EASA NPA 2021-11 Enhancement of the safety assessment processes for rotorcraft designs
The purpose of this Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) is to provide proportionate and cost-efficient rules in the field of the safety assessment provisions for equipment, systems and installations for rotorcraft that also maintain an overall high level of safety. In addition, the intent of this NPA is also to increase harmonisation of the safety assessment provisions for rotorcraft with their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) equivalents.
The application of stringent safety objectives to simpler small rotorcraft creates a barrier to innovation and the installation of systems and equipment, which could improve the overall safety of these aircraft. This is due to the higher and sometimes prohibitive costs of developing systems and equipment to meet the stringent safety objectives and the costs of certification. It is often the case that due to the high costs of certification the economic justification or business case would not support the introduction of safety-enhancing equipment.
This NPA proposes a solution to the above by introducing proportionality in the safety assessment objectives for the design of rotorcraft systems and equipment and the methodology that is used to identify the presence of hazards in the design. A similar approach has been introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through a Policy Statement.
In addition, this NPA contains proposals that improve the clarity of the requirements for electrical installations for CS-29 rotorcraft that were previously included in the safety assessment provisions.
