International Civil Aviation Organization

Regional Cooperation in the Southern African Development Community

(SADC)

Cliff ElblCTA/Project Coordinator

October 2011

COSCAP-SADC Project

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Strengthening States' Safety Oversight Capabilities

• To strengthen their safety oversight capabilities, most Civil Aviation Authorities in the SADC region are employing a blend of recognized solutions.

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Recognized Solutions

• These may include:

– Engaging in bilateral agreements with other States and with the AFI-CIS for various types of support, or…

–Contracting the services of industry for safety oversight management software

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The SADC Aviation Safety Organization

• Soon, to be added to the blend of solution options will be membership in the SADC Aviation Safety Organization or “SASO”.

• The SASO is a Regional Safety Oversight Organization.

• The SASO will be established by a Charter, which outlines its legal and institutional structure.

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The SASO Charter

• States that are signatories to the Charter are referred to as “Members of SASO”.

• It is not mandatory that all SADC States are members of SASO.

• Participation in the SASO is voluntary among the SADC States.

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Benefits of Regional Cooperation

• A diverse array of regional cooperation will be made available through the SASO.

• Those SADC States choosing not to be members of SASO will have access to the same array of benefits; however..

• The SASO will give the needs of the Members of SASO the highest priority.

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Benefits of Regional Cooperation (Continued)

• Currently, the COSCAP-SADC Project is the prototype of the future SASO.

• Highlighted in the following slides are some of the principal benefits of regional cooperation and how COSCAP-SADC had facilitated them thus far in the SADC region.

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Harmonization of National Regulations Under the COSCAP-SADC Project

• Updated and ICAO compliant Model Civil Aviation Regulations were used to initiate regulatory harmonization among the SADC States.

• States participated with the COSCAP to update the model regulations.

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Harmonization of National Regulations (Continued)

• The idea was to incorporate the provisions of the Model Regulations into National Regulations where such provisions were found to be missing in the National Regulations.

• National regulations retained their original structure and formatting.

• This resulted in a workable level of regulatory harmonization among the SADC States.

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Harmonization of Technical Procedures Under the COSCAP-SADC Project

• The COSCAP, in cooperation with the States, developed generic technical procedures for certification and surveillance tasks based on ICAO recommended guidance and the best practice procedures from States with highly developed aviation safety systems.

• These procedures were then made available to States for adoption into national policy.

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Regional Cooperation Under the COSCAP-SADC Project

• Regional cooperation under the COSCAP-SADC Project is resulting in harmonization of national regulations and technical procedures among the SADC States.

• Harmonization of this type is a fundamental prerequisite for the establishment of any regional safety oversight organization such as the future SASO.

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How the SASO will Cooperate & Support SADC Civil Aviation Authorities

• The extent of the functions provided by the SASO, to Civil Aviation Authorities in the SADC Region, are broad and are identified in the SASO Charter.

• As a prototype to the SASO, the COSCAP-SADC Project will perform those functions until it is replaced by the SASO.

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Among the Functions to be Performed

• Among the most sought-after functions are the following:

– Serving as a focal point that deals with issues relating to certification and surveillance.

– Performing certification and surveillance tasks on behalf of Members of SASO…as may be required.

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Functions to be Performed (Continued)

– Participating, on behalf of all Members of SASO States, irrespective of the status of their safety oversight capability, in all initial certification exercises for the purpose of monitoring and ensuring the uniform application of common standards within the SADC Region.

– Assist Members of SASO in technical fields as required by a member

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Functions to be Performed (Continued)

–Provide for the expansion of Government Safety Inspector (GSI) training with the aim of augmenting national inspectors’ technical knowledge and qualifications.

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COSCAP-SADC Process for Providing Certification & Surveillance Assistance + Training

• The COSCAP’s systematic process for providing certification and surveillance assistance including training is outlined in an Advisory Pamphlet (AP).

• The contents of the AP have been reviewed and accepted by the Project’s Steering Committee.

• The AP has been distributed to all SADC Civil Aviation Authorities and will also be available on the future SASO website.

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Assistance Policy & Protocol

• The AP outlines the role of the COSCAP Regional Inspectors & the role of the SADC State Civil Aviation Authorities during the course of an assistance mission.

• Certification assistance is focused on:

Air Operator Certification (AOC)

Certification of Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMO)

Certification of Approved Training Organizations (ATO)

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Pre-Certification Assistance Questionnaire

• The AP contains a self-questionnaire that if answered “Yes” in all areas, will ensure a productive assistance mission.

• Among questions to be answered are:

Has the Authority developed a Pre-Application Package to give to the prospective certificate holder that outlines the steps of the relevant certification project and includes an example of how to prepare a Statement of Compliance?

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Assistance May be Delivered by the COSCAP in Any Phase of Certification

• Regional Inspectors in an assistance role are referred to in the AP as technical advisors.

• The technical advisors may assistance a State in any of the functions identified in the AP by a check box.

• All a requesting State has to do is check the box to indicate where assistance is needed.

• Estimated on-site times are provided for each phase of certification assistance thereby enabling requesting States to calculate costs involved.

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Assistance Performing Surveillance

• COSCAP technical advisors may participate with National Inspectors in the performance of safety inspections.

• All safety inspections include a Pre-inspection Planning Phase, an Inspection Phase and a Reporting Phase.

• This process is outlined in detail in the AP.

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Training

• Certification or surveillance assistance provided by the COSCAP will be delivered as an on-the-job training (OJT) event.

• COSCAP technical advisors may participate with the Authority’s certification team or with individual surveillance tasks by coaching and guiding National Inspectors with on-site evaluations of actual performance of activities, operations, facilities, equipment and personnel.

• National Inspectors however, are solely responsible for acceptance or approval of documents and demonstrations.

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Conclusion

• The many benefits of regional cooperation exceed the time allotted for this presentation.

• Here, we focused on the assistance and support that COSCAP-SADC and later the SASO will deliver on a regional scale in the areas of certification, surveillance and on the job training.

• An electronic copy of COSCAP-SADC’s Advisory Pamphlet may be obtained by interested parties by emailing the project coordinator at:

celbl@caab.co.bw

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On Behalf of the COSCAP-SADC Project..

THANK YOU !