On Tuesday, 18 February 2014, General Hervé Rameau, French director of aviation safety (“directeur de la sécurité aéronautique d’etat”, DSAE ), handed over the certificate of airworthiness for the A400M MSN 07 "City of Orleans ”, the first Atlas that entered the French Air Force.
The certificate was taken over by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Creuset, Commander of Multinational Entry Into Service Team (MEST) at Orleans Air Base.
The airworthiness certificate is a pre-requisite to operate a national aircraft in flight and being in compliance with aviation safety requirements. This document proves the conformity of the aircraft and meets its approved type design, is a condition for safe operation, maintenance as well as alterations, preserves the safety of persons on board and areas flown to.
In order to receive the certification, the technical documentation is thoroughly examined and a physical examination of the aircraft is required. Both of them were carried out by aviation safety inspectors from DSAE.
Pictures: SIRPA Air
