Master Minimum Equipment List - Transports Canada

Master Minimum Equipment List
3.10.5 MEL Preamble
The purpose of the Minimum Equipment List Preamble is to provide direction to
company personnel on the philosophy and use of the MEL. Transport Canada publishes a
MMEL preamble which is acceptable for use by an air operator (See Appendix F.). An
air operator may choose to develop their own preamble but it must contain at least the
information contained in the Transport Canada version.
3.10.6 Notes and Definitions
Notes and Definitions are required to allow the user to interpret the MEL properly. As a
minimum, the notes and definitions contained in Appendix A will be used in the MEL.
Additions and deletions to the notes and definitions may be applied to the air operator's
MEL as required.
3.10.7 Operating and Maintenance Procedures
a) Dispatch with inoperative items is often acceptable only with the creation of
special operating or maintenance procedures.
b) Where the MMEL indicates that this is the case, the air operator must establish
and publish appropriate procedures for inclusion in the MEL. Procedures
recommended by the aircraft manufacturer in most cases can be adopted for this
purpose, but the ultimate responsibility for providing acceptable procedures to
be approved in the MEL rests with the air operator. These procedures will
ensure that a satisfactory level of safety will be maintained. (See Section 3.15.1)
c) The air operator, when comparing the MEL against the MMEL must ensure that
where the (O) or (M) symbols appear, an operating or maintenance procedure
has been developed that provides clear direction to the crew members and
maintenance personnel of the action to be taken. This procedure must be
included in the MEL.
d) The only exception is when the procedure is contained in another document that
is available:
to the flight crew on the flight deck, such as an Aircraft Flight Manual,
Aircraft Operating Manual, or the Company Operations Manual;
to the flight attendants, such as a Company Operations Manual or Flight
Attendant Manual;
to the maintenance crew, such as an Aircraft Maintenance Manual (e.g. - the
Airbus Aircraft Deactivation Procedures Manual), Maintenance Control
Manual, etc.
e) In these cases, the MEL may refer to a section of the appropriate document.
f) It is not acceptable to reference the Canadian Aviation Regulations or similar
documents, as these are not carried on board the aircraft and could be subject to
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