Analysis of the Organization Designation Authorization in Aircraft Certification: Differences to the Brazilian and European Approaches

Abstract

This paper aims the identification of the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) regulatory approaches adopted by the United States, using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 certification process as a basis, by revising the ODA’s certification role and what can be enhanced on the ODA program, considering the data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, AND the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and comparing them to the regulatory basis in Europe and in Brazil. An assessment of undue pressure on ODA Unit members and other aspects, such as conflicting restraints, analysing their consequences and roles for the process’ safety, is presented, as well as a comparison with the independent design assurance system adopted by the other two agencies. Therefore, the discussion around the ODA’s aircraft certification processes highlights the ODA model drawbacks, and what can be learned from other models to improve it, so the industry and the society can fully benefit from this system.