S.L. 499.9 Art. 10Inspection, overhaul, repair, replacement and modification.

(1) Except as provided in subarticle (2), and provided that the provisions of Article 4(2) of EC Regulation 1592/2002 (as amended) do not apply, an aircraft registered in Malta, being an aircraft in respect of which a certificate of airworthiness issued or rendered valid under this order is in force, shall not fly unless there is in force a certificate of release to service issued in accordance with this article if the aircraft or any part of the aircraft or such of its equipment as is necessary for the airworthiness of the aircraft has been overhauled, repaired, replaced, modified, maintained, or has been inspected as provided in article 8(6)(b), as the case may be:

Provided that if a repair or replacement of a part of an aircraft or its equipment is carried out when the aircraft is at such a place that it is not reasonably practicable -

(a) for the repair or replacement to be carried out in such a manner that a certificate of release to service can be issued under this article in respect thereof; or

(b) for such certificate to be issued while the aircraft is at that place, it may fly to a place at which such a certificate can be issued, being the nearest place -

(i) to which the aircraft can, in the reasonable opinion of the commander thereof, safely fly by a route for which it is properly equipped; and

(ii) to which it is reasonable to fly having regard to any hazards to the liberty or health of any person on board, and in such case the commander of the aircraft shall cause written particulars of the flight, and the reasons for making it, to be given to the Director General within ten days thereafter.

(2) Nothing in subarticle (1) shall require a certificate of release to service to be in force in respect of an aircraft of which the maximum take-off mass does not exceed 2,730 kg., and in respect of which a certificate of airworthiness of the special category is in force, unless the Director General gives a direction to the contrary in a particular case.

(3) Nothing in subarticle (1) shall prevent an aircraft in respect of which there is in force a certificate of airworthiness in the private or special categories and whose maximum take-off mass does not exceed 2,730 kg., from flying if the only repairs or replacements in respect of which a certificate of release to service is not in force are of such a description as are prescribed in paragraph 6 of the Fourteenth Schedule and have been carried out personally by the owner or operator of the aircraft, being the holder of a pilot’s licence granted or rendered valid under this Order. In that event the owner or operator, as the case may be, of the aircraft, shall keep in the aircraft log book kept in respect of the aircraft pursuant to article 14 a record which identifies the repair or replacement and shall sign and date the entries and, subject to the provisions of article 59, shall preserve the log book for the period specified in article 14. Any equipment or parts used in carrying out such repairs or replacements shall be of a type approved by the Director General whether generally or in relation to a class of aircraft or one particular aircraft.

(4) Neither -

(a) equipment provided in compliance with the Fifth Schedule, except paragraph (4) thereof; nor

(b) radio apparatus provided for use in an aircraft or in any survival craft carried in an aircraft, whether or not such apparatus is provided in compliance with this Order or any regulations made thereunder, shall be installed or placed on board for use in an aircraft registered in Malta after being overhauled, repaired, modified or inspected, unless there is in force in respect thereof at the time when it is installed or placed on board a certificate of release to service issued in accordance with this article.

(5) A certificate of release to service shall -

(a) certify that the aircraft or any part thereof or its equipment has been overhauled, repaired, replaced, modified or maintained, as the case may be, in a manner and with material of a type approved by the Director General either generally or in relation to a class of aircraft of the particular aircraft and shall identify the overhaul, repair, replacement, modification or maintenance to which the certificate relates and shall include particulars of the work done;

(b) certify in relation to any inspection required by the Director General that the aircraft or the part thereof or its equipment, as the case may be, has been inspected in accordance with the requirements of the Director General and that any consequential repair, replacement or modification has been carried out as aforesaid.

(6) A certificate of release to service may be issued for the purpose of this article only by -

(a) the holder of -

(i) an appropriate and valid Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence authorised under an approved Part-145 Approved Maintenance Organisation Certifying Staff Procedure;

(ii) an appropriate and valid Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence that permits, within the endorsed conditions, the issue of such certificates in accordance with the Part-66 requirements;

(iii) an aircraft maintenance licence granted under the law of a country other than Malta and rendered valid under this Order, in accordance with the privileges endorsed on the licence, or

(iv) an aircraft maintenance licence granted under the law of any such country as may be prescribed in accordance with the privileges endorsed on the licence and subject to any conditions which may be prescribed; or

(b) a person approved by the Director General as being competent to issue such certification, and in accordance with that approval; or

(c) a person whom the Director General has authorised to issue the certificate in a particular case, and in accordance with that authority; or

(d) in relation only to the adjustment and compensation of direct reading magnetic compasses, the holder of an Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (Aeroplanes), or a Flight Navigator’s Licence granted or rendered valid under this Order.

(7) Subject to the provisions of article 59, a certificate of release to service shall be preserved by the operator of the aircraft to whom it relates for the period of time for which he is required to preserve the log book relating to the same part of the aircraft or to the same equipment or apparatus as the case may be.

(8) In this article, the expression "repair" includes, in relation to a compass, the adjustment and compensation thereof and the expression "repaired" shall be construed accordingly.