As the national civil aviation authority of Finland, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom carries out ramp inspections of both domestic and foreign aircraft as part of aviation oversight. The purpose of these inspections is to ensure the compliance of aircraft and crews with relevant requirements.
Ramp inspections as defined by the European Union are carried out on both the aircraft of third-country operators (SAFA) and the aircraft of operators of other EU Member States (SACA). Ramp inspections are based on and the inspection items are determined by a database analysis compiled by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency EASA.
A ramp inspection is carried out between the landing and take-off of an aircraft, while the aircraft is on the ramp. The inspection can be conducted at any time, and it is carried out in accordance with a standardised inspection procedure. The inspection primarily concerns the documents and manuals of the aircraft, the licences of the flight crew, the apparent condition of the aircraft, freight and the presence and condition of mandatory safety devices in the cabin.
Findings help ensure safety
The findings documented during the inspection process play an important role in promoting aviation safety. Findings are categorised into three categories: Category 1 findings are considered minor, category 2 findings are considered significant and category 3 findings are considered major. The terms minor, significant and major describe how large an impact the finding has on the level of safety.
The primary purpose of categorising findings is to categorise compliances and non-compliances. The results of the inspection are documented in the form of a report, which is uploaded into a centralised database administered by the EASA and provided to the relevant authorities, as necessary.
If the findings show that the safety of the aircraft or the persons on board has been compromised, corrective actions are required. The aircraft cannot be allowed to continue its flight until corrective actions to address the observed non-compliances have been implemented.
In rare cases where the inspectors have reason to believe that the commander/pilot-in-command of the aircraft will not take the necessary action to address reported non-compliances, an inspector can officially stop (ground) the aircraft. A grounded aircraft is not allowed to continue air operations until the appropriate corrective actions have been carried out.
Ramp inspections are regulated by Commission Regulation
Ramp inspections are regulated by Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, which lays down provisions on the inspection of aircraft.
Ramp inspections are subject to the following requirements:
- The ICAO’s international standards for the aircraft of third country operators
- The EU’s requirements for the aircraft of operators of EU Member States
- Manufacturers’ standards for inspecting the technical condition of aircraft
- Published national standards, such as Aeronautical Information Publications (AIP)