NANDTB Notice Board
The newsletter of the UK's Aerospace NDT Board The Secretary to the Board may be contacted c/o The British Institute of NDT, Newton Building, St George's Avenue, Northampton NN2 6JB, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1604 89 3811; Fax: +44 (0)1604 89 3861
NOTICE
It is with regret that we report the death of Eric Smyth McIlroy, who passed away on 2 March 2011.
Eric was a very well known and admired character within the UK NDT community and beyond. He was involved in NDT for over 40 years and was passionate about his profession. He will be sadly missed.
To read the full obituary, click here.
Clarification of requirements for re-examination of failed examinations
Clarification was sought at the May 2008 meeting of the UK National Aerospace Board whether failure in one specimen during the practical examination would require re-testing of just that specimen/category, or of the whole of the practical exam.
Recognising that the examination comprises three parts, general, specific and practical, the Board unanimously agreed that the candidate is to be re-examined in the whole of the failed part (the whole practical examination).
Status of EN 4179
The UK Aerospace NDT Board has mandated the implementation of EN4179:2009 by outside and internal NDT personnel qualifying agencies. EN4179:2009 has been published (Jan 2010) by CEN and the Board agreed that it should come into effect across the UK aerospace industry as the content is the same as EN4179:2009. With effect from 1 April 2010, all written practices should conform to this version of the standard, copies of which can be purchased through http://shop.bsigroup.com/
Status of the UK National Aerospace NDT Board
The Board is an independent national aerospace body chartered by the following aerospace prime contractors and design authorities:
| Agusta Westland |
Airbus UK |
|
BAE Systems |
Bombardier |
|
British Airways |
Messier Dowty |
| Honeywell | Rolls-Royce |
The Board is recognised by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and satisfies the requirements in EASA part 145 and EN 4179:2009 (which is technically equivalent to AIA-NAS-410:2008). The Board also provides support and guidance to the UK aerospace NDT industry in relation to the UK Civil Aviation Authority's Generic Requirements (GR23) for NDT. The CAA is an observer member of the Board, and The British Institute of NDT has been selected by the Board to provide a secretariat.
Amongst other activities, the Board provides systems to regulate and control the implementation of employer-based NDT personnel certification (or approval) standards within the UK aerospace industry. In furtherance of this, the Board will:
- formulate the policy framework for any scheme that it establishes;
- maintain an overview of the implementation of its policy by the secretariat;
- maintain an overview of the finances of any schemes which it may cause to be implemented, and approve the methods and levels of any charges in connection thereof;
- have the authority to set up working groups and committees, establish their terms of reference, and set out the procedures whereby they report to the Board.
Further information about the Board's methods of working, membership and terms of reference can be obtained from the above address.
*EN 4179:2009 Aerospace series – qualification and approval of personnel for non-destructive testing
**EN 473:2008 Non-destructive testing – Qualification and certification of NDT personnel – General principles
The Board's Annual Reports can be downloaded from here.
