Operator Responsibility When a Foreign-Registered Aircraft Is Operated Under a Lease
An Indian operator wet-leases a foreign-registered aircraft for six months to cover peak season. The aircraft is maintained by a foreign CAR-145-equivalent organisation under the foreign state's rules, and holds a foreign ARC. The Indian operator's CAR-M CAMO assumes it can simply manage the aircraft under its own procedures. During the first month, the Indian operator's maintenance controller notices that the foreign maintenance programme intervals differ from the Indian operator's approved programme, and a scheduled check falls due while the aircraft is flying domestic sectors. The foreign CAMO says its programme is 'good enough' and the Indian operator should not interfere. The DGCA has not been formally consulted on the arrangement.
1. Who is responsible for the continuing airworthiness of this aircraft during the lease, and what regulatory steps were missed?
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Responsibility must be clearly allocated in the lease and approved by the authority; it does not default silently to either party.
Key points:
- For an aircraft operated by an Indian operator, the Indian operator (or its contracted CAMO) is generally responsible for continuing airworthiness under the applicable CAR-M arrangements, unless a specific approved arrangement places it elsewhere.
- The foreign maintenance programme and foreign ARC are valid under the foreign state's rules, but the Indian operator must ensure the aircraft meets the requirements applicable to its operation. Divergent programmes create a compliance gap.
- The DGCA should have been consulted/notified about the wet lease and the continuing airworthiness arrangement, including who performs CAM and maintenance and under which approvals.
Missed steps: formal allocation of CAM responsibility, acceptance of the maintenance programme against the operator's approved programme, verification of the foreign organisation's approvals, and authority notification/approval of the lease arrangement.
2. What must happen before the next scheduled check falls due, and how should the programme discrepancy be resolved?
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Before the check falls due:
- Reconcile the programmes: compare the foreign programme with the Indian operator's approved programme and identify differences (intervals, tasks, AD/SB incorporation).
- Obtain approval/acceptance: the programme used must be acceptable to the competent authority for the operation; if the foreign programme is to be used, it must be formally accepted or bridged.
- Plan the check: ensure the due check is accomplished at the correct interval by an appropriately approved organisation, with records that satisfy both the foreign state and Indian requirements.
- Document the arrangement: record who is responsible for each CAM function and how records/AD compliance are managed.
Interim: if the check is due before reconciliation, it must still be performed at the more restrictive applicable interval to avoid a compliance gap. 'Good enough' is not a regulatory standard.