The Nimrod Review - Official Documents

Chapter 21 – New Military Airworthiness Regime
with; (c) the environments in which they work; and (d) the tasks they give them. The current AOAs are:
in the Air Force AOC 1 Group, AOC 2 Group and AOC 22 Group; in the Royal Navy, COS Aviation/Rear
Admiral Fleet Air Arm; and, in the Army, Commander Royal Artillery (for Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs))
and Commander Joint Helicopter Command (JHC).
C. Proper training in Airworthiness Management and Regulatory skills: The establishment of a
regulatory system staffed with professional-status engineers and experienced operators, trained and
examined in Airworthiness regulation. Specific Airworthiness responsibilities will be disseminated, where
appropriate, through Letters of Airworthiness Authority (LOAA) to authorised, qualified, professional
engineers who will thereby be authorised to make Airworthiness decisions in both DE&S and in support
of the Duty Holder chains in the AOAs. All LOAA holders will have direct access to the Regulator.
D. Proper system of Mandatory Reporting and Analysis: The MAA Regulator will oversee a system of
mandatory reporting and data analysis that provides accurate and timely feedback on Airworthiness across
the air domain. The Operating Centre Directors 2 and AOAs will be responsible for collecting, assimilating and
analysing data. AOAs will take the lead in the day-to-day management of Flight Safety.
E. Single Safety Case and Single Risk Management System: There will be a single Safety Case for
each platform, formatted to an agreed standard directed by the Regulator and owned by the Regulator
and kept current by Integrated Project Teams (IPTs), 3 which will be sufficiently clear and succinct that it
can actually be used: (a) to inform and influence the daily management of a platform’s Airworthiness;
and (b) to underpin the aircraft’s Release to Service. There will be a single Risk Register for all equipment
and operating Airworthiness risks which will support the Safety Case and Release to Service. The Risk
Register will articulate, to a common standard across the various platforms laid down by the Regulator,
the net Risk to Life. The Risk Register will be owned by the Duty Holder in the relevant AOA who will
ensure: (a) it is actively managed; and (b) a far clearer distinction is made between Airworthiness and
Safety management generally.
F. New joint independent Accident Investigation process: There will be a new joint military air
accident investigation process. The establishment of a Military Air Accident Investigation Branch (MAAIB)
comprising permanent joint teams of technical specialists which will provide rapid investigation into
the immediate causes of military accidents to assist Service Inquiries (SI). The Regulator will be the
Convening Authority for all MOD SI accident investigations involving either military aircraft and/or air
personnel. The Regulator will have the authority to appoint more senior or specialist presidents where
the nature of the accident requires it or where a protracted legal analysis is likely post inquiry. There will
be specialist training for the investigation presidents, and the provision of legal support.
G. Readable Airworthiness Regulations to inform and guide those charged with ensuring
regulatory compliance: A concise set of Airworthiness regulations will be developed to govern
Airworthiness as a discreet element of safety management, to replace the verbose, confusing and
overlapping set of Airworthiness regulations which duplicate in many areas procedures and process set
out in safety management regulations, and which dilutes Airworthiness management as a consequence.
Airworthiness needs to be managed as an activity discrete from Safety in order to ensure that processes,
resources and attention are firmly focused on Airworthiness over business and environmental risks.
H. Coherent Flight Safety management across the three Services: The establishment of three single-
Service Flight Safety Organisations, with responsibility for the management and delivery of Flight Safety
and a Flight Safety Inspectorate role, will rest within the AOAs. 4 Each AOA will appoint a Senior Operator
working within the AOA responsible for the pro-active management of Flight Safety. The Regulator
will maintain oversight of Flight Safety data/processes to inform his strategic management of Military
Airworthiness. (This is closely linked, but wider in its remit, than the Mandatory Reporting which has
been detailed in Recommendation D, above).
2 The recently renamed DE&S 2-Star Directors who command the IPTs (now known simply as ‘Project Teams: for consistency, their former title of
‘Integrated Project Teams’ is used throughout this Chapter).
3 See footnote 2 above.
4 For the avoidance of doubt the RAF Flight Safety Organisation is to be under the command of the CinC Air Command.
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