The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) recently approved the updated version of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/Industry Guide to Product Certification.
The third edition of the guide was a work-in-progress for 18 months. Fifteen organizations collaborated to modernize the guide, which was last published in 2004.
Over the past 15 years, changes have been made to enhance product safety and to improve the safety and efficiency of the design and certification process.
The revisions inform shareholders how to take advantage of benefits and examine the impact of the changes. The new guide also updates best practices and guiding principles for certification.
“Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of industry and FAA oversight offices and facilitating a shift to a systems approach to product certification and safety oversight was a recommendation of the FAA Aircraft Certification Process Review and Reform report to Congress and the Part 21 / Safety Management Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “We’re proud to work with the FAA to update this guide, and help implement these improvements to ensure the certification process becomes more efficient and consistent, while keeping safety as the number one priority.”