The National Agency of Airworthiness of Argentina ("Direccion Nacional de Aeronavegabilidad" or "DNA") has issued a new regulation concerning the certifications granted by foreign repair shops abroad on the status and conditions of an aircraft (Disposición Nº 34/2006 dated April 5, 2006).

The new resolution amends the Rules of Airworthiness for the Argentine Republic (section 145.75 "Repair shops") in relation to the legal effects of the use of foreign languages in the certifications by repair shops

In general, many of the certifications granted by foreign repair shops are drafted in English language, and their technical personnel use said language to communicate with the DNA and accurately describe the technical conditions of an aircraft.

Therefore, the amendment introduced by the DNA set forth that no person will be responsible of the supervision or the final inspection of any work conducted by a foreign aeronautic repair shops [to any aircraft with register number granted by the Argentine Republic] unless said person can read, write and understand in Spanish or English, except as otherwise established by the General Director of the DNA.

The basis for this resolution, as it is indicated in its whereas, is the successful experience obtained from the certification by the aircraft repair shops located abroad, and the possibility to apply such experience to improve our local proceedings in the certification of the activity conducted in the local repair shops.

It should be mentioned that, notwithstanding the terms of the new amendment, in fact all the repair shops certified abroad by the DNA already have personnel who read, write and understand in Spanish, as a condition for such qualification.

This new resolution has been subject to comments from any third party during a thirty-day period counted as from the date of publication in the Official Gazette (April 18).

Footnotes.

1. It is important to mention that the DNA in the governmental agency entitled to introduce amendments to the Rules of Airworthiness in Argentina (section 2 of the Decree Nº 1496/87)

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