Part-147 guide: approval, MTOE, examinations, type training

Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 on continuing airworthiness has several annexes. Annex II (Part-145) covers approved maintenance organisations, Annex III (Part-66) the aircraft maintenance licence, and Annex IV (Part-147) maintenance training organisations.

The Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Guidance Material (GM) published by EASA explain how to meet these requirements.

The approval is issued by the competent authority after verifying the organisation's compliance: staff, facilities, equipment, training material, procedures and quality system.

The organisation's privileges (147.A.145) are limited to the courses listed in its approval: basic training courses, type or task training courses, and the related examinations. Any significant change must be notified to the competent authority (147.A.150).

The Maintenance Training Organisation Exposition (MTOE) is the organisation's reference document. It includes a statement signed by the accountable manager, the titles and names of nominated persons, the organisation chart, the list of instructors, examiners and assessors, a description of facilities, the list of courses, and the training, examination and quality procedures.

The MTOE is a living document: it must always reflect the actual organisation. Amendments follow the established procedure and, depending on their nature, the approval of the competent authority.

Basic knowledge examinations follow the standard of Part-66 Appendix II: multiple-choice and essay questions depending on the module, with a pass mark of 75%.

They are conducted by examination staff independent from the instruction of the module concerned, under procedures that ensure question security. Results are recorded (147.A.125).

Type training (147.A.300) covers an aircraft or engine type and comprises a theoretical part and a practical part, in accordance with Part-66 Appendix III.

Each part is examined or assessed. Planning has to combine theory, practice, the availability of instructors qualified on the type and access to aircraft or equipment.

Part-145 organisations must establish the competence of their staff (145.A.30) and provide appropriate continuation training to certifying staff (145.A.35).

Their in-house training centres therefore share the same needs as Part-147 organisations: plan, assign, trace.