FAQ Answer

What is meant by an EASA aircraft and a non-EASA aircraft?

Initially the remit of EASA covered airworthiness only. When the Basic EASA Regulation (now Regulation 216/2008) was written it was realised that it was not practical to transfer some categories of aircraft to EASA. For these categories of aircraft, such as amateur-built aeroplanes, microlights and gyroplanes, the standards applied by the individual European States are so varied that a common standard for Europe could not be established - at least in the short term. This led to the creation of
Annex II to the Basic EASA Regulation, which defines those categories of aircraft that remain under national rules. As this segregation of aircraft categories is set out in the Basic EASA Regulation it applies to licensing and operations as well as to airworthiness. The CAA maintains a list of aircraft types that shows their classification as EASA or non-EASA in the Airworthiness publication CAP 747, which can be accessed via the CAA website.

An EASA aircraft can be defined as an aircraft that, if registered in an EU State, would be required to have an EASA Certificate of Airworthiness or Permit to Fly in order to fly legally. It is not valid to assume that any aircraft that has a permit to fly is a non-EASA aircraft. The EASA/non-EASA status of an individual aircraft registered in the UK can be verified by checking whether it has an EASA airworthiness certificate (CofA or Permit) or a UK national certificate. This can be done by accessing the registration details (via G-INFO) or examining the certificate of airworthiness or permit to fly of the
individual aircraft.