Aviation Legislation
The framework
The 1944 Chicago Convention created ICAO, whose Annexes contain Standards and Recommended Practices that member states incorporate into national law. Know the key Annexes: Annex 1 Personnel Licensing, Annex 6 Operation of Aircraft, Annex 8 Airworthiness of Aircraft, Annex 14 Aerodromes, Annex 19 Safety Management. Ghana's Civil Aviation Authority administers the Ghana Civil Aviation Act and its associated regulations; always confirm the current regulation numbering before quoting it, as revisions occur.
Certification and continuing airworthiness
Know the Certificate of Registration and the Certificate of Airworthiness, continuing airworthiness (airworthiness directives, service bulletins, mandatory modifications), approved maintenance programmes, the Technical Log and aircraft logbooks, the Minimum Equipment List, and the approved maintenance organisation with its scope, capability and quality system.
Licensing and responsibility
Engineers hold licences with type ratings that define their privileges; the certifying engineer signs the maintenance release. Distinguish an AD (mandatory) from an SB (usually advisory unless mandated by the authority or the operator's programme), and a maintenance release from a certificate of airworthiness. The operator remains responsible for airworthiness even when maintenance is contracted out.
The traps
Mixing up Annex numbers; treating a service bulletin as automatically mandatory; confusing registration with airworthiness certification; assuming an MEL permits flight with any defect.
Worked example
Rule of thumb for regulation wording: "shall" is a requirement, "should" is guidance, and "may" is an option. Questions frequently hinge on that single word.