S.L. 499.9 Art. 19Grant. renewal and effect of flight crew licences.

(1)(a)The Director General may grant licences, subject to such conditions as he deems fit, of any of the classes specified in Part A of the Eighth Schedule authorising the holder to act as a member of the flight crew of an aircraft registered in Malta, upon his being satisfied that the applicant is a fit person to hold the licence, and is qualified by reason of his age, knowledge, experience, competence, skill, physical and mental fitness to act in the capacity to which the licence relates, and for that purpose the applicant shall furnish such evidence and undergo such examinations and tests, including in particular medical examinations, as the Director General may require of him.

(b) A licence granted under this article shall not be valid unless it bears thereon the ordinary signature of the holder in ink.

(c) A licence shall, subject to the provisions of article 60, remain in force for the periods indicated in the licence, not exceeding those respectively specified in the said Eighth Schedule, and its period of validity may be renewed by the Director General from time to time upon his being satisfied that the applicant is a fit person and qualified as aforesaid.

(2) The Director General may include in a licence a rating, subject to such conditions as he deems fit, of any of the classes specified in Part B of the said Schedule, upon his being satisfied that the applicant is qualified as aforesaid to act in the capacity to which the rating relates, and such rating shall be deemed to form part of the licence.

(3) Subject to any conditions of the licence and the provisions of this Order, a licence of any class shall entitle the holder thereof to perform the functions specified in respect of that licence in Part A of the said Schedule under the heading "privileges", and a rating of any class shall entitle the holder of the licence in which such rating is included to perform the functions specified in respect of that rating in Part B of the said Schedule.

(4) The holder of a pilot’s licence shall not be entitled to exercise the privileges of an aircraft rating contained therein unless his licence includes a valid rating issued, renewed or revalidated in accordance with the requirements of JAR FCL 1 or JAR FCL 2.

(5) The holder of a flight engineer’s licence shall not be entitled to exercise the privileges of an aircraft rating contained therein unless his licence includes a valid rating issued, renewed or revalidated in accordance with the requirements of JAR-FCL4.

(6) A person, who on the last occasion when he took a test for the purposes of subarticles (4) and (5), failed that test shall not be entitled to fly in the capacity for which that test would have qualified him had he passed it.

(7) (a) The holder of a licence, other than a flight radiotelephony operator’s licence, granted under this article shall not be entitled to perform any of the functions to which his licence relates unless it includes a valid medical certificate.

(b) A medical examination required under subarticle (1) shall be performed by a qualified person approved by the Director General either generally or in a particular case who shall make a report to the Director General and may issue a medical certificate subject to such conditions which he may deem fit to the effect that he has assessed the holder of the licence as fit to perform the functions to which the licence relates.

(c) The medical certificate shall, without prejudice to subarticle (7), be valid for such periods as therein specified.

(8) (a) A person shall not be entitled to act as member of the flight crew of an aircraft registered in Malta if he knows or has reason to believe that his physical or mental condition renders him temporarily or permanently unfit to perform such functions or to act in such capacity.

(b) Every holder of a medical certificate issued under article 18 or 19 who -

(i) suffers any personal injury involving incapacity to undertake his functions as a member of the flight crew; or

(ii) suffers any illness involving incapacity to undertake those functions throughout a period of twenty days or more; or

(iii) in the case of a woman, has reason to believe that she is pregnant, shall inform the Director General in writing of such injury, illness or pregnancy, as soon as possible in the case of injury or pregnancy, and as soon as the period of twenty days has elapsed in the case of illness;

(c) The medical certificate shall be deemed to be suspended upon the occurrence of such injury or the expiry of such period of illness or the confirmation of the pregnancy; and -

(i) in the case of injury or illness the suspension shall cease upon the holder being medically examined under arrangements made by the Director General and pronounced fit to resume his or her functions as a member of the flight crew or upon the Director General exempting, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, the holder from the requirement of a medical examination; and

(ii) in the case of pregnancy, the suspension may be lifted by the Director General for such period and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit and shall cease upon the holder being medically examined under arrangements made by the Director General after the pregnancy has ended and is pronounced fit to resume her functions as a member of the flight crew.

(9) Nothing in this Order shall prohibit the holder of a pilot’s licence from acting as pilot of an aircraft having a maximum take-off mass not exceeding 5,700 kg., when, with the permission of the Director General, he is testing any person for the purposes of subarticles (1), (2) or (4), notwithstanding that the type of aircraft in which the test is conducted is not specified in the aircraft rating included in his licence.

(10) Where any provision of JAR-FCL or Part B of the Tenth Schedule to this Order permits a test to be conducted in a flight simulator approved by the Director General, that approval may be granted subject to such conditions as the Director General deems fit.

(11) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Order, the Director General may, for the purpose of this Article, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as he deems fit -

(a) approve any course of training or instruction;

(b) authorise a person to conduct such examinations or test as he may specify;

(c) approve a person to provide any course of training or instruction; and

(d) approve a person as qualified to furnish reports to him and to accept such reports.