in the preceding two years.
Traps: assuming B1 may certify avionics tasks reserved to B2; assuming an A licence permits base maintenance certification; forgetting that C relies on B1/B2 support for the actual work and certifies the overall release.
Worked example: a B1.1 engineer signs off an engine change. That is within privilege if the type is on the licence and on the company authorisation; the organisation then issues the release to service. If the same job required a pitot-static system calibration, a B2 would be needed.