STLC proposes to create an electronic database of documents for airplanes and helicopters

In Russia, it is necessary to introduce digital passports for aircraft. This was stated on May 18 at the HeliRussia – 2023 helicopter industry exhibition by the head of the Air Transport Directorate of the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) Alexander Vrublevsky. “We see that there is a special need for the digitalization of the aircraft passport (AC). We, as owners, faced a problem – if documents are lost, there is no procedure for their restoration today,” he said.

Representative STLC explained to Vedomosti that it was about creating a unified electronic database of aircraft operational documentation. According to him, now the country does not have a unified electronic system that would store operational and technical documentation for aircraft and helicopters. All forms and passports are “stored in paper form,” he added. At the same time, according to the STLC, depending on the type of aircraft, the number of documents “may exceed 1,200 units per aircraft.” If the airline does not return the documents for the aircraft after it has been withdrawn by the lessor, it is extremely difficult to restore them, since there is no legal framework describing the procedure for restoring the documentation, he emphasizes.

“We propose to create a Unified electronic database of operational and technical (by number) documentation for aircraft, which cannot be lost or hidden,” says a company representative. According to him, everyone will benefit from this. Firstly, these are lessors and airlines who will receive confirmed and transparent information about the work carried out and the condition of the aircraft. Secondly, service companies that will be able to plan their work and prepare the appropriate capacities. Thirdly, regulators, which receive a complete picture of the state of the aircraft fleet in the country in real time, the representative of STLC explained.

Earlier, STLC several times sent letters to the Ministry of Transport with a proposal to convert documents into electronic form, but did not receive a response from the ministry, says a Vedomosti source close to one of the parties to the correspondence. The STLC representative does not comment on this, the press service of the Ministry of Transport did not respond to a request. Vedomosti also sent a request to the Federal Air Transport Agency.

IN STLC faced with the need to restore documents for the aircraft in the event of termination of contracts with the bankrupt Skol airline and the seizure of aircraft belonging to the lessor: 23 Mi-8/17 helicopters, seven Ansat helicopters and five L-410 aircraft. The company did not return the operational and technical documentation, and without a complete set of documents it is impossible to obtain airworthiness certificates (without them, the machine will not be allowed to operate).

“The restoration of such documentation, in accordance with the requirements of aircraft manufacturers, requires a major overhaul and replacement of significant components. The costs amount to several tens of millions of rubles on one side, ”says a STLC representative.

Alexey Sinitsky, Research and Development Director of Infomost Consulting, believes that “in an ideal world” the document flow should be arranged in this way – transferred to an electronic format. Moreover, access to these documents, according to the expert, should be free for all market participants. “Paper is archaism. During the life of an aircraft, one or two rooms of operational documentation for it are accumulated,” notes Sinitsky.

He believes that the recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), drawn up as part of one of the proposals to the Chicago Convention (Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 – Vedomosti), would be optimal. In this case, a huge number of legal nuances would be spelled out, a mechanism for creating and maintaining such a database and responsibility at the level of participating states would be defined, adds Sinitsky.

Such projects, in his opinion, can also be developed by aircraft developers themselves, as Airbus does with the Skywise system. “Helicopters of Russia, or the leasing companies themselves, could do this with us, since control over the technical condition and residual value of the aircraft is their own money. However, in any case, it will be necessary to determine the legal status of the electronic database and its interaction with paper documentation,” sums up Sinitsky. Vedomosti sent a request to the United Aircraft Corporation (UACunites the largest aircraft-building assets of the Russian Federation).

Inna Sidorkova took part in the preparation of the material