Aircraft Documents - EASA and FAA (merged)

What country and what aircraft reg?

A/C registred in Holland and travel to: France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal. Sorry the list is long.

EASA Part NCO Gen 135

NCO.GEN.135 Documents, manuals and information to be carried

(a) The following documents, manuals and information shall be carried on each flight as originals or copies unless otherwise specified:

(1) the AFM, or equivalent document(s);

(2) the original certificate of registration;

(3) the original certificate of airworthiness (CofA);

(4) the noise certificate, if applicable;

(5) the list of specific approvals, if applicable;

(6) the aircraft radio licence, if applicable;

(7) the third party liability insurance certificate(s);

(8) the journey log, or equivalent, for the aircraft;

(9) details of the filed ATS flight plan, if applicable;

(10) current and suitable aeronautical charts for the route of the proposed flight and all routes along which it is reasonable to expect that the flight may be diverted;

(11) procedures and visual signals information for use by intercepting and intercepted aircraft;

(12) the MEL or CDL, if applicable; and

(13) any other documentation that may be pertinent to the flight or is required by the States concerned with the flight.

(b) Notwithstanding (a), on flights:

(1) intending to take off and land at the same aerodrome/operating site; or

(2) remaining within a distance or area determined by the competent authority, the documents and information in (a)(2) to (a)(8) may be retained at the aerodrome or operating site.

(c) Notwithstanding (a), on flights with balloons or sailplanes, excluding touring motor gliders (TMGs), the documents and information in (a)(2) to (a)(8) and (a)(11) to (a)(13) may be carried in the retrieve vehicle.

(d) The pilot-in-command shall make available within a reasonable time of being requested to do so by the competent authority, the documentation required to be carried on board.

I see that the British made it to include their famous interception procedures document in the list of things to be carried...this is certainly new for pilots in many countries...in fact, was this standard anywhere else than in Britain in the past?

Anyway, the list of course only deals with aircraft documents. You'll than have to add pilot documents...

Looks like I need to update my documents listing in the VFR/Europe presentation - p54/55

Not that I do it anymore, but someone may have downloaded it.

(8) the journey log, or equivalent, for the aircraft;

I wonder what that is supposed to contain.

One well informed chap suggested it would be only flights outside the country of registration.

The funny thing appears to be that

(d) The pilot-in-command shall make available within a reasonable time of being requested to do so by the competent authority, the documentation required to be carried on board.

suggests you don't actually have to carry any of this stuff

I would also add the Certificate of Free Circulation for VAT, if non-EU registered.

For a trip around France and Italy in 2011 I took everything - including all originals, in the a/c. It raises the question about what would have happened if I'd crashed end burned and all the docs were lost. One of the guys on the trip (there were 7 a/c) suggested we each took each others documents. would be interested in comments about the lost docs and carrying others docs points . . .

I think it is stupid to carry originals of anything that is non-trivial to replace.

For example the Cert of Free Circulation for VAT is virtually unobtainable today, in the UK, because the UK Customs stopped issuing them c. 2005 and the only way AFAIK of obtaining one now is to declare some market value and write a cheque to the UK Govt for 20% of that. I carry the original (heat sealed in a pouch) because French Customs (who are totally a law unto themselves and a foreign visitor has no rights if they choose to hit you) have reportedly grounded foreign aircraft if not provided with the document, but on balance I think this is a bad idea and I am going to stop doing that (will carry a copy) because the spot checks are very rare.

The FAA requirements do not use the word "original" so I carry copies of all the other stuff.

IMHO, IANAL, you cannot get prosecuted if the original documents are available and are good, but in theory your plane could get stranded somewhere until you make a trip home by another means and come back with the originals...

Never carry maintenance records in the plane.

"I think it is stupid to carry originals of anything that is non-trivial to replace."

Mmm, a bit strongly worded, but you make an important point about the balance struck in choosing what to carry.

In my case most of the a/c documents can be reproduced fairly easily with some letter writing and the inevitable CAA admin charges, but I also took all my pilot docs, which would be considerably more difficult o replicate, especially my logbook.

I thought you had to carry W&B (M&B) calcs as well.... AQ