Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft are set to be certified in a unified and streamlined way across the world following a landmark Roadmap established between national aviation authorities from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Roadmap for Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft Type Certification aims to ensure safety, foster collaboration, promote technological innovation, and streamline the certification and validation process for new aircraft types across international boundaries.
It was developed collaboratively by representatives from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Transport Canada (TC), New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Aircraft type certification is a process that ensures a particular type of aircraft meets all the necessary safety and airworthiness standards set by aviation regulatory authorities.
Currently, traditional aircraft are type certified in the country of design using internationally harmonized airworthiness certification standards. Countries then validate the aircraft against these standards before the aircraft can be operated in other countries.
However, with new AAM aircraft types, there are differences in certification standards emerging across the world. The roadmap acknowledges these differences and provides a framework to converge and harmonise these standards to streamline validation and entry of AAM aircraft into multiple markets.
Director of Civil Aviation Keith Manch said there are significant benefits to collaborating across borders on advanced aircraft certification standards.
‘For operators, the Roadmap aims to reduce the certification burden once the AAM aircraft has received a type certificate and allow them faster entry to multiple countries through harmonised airworthiness standards and focused validation activities,’ he said.
‘For aviation safety authorities, this agreement will allow us to share data, research and safety information while also collaborating and sharing our expertise for the benefit of our respective AAM industries.
‘It will help the network develop and converge on airworthiness standards used for the type certification of AAM aircraft.
‘The publication of this roadmap marks a significant milestone in the evolution of bilateral partnerships to meet the challenges of emerging aviation technology.
‘By working together, we can ensure that the introduction of AAM aircraft is both safe and efficient, paving the way for the aircraft of the future while ensuring our skies are safe and secure.’
