News and Updates – FAA-EC Pact Paves the Way for Lower Costs for U.S. Manufacturers.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Commission (EC) have signed a decision that will pave the way to lower fees that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) charges U.S. manufacturers to validate their design approvals.

The agreementcalled Bilateral Oversight Board Decision 0008 (BOB 0008)was formalized at the 17th Annual FAA-EASA International Safety Conference in Washington, DC.

The FAA and EASA have previously signed revisions to the Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP) to the U.S.-EU Aviation Safety Agreement that reduce the time and effort to validate design approvals. Following verification and confirmation, BOB 0008 allows further recognition of the reduced involvement of the validating authority and opens the door for lower fees charged by EASA. The agencies will also be able to approve basic aircraft type certifications with minimal scrutiny.

BOB8 is a further recognition that both the FAA and EASA fully subscribe to the philosophy that safety in todays global aviation market depends to a great extent on international partnerships between aviation regulators.

The FAA and EASA also expect to sign an update to the Validation Improvement Roadmap at the FAA-EASA Safety Conference. The roadmap helps guide further streamlining of validation approvals by allowing each side to optimize reliance on the others certification system and eliminate or reduce technical involvement.