Home China Laws 1993 REGULATIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AIRWORTHINESS OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT

REGULATIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AIRWORTHINESS OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT

Category  CIVIL AVIATION Organ of Promulgation  The State Council Status of Effect  In Force
Date of Promulgation  1987-05-04 Effective Date  1987-06-01  


Regulations of the People’s Republic of China for the Administration of the Airworthiness of Civil Aircraft



(Promulgated by the State Council on May 4, 1987)

    Article 1  These Regulations are formulated for the purpose of ensuring
safety in civil aviation, protecting public interests and promoting the
development of civil aviation undertakings.

    Article 2  All units or individuals that are engaged in the designing,
manufacturing, use and maintenance of civil aircraft (including aircraft
engines and propellers, and the same hereinafter) within the People’s Republic
of China, all units or individuals that export civil aircraft to the People’s
Republic of China, and all units or individuals that perform outside the
People’s Republic of China maintenance services to aircraft registered in the
People’s Republic of China shall abide by these Regulations.

    Article 3  The administration of the airworthiness of civil aircraft
denotes the technical appraisal and supervision exercised in accordance with
the pertinent provisions of the State over the designing, manufacturing, use
and maintenance of civil aircraft for the purpose of ensuring safety in flight.

    Article 4  The Civil Aviation Administration of China (hereinafter
referred to as the “CAAC”) shall be responsible for the administration of the
airworthiness of civil aircraft.

    Article 5  The administration of the airworthiness of civil aircraft shall
be exercised in accordance with the prescribed airworthiness criteria and
procedures.

    Article 6  Any units or individuals that intend to design civil aircraft
shall, on the strength of the document issued by the Ministry of Aeronautic
Industry for the examination and approval of the design project, apply to the
CAAC for a Certificate of Up-to-Standard Model. The CAAC shall, after receipt
of the application therefor, conduct the examination and appraisal, in
accordance with the relevant provisions, as to whether the model to be
designed is up to standard and, if the model is proved to be up to standard,
a Certificate of Up-to-Standard Model shall be issued.

    Article 7  Any units or individuals that intend to manufacture civil
aircraft shall have the necessary manufacturing capacity and shall, on the
strength of the Certificate of Up-to-Standard Model as prescribed in Article 6
of these Regulations and with the consent of the Ministry of Aeronautic
Industry, apply to the CAAC for a Manufacturing Permit. The CAAC shall, after
receipt of the application therefor, conduct examination and appraisal, in
accordance with the relevant provisions, as to whether the applicants are
qualified to obtain a Manufacturing Permit, if they are proved to be
qualified, a Manufacturing Permit shall be issued to them, together with an
Airworthiness Certificate to be issued in accordance with the relevant
provisions.

    No units or individuals that have not obtained a Manufacturing Permit in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph may manufacture
civil aircraft, except as otherwise prescribed in the provisions of Article 8
of these Regulations.

    Article 8  Any units or individuals that have not obtained a Manufacturing
Permit but intend to manufacture civil aircraft as a result of special needs
shall apply to the CAAC for approval.

    Civil aircraft manufactured in accordance with the provision in the
preceding paragraph shall be examined one by one and only after each of them
is proved to be up to standard shall an Airworthiness Certificate be issued.

    Article 9  Civil aircraft may engage in flight operations only when
they have possessed an Airworthiness Certificate issued by the CAAC.

    The Airworthiness Certificate issued by the CAAC shall specify the type(s)
of activities the aircraft is(are) good for, the period of validity of the
Certificate, and other conditions and restrictions required for ensuring
safety.

    Article 10  If civil aircraft manufactured by units possessing a Civil
Aircraft Manufacturing Permit are to be exported as approved by the competent
authorities under the State Council, the Airworthiness Certificate for Export
shall be issued by the CAAC.

    Article 11  Civil aircraft that are to fly within the People’s Republic of
China must possess Nationality Registration Certificates. Civil aircraft that
have been registered in the People’s Republic of China shall bear the
nationality of the People’s Republic of China and shall be issued Nationality
Registration Certificate by the CAAC. Civil aircraft shall, after obtaining a
Nationality Registration Certificate, stencil on their outer surface the
identification marks of nationality registration in accordance with the
relevant provisions.

    Article 12  Where any units or individuals of the People’s Republic of
China intend to import any model of civil aircraft manufactured in foreign
countries, and if it is imported for the first time and to be used for civil
aviation activities, the units or individuals exporting that civil aircraft
shall apply to the CAAC for examination of the model. The CAAC shall, upon
receipt of the application, conduct the examination of the model of the civil
aircraft in accordance with the relevant provisions. If the model is proved
to be up to standard, a Certificate for Model Approval shall be issued to
permit the import.

    Article 13  A foreign civil aircraft leased by any unit or individual of
the People’s Republic of China may engage in flight operations only after the
CAAC has examined and approved the airworthiness certificate issued by the
country of registry of the said aircraft or only after the CAAC has issued a
new Airworthiness Certificate to the aircraft.

