Flight under A conditions
Chirp picks up this topic.
Some of us with distance maintenance organisations will recall the good old days when an engineer could sign an aircraft as fit to fly for maintenance if it was time expired.
No more.
The CAA now charge £80, paperwork must be completed and there is the inevitable delay. I understand the changes have come with the introduction of EASA.
The point I believe is well made that this is putting increased pressure on pilots to "get the plane there" in possibly unsuitable weather or lose time getting it there early.
Moreover, there is the potential for yet another cost, a disincentive for operators to chose the "best" maintenance organisation and I would guess (but I cannot prove) no evidence that the system was not working perfectly well before.
My engineer tells me (perhaps tongue in cheek) that if you try and ‘phone EASA you will find no contact details on their web site and nor for that matter has he yet been able to track down their number using any other means. When EASA takes over the A conditions paperwork presumably you have also got no mechanism of finding where it has got to!