The Designated Examiner Who Signed Most of the Logbook
A KCAA-designated AMEL examiner at Wilson Airport is booked to conduct a B1.1 type-rating skills assessment on the ATR 42-500 for a candidate employed at the same AMO, where the examiner is quality manager and the candidate's direct line supervisor. The candidate's logbook shows 26 months of maintenance experience. About 70% of the entries are signed by the examiner himself, and nine months of the time was on the ATR 72-500, annotated 'same systems'. The type training certificate reads 'ATR 42/72 series' and was issued by an AMO training school whose approval was suspended six weeks before the course ended; the certificate carries no approval number. The candidate asks for the assessment to be completed within three days because his licence application deadline is close.
1. Should the examiner proceed with the assessment? Identify each threat to the integrity of the examination and how it should be managed.
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Independence. The examiner is the candidate's line manager, the quality manager of his employer and the signatory of most of his experience record. A designated examiner must be independent of the candidate's employment, training and supervision; here the examiner is effectively assessing his own work and his own signatures.
Evidence quality. Accepting a logbook as proof of experience when 70% of it is signed by the assessor removes any independent verification. The experience claim is being self-certified.
Time pressure. A three-day deadline is a pressure on the examiner, not a fact about the candidate's competence. Scheduling convenience cannot influence a pass or fail decision.
Management. Declare the conflict in writing to KCAA and recuse. The assessment should be conducted by another designated examiner, or by KCAA directly. The examiner may provide factual evidence about the candidate's work, clearly identified as his own record, but must not adjudicate on it.
Trap. Proceeding because the candidate is genuinely competent. Competence does not cure a procedurally invalid examination, and a licence granted on it is exposed to later revocation.
2. How should the ATR 72-500 time and the 'ATR 42/72 series' certificate be treated when assessing the candidate for an ATR 42-500 rating?
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Establish the scheme first. The examiner must confirm how KCAA lists the type ratings: whether the 42-500 and 72-500 fall under one rating or two. That determines how the time counts, and it is a licensing authority question, not a matter of opinion.
If they are separate ratings. The nine months on the 72-500 counts as general maintenance experience and as supporting familiarity, but only tasks actually performed on the 42-500 count towards the specific rating. 'Same systems' annotations are assertions by the candidate, not evidence of tasks performed.
If they are combined. The time may count, but the differences between variants still have to be covered by training and by demonstrated competence, and the examiner should sample tasks that are specific to the 42-500.
The certificate. It describes a series, not a type, and does not show the syllabus, duration or examination content. The examiner should request the syllabus and the training record, and seek a written ruling from KCAA licensing before treating it as satisfying the training element. Documentation doubt is resolved before testing, never during.
3. What should the examiner do about the training certificate issued by a school whose approval was suspended before the course ended?
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Recognise the limits of the examiner's role. The examiner tests competence against a syllabus; the validity of a training certificate is a licensing decision for KCAA. The examiner must not 'cure' a doubtful certificate by running a test, nor ignore it.
Verify. Ask the school in writing for its approval status during the course dates and for the candidate's attendance and examination records. Ask KCAA licensing to confirm whether the certificate is acceptable and, if not, what remediation is required.
Report. State the facts in the examination report: the missing approval number, the suspension date relative to course completion, and the steps taken to verify. Do not express a conclusion that belongs to the authority.
Hold. Do not issue a pass result that depends on the certificate until the authority has ruled. If the candidate is otherwise ready, the practical assessment can be arranged once eligibility is confirmed, but the sequence must be eligibility first, testing second.
Record keeping. Keep copies of all correspondence, because the candidate may later challenge a delay and the examiner's file must show that the delay came from unresolved eligibility, not from the examiner.