Proposal for Aviation Safety Certification System and Technical Standardization

Extremely high levels of safety and reliability are required for aircraft that transport people and goods by air in tough environments. Moreover, because aircraft are used internationally, aviation safety systems are enacted based on international treaties and aircraft in every country need to operate in a unified way. In Japan, the development of all passenger aircraft ended with the YS-11, which was developed half a century ago. However, in Japan domestic passenger aircraft development program officially restarted in 2008, and resumed being an aircraft manufacturing country. The public and private sectors are now working on obtaining type certifications to ensure the safety of the aircraft being developed in Japan. At the same time, aircraft are becoming more complex with the full-scale introduction of computer systems and new materials, such as CFRPs (carbon fiber reinforced plastics). Safety inspections and certifications have become extremely strict by incorporating countermeasures to investigate the cause of aircraft accidents. That safety certifications and inspections are difficult is clear from the fact that Japan’s passenger aircraft development program is taking a long time.

Type certification, a mechanism to provide a new aircraft to the market safely and efficiently, ensures the performance and safety of mass-produced aircraft during development by the manufacturing country and by the operating country during operation. Examinations for certification require deep expertise and experience. In Europe and the United States, governments set rules for cooperation with the private sector, and both areas are conducting joint reviews. However, as can be seen from the response to recent passenger aircraft accidents, it is not easy to ensure safety.

In Japan, the Next-Generation Sky System Research Unit (formerly the Aviation Policy Unit) has formed an industry-government-academia aviation innovation study group with the Presidential Endowed Chair for the Center for Aviation Innovation Research, and intended to conduct research on the safety certification system. The trigger for this new approach was the Boeing 787 battery accident, and we have been studying the standardization of new technology certification methods through discussions and symposiums with standardization organizations in Europe and the United States. With these certifications activities in mind, we summarizes the changes in the aviation safety certification system—focusing on the US, a country with advanced aircraft development —and makes recommendations for the future of the Japanese aviation industry as well as the safety certification system, which is becoming ever more complex with massive systems.

Policy Proposal

1. Expertise from the private sectors should be used to explore methods of compliance for new technologies towards type certification：

    Innovative technologies have been widely adopted for the development of new aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Given these circumstances, it is difficult for government officials alone to establish a method of compliance for new technologies towards type certification, or a mechanism for ensuring safety and reliability, with respect to new technologies. To promote the development of aviation technology in Japan, a committee should be established, such as the US Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC), which includes experts from the private sector. In addition, an ad hoc committee (in the United States, the Aviation Rulemaking Committee, or ARC) should be established jointly with private-sector experts according to certain themes.

2. Consensus based approach between the public and private sector should be leveraged to develop Type Certification approvals methods for new technology:

    It should be noted that the above discussions at the ARAC and ARC in the United States are supported by the activities of various non-profit organizations called technical standards developing organizations (TSDO) in the private sector. At TSDOs, not only companies and research institutions that develop new technologies but also airlines and airports that use them as well as regulators and academic experts participate in discussions that go beyond the interests of companies. The standardization of technology is important in the aviation industry, where safety assessments are strict, in order to employ new technologies. Collectively, this is called a technology coordination area. In Japan as well, in new fields such as small unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (“flying vehicles”), public-private councils have been set up to discuss policy and development goals. For aviation technology in general, technological standardization should be promoted through public-private partnerships in order to promote the practical application of new technologies.

3. A new process is required to improve the reliability and transparency of system certification:

    Aircraft type certification is essentially being implemented by governments, and a part of the type certification process uses the in-house certification system of the aircraft manufacturer. However, the closed environment with these parties acting alone was questioned after the near-consecutive crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX on October 29, 2018 and March 10, 2019. Every country should cooperate in designing a new system to improve the reliability and transparency of aviation safety certification processes, such as type certification.
Policy Recommendation(PDF)