Russia to shift certification functions from IAC to national authorities

Photo by Leonid Faerberg / transport-photo.com

The Russian government has prepared a resolution that will enable Russian authorities to issue national certificates for aircraft and aerodromes, instead of the currently acknowledged certificates issued by Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), a supranational body that performs certification functions for the CIS countries. The news, announced by Prime-minister Dmitry Medvedev, is published on the government’s official web-site.

The resolution suggests to confer powers, currently associated with the IAC, to national federal executive authorities: the Transport Ministry, the Industry and Trade Ministry, and the Federal air transport agency (FATA or Rosaviatsiya). The first two will be responsible for the certification of aircraft and aircraft engines, accordingly. FATA’s current aerodrome certification functions will be extended to include international and categorized airports, Transport minister Maxim Sokolov explained to Vedomosti daily.

Russia will continue acknowledging IAC’s superiority in investigating aviation incidents.

The precedent that led to the present resolution took place early in November 2015, when IAC revoked its type certificate for Boeing 737CL and NG aircraft. In a riot that followed, FATA refused to ground Russian 737 fleet.

The IAC was created in the end of 1991. Its authority is recognized by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

In Russia IAC-issued type certificate is required for aircraft registered in Russian, and for those aircraft, that have foreign registration, but are operated in Russia.

Should the proposed resolution come into force, IAC will probably continue issuing certificates, but they will not be recognized in Russia.