Story ID: 
European Commercial SEIMC Approval Not This Year
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Prospective European clearance for commercial single-engine operations in IMC or at night (SEIMC for short) continues to progress through regulatory approv
Word Count: 162
Prospective European clearance for commercial single-engine operations in IMC or at night (SEIMC for short) continues to progress through regulatory approval stages but will not come this year, according to industry sources close to the proceedings. Any approval could be among early decisions of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which takes over operations responsibilities from the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on October 1. Notice of Proposed Amendment number 29 (NPA 29) has evolved through at least 13 draft stages over several years. The main JAA committee met late last month to consider NPA 29 formally, and is understood to have decided to continue work in three areas: minor changes of draft text to more correctly address aspects now coming under EASA responsibility; similar detailed changes to ensure compatibility with latest International Civil Aviation Organization SEIMC developments; and a further look at the regulatory affect of proposals. When–or rather if–approval comes next year, SEIMC operations could theoretically begin immediately, more than 20 years after initial proposals.