M.A.201 Responsibilities

(a)  The owner of the aircraft shall be responsible for the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and shall ensure that no flight takes place unless all of the following requirements are met:

  1. the aircraft is maintained in an airworthy condition;

  2. any operational and emergency equipment fitted is correctly installed and serviceable or clearly identified as unserviceable;

  3. the airworthiness certificate is valid;

  4. the maintenance of the aircraft is performed in accordance with the AMP specified in point M.A.302.

(b)  When the aircraft is leased, the responsibilities of the owner are transferred to the lessee if:

  1. the lessee is stipulated on the registration document; or

  2. detailed in the leasing contract.

When reference is made in this Part to the ‘owner’, the term owner covers the owner or the lessee, as applicable.

(c)  Any person or organisation performing maintenance shall be responsible for the tasks performed.

(d)  The pilot-in-command or, in the case of aircraft used by air carriers licensed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, the operator, shall be responsible for the satisfactory accomplishment of the pre-flight inspection. That inspection shall be carried out by the pilot or another qualified person and shall not need to be carried out by an approved maintenance organisation or by certifying staff.

(e)  In the case of aircraft used by air carriers licensed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 the operator shall be responsible for the continuing airworthiness of the aircraft it operates and shall:

  1. ensure that no flight takes place unless the conditions set out in point (a) are met;

  2. take the necessary steps to ensure its approval as a continuing airworthiness management organisation (‘CAMO’) pursuant to Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), as part of air operator certificate for the aircraft it operates;

  3. take the necessary steps to ensure its approval in accordance with Annex II (Part-145) or conclude a written contract in accordance with point CAMO.A.315(c) of Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or point M.A.708(c) of this Annex (Part-M) with an organisation which has been approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145).

(f)  For complex motor-powered aircraft used for commercial specialised operations, for CAT operations other than those performed by air carriers licensed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 or by commercial Approved Training Organisations (‘ATO’) and Declared Training Organisations (‘DTO’) referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, the operator shall ensure that:

  1. no flight takes place unless the conditions set out in point (a) are met;

  2. the tasks associated with continuing airworthiness are performed by a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M); when the operator is not a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), it shall conclude a written contract as regards the performance of those tasks in accordance with Appendix I to this Annex with an organisation approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M);

  3. the CAMO referred to in point (2) is approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145) as an organisation to qualify for the issue of an approval for the maintenance of aircraft and of components for installation thereon, or that CAMO has concluded a written contract in accordance with point CAMO.A.315(c) of Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or point M.A.708(c) of this Annex (Part-M) with organisations approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145).

(g)  For complex motor-powered aircraft not included in points (e) and (f), the owner shall ensure that:

  1. no flight takes place unless the conditions set out in point (a) are met;

  2. the tasks associated with continuing airworthiness are performed by a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M); when the owner is not a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), it shall conclude a written contract as regards the performance of those tasks in accordance with Appendix I to this Annex with an organisation approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M);

  3. the CAMO referred to in point (2) is approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145) as an organisation to qualify for the issue of an approval for the maintenance of aircraft and of components for installation thereon, or that CAMO has concluded a written contract in accordance with point CAMO.A.315(c) of Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or point M.A.708(c) of this Annex (Part-M) with organisations approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145).

(h)  For aircraft other than complex motor-powered aircraft used for commercial specialised operations or for CAT operations other than those performed by air carriers licensed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008, or by commercial ATOs and commercial DTOs referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, the operator shall ensure that:

  1. no flight takes place unless the conditions set out in point (a) are met;

  2. the tasks associated with continuing airworthiness are performed by a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), or a combined airworthiness organisation (‘CAO’) approved in accordance with Annex Vd (Part-CAO); when the operator is not a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), or a CAO approved in accordance with Annex Vd (Part-CAO), it shall conclude a written contract in accordance with Appendix I to this Annex with a CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M), or a CAO approved in accordance with Annex Vd (Part-CAO);

  3. the CAMO or CAO referred to in point (2) is approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145) or in accordance with Subpart F of this Annex (Part-M), or as a CAO with maintenance privileges, or that CAMO has concluded a written contract in accordance with point CAMO.A.315(c) of Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or point M.A.708(c) of this Annex (Part-M) with organisations approved in accordance with Annex II (Part-145) or in accordance with Subpart F of this Annex (Part-M) or Annex Vd (Part-CAO) with maintenance privileges.

(i)  For aircraft other than complex motor-powered aircraft not included in points (e) and (h), or used for limited operations, the owner shall ensure that flight takes place only if the conditions set out in point (a) are met. To that end, the owner shall:

  1. attribute the continuing airworthiness tasks referred to in point M.A.301 to a CAMO or CAO through a written contract concluded in accordance with Appendix I; or

  2. carry out those tasks himself; or

  3. carry out those tasks himself except the tasks of the development of and the processing of the approval of the AMP, only if those tasks are performed by a CAMO or CAO through a limited contract concluded in accordance with point M.A.302.

(j)   The owner/operator shall ensure that any person authorised by the CAA is granted access to any of its facilities, aircraft or documents related to its activities, including any subcontracted activities, to determine compliance with this Part.

(k)  Where an aircraft included in an air operator certificate is used for non-commercial operations or specialised operations under point ORO.GEN.310 of Annex III or point NCO.GEN.104 of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, the operator shall ensure that the tasks associated with continuing airworthiness are performed by the CAMO approved in accordance with Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) or Subpart G of this Annex (Part-M) or the combined airworthiness organisation (‘CAO’) approved in accordance with Annex Vd (Part-CAO), whichever applicable, of the air operator certificate holder.