AEI Chases Fake Part-66 License and Frauds in Basic Examinations
Jul 05 in AEI News
Quantity vs quality
The picture of a fake license is put together by us to visualise the risk with deficient regulations and oversight. It would be a disaster in itself if there are licensed engineers/technicians out there that obtained their licenses by fraud or irregularities. So, is the situation really that bad? Well, the quality of Type Training courses can certainly be a subject for particular attention, but here we will focus on problems with examinations on EASA Part-66 Basic modules.
A few months ago AEI received mind-blowing information about a situation where an European Maintenance Training Organisation revoked more than 1,200 Certificates of Recognition for a total of more than 1,300 Part-66 exam modules. All these basic exams where performed under the same organisations’ responsibility (147 MTO). They found evidence of fraudulent acts and/or irregularities during, or in connection with examinations. This time, the organisation found the irregularity within their own organisation and took action, but what happens in similar situations in other training organisations?
Looking at a situation where it has become big business to provide Part-66 Basic Examinations, especially in third countries, AEI are trying to find out whether this is a systemic issue. We have an ongoing dialogue with EASA about the situation. The fraud issue was also addressed in two rulemaking groups at EASA where AEI had one representative in each group. The task was to review and propose changes to Part-66 and Part-147 regulations. Some proposed changes may improve the situation, even if we were aiming at even tougher regulations on Basic Examinations.
The problem with lack of technical staff is somewhat a constant topic in discussions with aviation industry stakeholders. The differences in mindset between different stakeholders regarding how to deal with this problem is quite obvious. Some suggest we should make it easier to get people in by making the regulations more flexible. We, on the other hand, see a risk in that approach. Safety in the air begins with quality maintenance on the ground, performed or supervised by well-educated and well-trained Licensed Aircraft Engineers.