The Aircraft Maintenance Programme (AMP) will be developed by a CAMO (Continued Airworthiness Management Organisation) and its importance for continued airworthiness is paramount; it is based on the many OEM documents (such as Airbus or Boeing etc) and considering some additional documents such as modifications, operator preferences, repairs and other factors such as local authority requirements.
The Limited Life Parts & Tracing the history for aircraft leasing is an important part of every review, not only for compliance, but also for two key reasons:
Costs.
Timescale to repair.
Some parts on an aircraft or commonly aircraft engines and landing gear are known as Life Limited Parts (LLP) or Safe Life Items (SLI). Very simply these are parts which have a defined life regardless of condition upon inspection.
When we start to review the SLI/LLP parts then we need to start at the beginning of the parts life – this means from when they are New. The tracing of the parts history is commonly referred to as a Back to Birth check.
Within the aircraft lease agreements, we often talk about aircraft leasing and the importance of a lease agreement; we also know that many lease companies (lessor) are not based in the same country as the company who leases the aircraft (lessee) – one topic of note therefor is always the lease agreement “Governing Law”.
You might be curious about the lease agreement and of course, where is the lease agreement valid and what law does it apply with regards to the governing body or jurisdiction.
This is covered in the lease agreement, and it is noted in a section that will state the governing jurisdiction; while not considered during a lease return or review looking at records directly, it is an important part of the lease agreement itself.
The CAMO or Continued Airworthiness Management Organisation is a key and pivotal part of airline safety and managing risk / change forms the heart of this.
The CAMO is tasked with a lot of responsibility regarding ensuring that aircraft are airworthy in their operation concerning all known tasks, defects, and concerns. Of course, we cannot govern the unknown, such as environmental factors or accidental damage – but we can ensure that an aircraft is maintained and operates within its intended scope.
There are many parts of a CAMO and one of these is the capability to realise and appreciate how change and the management of change is important. We can use risk assessments to consider and mitigate negative impacts we identify for any given changes we make.