    Article 14  Any units or individuals that have obtained Airworthiness
Certificates for their civil aircraft shall, in accordance with the relevant
provisions of the CAAC and its mandates of airworthiness, use and maintain
the said civil aircraft and ensure that they are in a state of permanent
airworthiness.

    Article 15  The addition or modification of a civil aircraft for which an
Airworthiness Certificate has been obtained shall be subject to the approval
of the CAAC and the essential components and accessories involved shall be
subject to the examination and approval of the CAAC.

    Article 16  Any maintenance units or individuals inside or outside the
People’s Republic of China that intend to undertake maintenance services for
civil aircraft registered in the People’s Republic of China shall apply to the
CAAC for a Maintenance Permit. Only after the CAAC has examined their
maintenance facilities, technical personnel and quality control system, found
them up to standard and issued a Maintenance Permit may they engage in the
maintenance business activities within the scope approved.

    Article 17  Maintenance technical personnel in charge of maintaining and
releasing civil aircraft registered in the People’s Republic of China shall
apply to the CAAC and only after the CAAC or a unit authorized by the CAAC has
examined them and found them qualified and they have thus obtained a
Maintenance Personnel Licence or a similar certificate may they engage in the
maintenance and release of civil aircraft.

    Article 18  Fees shall be charged for the examination of the airworthiness
of a civil aircraft. The amounts to be charged and relevant procedures for
charging shall be set by the CAAC in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance.

    Article 19  The CAAC shall have the right to examine regularly or
selectively the units or individuals that manufacture, use or maintain civil
aircraft, as well as the civil aircraft for which Airworthiness Certificates
have been obtained. If they fail to pass the examination or selective
examination, the CAAC shall impose penalties on them in accordance with the
relevant provisions of these Regulations and may, in addition to that, revoke
their relevant documents.

    Article 20  If any units or individuals that use civil aircraft for flight
activities are found in any one of the following circumstances, the CAAC shall
have the right to order them to suspend flight and impose a fine on them in
accordance with the seriousness of the case:

    1. no Airworthiness Certificate has been obtained for the civil aircraft;

    2. the Airworthiness Certificate of the civil aircraft has expired; or

    3. the civil aircraft has been used beyond the scope prescribed in the
Airworthiness Certificate.

    Article 21  If any units or individuals that maintain civil aircraft are
found in any of the following circumstances, the CAAC shall have the right to
order them to suspend the maintenance business or revoke their Maintenance
Permit and impose a fine on them in accordance with the seriousness of the
case:

    1. no Maintenance Permit has been obtained and yet maintenance business
has been procured without authorization;

    2. maintenance business has been undertaken beyond the business scope
prescribed in the Maintenance Permit; or

    3. personnel who have not obtained a Maintenance Personnel Licence have
been put in charge of the maintenance and release of civil aircraft.

    Article 22  If any units or individuals, in violation of the provisions in
Article 7 of these Regulations, manufacture civil aircraft without
authorization, the CAAC shall have the right to order them to suspend the
manufacturing and impose a fine on them in accordance with the seriousness of
the case.

    Article 23  The superior competent authorities in charge of the units
which are to be penelized in accordance with these Regulations shall, based on
the proposal of the CAAC, subject the principal persons in charge of the
penalized units or other persons directly responsible to administrative
sanctions. If the case is so serious as to constitute a crime, criminal
liabilities shall be investigated by the judicial organs in accordance with
the law.

    Article 24  If accidental death or bodily injury or heavy losses in
property have occurred as a result of negligence in the work of airworthiness
administration, the CAAC shall assume the liability for damages and subject
the persons directly responsible to administrative sanctions. If the act of
the persons directly responsible constitutes a crime, the judicial organs
shall investigate their criminal liabilities in accordance with the law.

    Article 25  The CAAC personnel engaged in airworthiness administration who
take advantage of their positions and powers to seek personal gains
shall be subjected to administrative sanctions. If the case is
so serious as to constitute a crime, criminal liabilities shall be
investigated by the judicial organs in accordance with the law.

    Article 26  Any units or individuals that do not accept the decision of
the CAAC concerning the imposition of a fine may, within 15 days of receipt of
the notice of the fine, apply to the CAAC for reconsideration or directly file
a suit with a people’s court.

    If no application for reconsideration is submitted or no suit is filed and
yet the decision has not been executed at the expiry of the prescribed period
of time, the CAAC may apply to the people’s court for the enforcement of the
decision.

    Article 27  The CAAC shall, on the basis of the opinions widely solicited
from the Ministry of Aeronautic Industry and the various departments concerned,
formulate the rules for the implementation of these Regulations and the
relevant technical standards.

    Article 28  The CAAC shall be responsible for the interpretation of these
Regulations.

    Article 29  These Regulations shall become effective as of June 1, 1987.