Specific Airworthiness Specifications

Specific Airworthiness Specifications (SASs) have been used by EASA during its early inception as a transition measure to allow operation of certain aircraft without a Type Certificate and for those without a Type Certificate Holder.

These aircraft were accepted and allowed to operate under a Restricted Certificates of Airworthiness (RCofA) based on the EASA approved SAS.

The UK left the European Union aviation system on 31 December 2020, and as such is no longer part of European Union aviation institutions, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

EASA SASs valid up to this date are considered approved by the CAA and have been published as they were released by EASA.

Going forward, the SASs will continue to refer to EU law and carry the EASA logo.  Article 140(1) of the assimilated UK Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the UK Basic Regulation, and points 21.A.173(b) and 21.B.327(a) of assimilated UK Regulation (EU) No. 748/2012 provide the legal basis for the ongoing validity of previously issued Specific Airworthiness Specifications and the issue of Restricted Certificates of Airworthiness by the CAA based on those SAS. Aircraft on the G-register with a SAS originally issued by EASA should continue to follow the applicable Airworthiness Directives as listed in the SAS and on the EASA Safety Publications Tool at: https://ad.easa.europa.eu/.

The CAA cannot issue any new SAS for a newly orphaned type as there is no longer a legal mechanism to do this. Existing SASs will be retained and may be amended, which may result in the change from EASA to UK reference numbers.

All SASs and all RCofA issued based on existing SASs will remain valid.

A list of existing SASs is published on this page.