Clarifications about pilot-certifiers

A) Preflight inspection vs “preflight” interval maintenance inspection
Some TCH (usually helicopters) include in the maintenance documentation inspections with interval “preflight” or “before the first flight-BFF”. The content of these inspections is usually similar to the content of the pre-flight inspection included in the aircraft flight manual (AFM). The criterion to be applied in order to register its completion is:

In cases where the maintenance documentation (SMM, AMM, etc.) and the flight manual (AFM) include identical tasks, it is considered acceptable for the pilot to carry out inspections under the operation umbrella (signing the pre-flight inspection section) without having to perform a Maintenance “Release”. Normally this will not happen, as there are usually modifications incorporated into the aircraft that include pre-flight inspections linked to the Maintenance Manual.

B) Pilot-certifiers in approved line stations
Here are some criteria on how to deal with pilot-certifiers when certifying tasks in approved line stations (lines included in the MOE):

• There needs to be a Part 66 certifier assigned to the line.
• The availability of the Part 66 certifier to attend the facilities should be clearly identified in the production plan when necessary.
• The pilot-certifier can only certify simple tasks (mainly ALF, BFF, TA) to perform tasks according to 145.A.30 j) 4) since the certifier is not full time in the installation (at the moment the installation would be treated as “not supported”)

The following link to the EASA website  is included as an additional reference.