The Ferry Flight with an Expired Certificate
5Y-ELD, a Cessna 208B, is parked at Eldoret with a certificate of airworthiness that expired nine days ago; the renewal inspection is booked at Wilson Airport in four days. Two defects are open. The left fuel quantity indicator reads intermittently; it is deferred under the operator's MEL, which is approved for commercial air transport, using a procedure that requires dipstick checks before each flight. The autopilot is inoperative and is also an MEL item. The operator wants a 45-minute positioning flight to Wilson at dawn with no passengers, and asks the Eldoret line engineer to 'sign a CRS for the ferry' so the aircraft can leave. The forecast is VMC for the route. The engineer has seen no permit to fly; the operator says one 'is being arranged by email'.
1. Can a certificate of release to service make this flight legal? Explain what the CRS certifies and what it does not.
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What the CRS certifies. That specified maintenance has been carried out in accordance with approved data, and that in respect of that work the aircraft is airworthy. It attaches to maintenance, not to permission to fly.
What it does not do. It cannot renew an expired certificate of airworthiness, and it is not an operating authorisation. A flight with an expired certificate is lawful only under a permit to fly or equivalent ferry authorisation issued by KCAA, with the conditions that instrument imposes.
So the answer is no. Signing a CRS would not make the flight legal, and if no maintenance was performed in connection with the flight, there is nothing for a CRS to certify in any case. A CRS written as 'for ferry only' is still not a permit.
Additional risk. A permit 'being arranged by email' does not exist until it is issued. Departing on the strength of an expected document is an unairworthy and uninsured flight, and the engineer who signed would be the person of record.
Correct response. Refuse the shortcut, state why in writing, and progress the permit application properly.
2. Do the MEL deferrals authorise this flight? Assess the two defects for a 45-minute positioning flight in forecast VMC.
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Scope of the MEL. The MEL is an operational document tied to the operator's commercial air transport approval. It permits dispatch with specified defects under stated conditions; it does not replace the need for a valid certificate of airworthiness or permit, and it does not automatically authorise a ferry flight, which is governed by the permit's conditions.
Autopilot inoperative. Generally acceptable for a short VMC daylight positioning flight, provided the permit does not require it and the aircraft can be flown safely by the crew assigned. The permit may impose a crew or altitude condition.
Fuel quantity indicator. 'Intermittent' is not a defined deferred condition - the MEL entry usually covers a gauge that is inoperative, with dipstick verification of fuel before flight. Because the indication is unreliable rather than failed, the engineer should treat the gauge as not usable, confirm the dipstick procedure applies, and ensure the flight is planned on measured fuel with adequate reserve. If the permit conditions do not cover this defect, the indicator must be rectified before the flight.
Conclusion. Neither MEL item authorises the flight on its own; both must be acceptable under the permit conditions as well.
3. Set out the compliant pathway to get the aircraft to Wilson and the engineer's role within it.
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Operator's application. The operator applies to KCAA airworthiness for a permit to fly, stating the aircraft and registration, the expired certificate, the purpose and route, the proposed date and duration, the defects and how each is addressed, the crew, and confirmation of insurance. Written justification for a single non-revenue flight is required.
Authority response. KCAA may require an inspection and a certification of fitness for the specific flight, may impose conditions - VMC day, no passengers, defined route and altitude, specific crew - and will state the permit's validity.
Engineer's role. Perform the inspections or rectifications the permit requires, record them, and sign the certification the permit calls for, within his own category and type rating for the C208B. That certification is not a standard CRS for return to service and should not be worded as one.
Before departure. Confirm the permit is issued and its conditions are met, enter the defects in the technical log, and brief the crew on the fuel indication limitation.
Record. Note the refusal of the shortcut and the reasoning, so the decision survives audit.