Maintenance Organisations - Part-145
Part-145 (Annex II to Regulation (EU) 1321/2014) is the approval under which organisations maintain aircraft and components, including aircraft used in commercial air transport. The exam tests the scope of an approval, the MOE, personnel and certifying staff, technical control, release documentation, records, occurrence reporting and the quality system.
Approval and exposition
- The competent authority approves the organisation with a defined scope: aircraft types, base and/or line maintenance, and component ratings. Capability must be supported by facilities, tooling, technical data and competent staff; work outside the scope is not covered.
- The Maintenance Organisation Exposition (145.A.70) describes the organisation, procedures and scope. It is approved, and changes need approval before implementation unless an approved indirect-approval procedure applies.
People
- An accountable manager with corporate authority, and a quality manager with direct access to the accountable manager and independence from the maintenance function.
- Certifying staff hold Part-66 licences and a company certification authorisation defining aircraft type and the tasks they may certify; authorisation records are kept.
- All staff receive human factors and error management training; support staff are trained, assessed and recorded.
Technical control and release
- Current approved maintenance data must be available at the point of use (145.A.45); tooling is calibrated, and components are stored with serviceable, unserviceable and quarantine items segregated.
- A Certificate of Release to Service (145.A.50) is issued only for maintenance actually performed, signed by authorised staff, identifying the aircraft or component and the work done. It cannot be issued where a known non-compliance remains.
- Detailed maintenance records are kept for three years from release (145.A.55), and occurrences that could endanger safety are reported to the competent authority (145.A.60).
Worked example
An A320 needs an engine change at a line station at night. The shift has a B2 and a B1 rated on another type. No authorised A320 B1 or B2 is present, so that shift cannot issue the CRS. The organisation must bring in an authorised person or have the task performed by another appropriately approved organisation; experience on other types is irrelevant because the authorisation is type-specific.
Traps
- Accepting work outside the approval scope, or starting work before MOE changes are approved.
- Making the quality manager report to the production manager.
- Issuing a CRS for incomplete work, or without approved data.
- Confusing the three-year record retention with other periods, and the occurrence-reporting trigger with a routine defect report.
- Assuming a Part-145 approval also covers continuing airworthiness management.