Expired Licence on a Dash 8 Maintenance Release
A CASA PNG inspector conducting a ramp inspection at Jacksons International finds that a maintenance release for a Dash 8-300 was signed by an AME whose licence expired three weeks earlier. The AME says the expiry was an administrative oversight, the work was properly done and inspected, and he had emailed CASA about renewal but received no reply. The operator's records show the aircraft flew 14 sectors after the release. The inspector wants to interview the AME and the maintenance organisation's accountable manager. The AME is worried about his career and asks whether he should explain the situation informally. The maintenance organisation's procedures require a licence check before each release; the check was not done. The AME has 12 years' experience and a clean record. The licence renewal application was posted but not tracked.
1. What offences may have been committed?
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The AME may have committed an offence by signing a maintenance release without a valid licence. Under the Civil Aviation Act and PNG CAR Part 66, a person must not exercise the privileges of a licence that is not in force. The release is a certification that the maintenance was performed and the aircraft is airworthy. The organisation may also have breached its Part 145 obligations by failing to verify the licence before the release. The fact that the work was done properly is mitigation, not a defence to the licensing offence. The 14 sectors flown after the release show the risk.
2. What penalties and liability may follow?
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Penalties can include fines, licence suspension or revocation, and possibly imprisonment for serious offences. The AME may face civil liability if an accident occurs. The organisation may face enforcement action, including suspension of its maintenance approval. The accountable manager may be personally liable if the organisation failed to have a proper licence-check system. Insurance may not cover intentional or reckless breaches. The regulator may consider the AME's email as mitigation but not a complete defence.
3. What should the AME and the organisation do now?
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The AME should cooperate fully, provide the renewal email and any records, and not mislead the inspector. He should be honest about the oversight. The organisation should immediately audit all recent releases to check licence validity, report the finding to CASA PNG if not already done, and fix its licence-verification procedure. The AME should seek advice from a lawyer or union. The organisation should consider a just culture response: the oversight is a system failure, but signing without a valid licence is still a serious breach.