The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has signed agreements with two international regulatory partners – the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Transport Canada (TC) – that allow the authorities to rely on each other’s regulatory systems. In a statement, FAA said the agreements will eliminate duplicate processes, install safety enhancing equipment on aircraft more quickly and save time and money for both industry and the regulatory authorities involved.

“Strong partnerships are a key to consistent safety standards around the world,” the FAA said. “Based on more than a decade of FAA cooperation with EASA and over 15 years with TCCA, the agencies have established confidence in each other’s regulatory systems. Rooted in that confidence, the new safety agreements allow reciprocal acceptance of the majority of Technical Standard Order (TSO)-approved articles. This change benefits US, Canadian and European aerospace industries organisations by eliminating the need for applications, additional validation and administrative review by each party.”

According to FAA, the new agreement with EASA also facilitates acceptance of the classification for basic supplemental type certificates (STCs). An audit process will ensure that technical classifications continue to meet established criteria, and make sure standards are being met, it added.