Just come out of AOPA...
EASA's eleventh-hour attempt to bounce the industry into accepting
disastrous regulations aimed at killing off the N-register in Europe have
shocked the aviation world and led to frantic last-minute moves to stop the
Agency bulldozing new rules through the European Commission.
When the Agency finally showed its hand on the N-register it was through
proposals on Flight Crew Licensing which will make it impossible for
European citizens to fly in Europe on American licences, render worthless
the FAA Instrument Rating and blow the bottom out of the market in
N-registered aircraft. If they are adopted, the plans will force thousands
of pilots to undertake new training courses costing millions of euros and
slide the already-depressed used aircraft market into the mire. The safety
benefit will be zero.
After years of discussion, the details became clear just two weeks before
the EC was due to make a final decision on EASA's proposals. IAOPA is asking
the Commission to set the issue aside to allow time for its impact to be
properly assessed.
The plans fly in the face of every assurance given by EASA's principals that
while they wanted European pilots to fly on European registers, they would
properly address the reasons why they did not. EASA's Executive Director
Patrick Goudou promised in 2005: "We will ensure there are no special
advantages to being on the N-register." He has not kept his side of the
bargain. Few of the compelling reasons why European pilots are driven into
the arms of the FAA have been addressed, and those that have been looked at
have been skimmed over in a desultory and unsatisfactory way.
EASA's claimed motivation for attacking the N-register is safety, but that
is a smoke-screen for political chauvinism. Aviation is a trade battleground
between Europe and America, and pilots and owners are caught between the
trenches. There has never been any evidence, or even any credible claim,
that the N-register is unsafe. With this move, EASA has gone far beyond its
safety remit and stepped completely into the realms of political
protectionism.
IAOPA-Europe met in Amsterdam at the weekend to plan a response. Delegates
from 17 European countries debated emergency tactics, and Craig Spence, Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs for AOPA US, flew in from Washington. He
left with a full understanding of the gravity and urgency of the matter.
AOPA UK's Pam Campbell outlined the issue which, she said, had come as
"something of a bombshell". To fly an aircraft in Europe, no matter what the
country of register, would require an EASA licence and if applicable an EASA
Instrument Rating, if you were domiciled in Europe. A stop-gap validation on
a non-European licence would be available from national aviation
authorities, valid for one year. The pilot would have to apply to the
authority of the nation in which he or she resided. There would be a test
for the validation, and no repeat validation would be possible, although an
extension would be granted for a maximum of one year if the pilot could
prove that training to convert the licence or rating has been commenced.
The minimum requirements to convert a third country PPL would be to pass an
examination in Air Law and Human Performance, a PPL Skills Test and a Class
2 medical. It would also be necessary to demonstrate English language
proficiency, and to have a minimum of 100 hours. That would convert the
licence to a PPL with an SEP rating. Higher qualifications would be granted
subject to additional training at the discretion of the service provider.
The holder of an FAA Instrument Rating would have to study for and sit seven
theoretical knowledge exams, which are currently the greatest barrier to the
IR for private pilots. EASA is tinkering with theoretical knowledge
requirements but there will be few game-changing amendments. It is unclear
whether there would be any credit for American training or hours flown.
Emmanuel Davidson of AOPA France said there were more than 10,000 European
pilots holding FAA licences flying in Europe. "We have to bear in mind that
if your American licence is made illegal and you have an N-registered plane,
when you fly it on a European licence you will have to apply both European
and FAA regulations, which would mean you can only fly in the country that
has issued your licence. It will be illegal to fly, say, from France to
Germany or England to Belgium. Those aircraft which have been modified to
FAA STCs may not be able to go on the European register and will have to be
sold, but to whom? A glut of aircraft will come onto the market, and the
only place you'd be able to sell them would be America. There will be
massive compensation claims against EASA and the EC."
IAOPA Senior Vice President Martin Robinson said this had been sprung on the
industry at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour, and that all
assurances given by EASA and EC figures that the situation was not as dire
as it seemed had proved valueless. "We are facing a firing squad which has
its rifles cocked," he said. "EASA has consulted on Part FCL, and in
response to IAOPA's specific comments on third country licences it responded
with one word - 'Noted.' That is all. EASA sends its work as an opinion to
the European Commission, which has a time frame in which to accept or
reject, and the hearing for that is on the 13th and 14th October."
IAOPA has already met with MEPs and European Commission figures and more
meetings are scheduled with the aim of getting the Commission to allow more
time to discuss the issue. "Our first objective is to get the EC wound up to
'park' the issue so the ramifications can be looked at," Robinson said. "In
the short time we have available, there is no other option. Then we have to
work on how we modify the text to get a proper resolution.
"There is no guarantee that the EC will listen. They could say we've had our
chance, but we can demonstrate that our comments simply haven't been
listened to. The regulatory impact of this will be enormous, and I believe
they are poorly understood, even at EASA. I cannot believe they have done a
proper Regulatory Impact Assessment on FCL. If they even begin to work out
how many people would be driven out of aviation by this, EASA and the EC
would recoil from it."
There is little individual AOPA members can do at this late stage to
influence events. Martin Robinson said: "If you feel strongly about this you
can write to Mike Smethers, Chairman of the EASA Board of Management, at the
CAA in Kingsway, with a copy to your local MEP. But time is so short that we
can only take emergency measures at this stage."
IAOPA will keep members informed of progress as it happens.