This following incident happened to a colleague and it made me think. I'm not going to name any country or airline since it is irrelevant. Landed at XXX [foreign airport] and got ramp-checked by the local aviation authority. Not only flight crew licenses we requested, but also aircraft avionic (successful) self-tests. The captain knew where to flip a switch or two, tests were satisfactory, and after 30 minutes of document and avionic checks the airplane was released by the local authority.
My concern is the legality of certain procedures (in this case the avionic check which can be accessed behind a panel). Most pilots have a little inside knowledge of their airplane, engineering procedures/checks etc.; however, if a foreign aviation authority requires the captain to perform a procedure that is only to be performed by engineering, what would be the best thing to do? If you refuse to perform the test the plane would surely by grounded, if you comply with the foreign CAA you could get in trouble by the domestic CAA for performing a procedure that is only to be done by engineering. Does ICAO cover a situation like this?
Your thoughts?
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