Role of National Aviation Authorities

Each ICAO member state has a National Aviation Authority (NAA) which is the government authority in each country that oversees the approval and regulation of civil aviation. The law allows the NAA to make and enforce regulations.

In the USA the NAA is called the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in the Europe it is known as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), etc. In some countries the term Directorate or Directorate General of (Civil) Aviation is used and this authority is often also responsibly for meteorology in the country concerned. So there are acronyms such as DCAM, DGCA, DGCAM, etc.

Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, NAA’s typically regulate the following critical aspects of aircraft airworthiness and their operation:

• Design of aircraft, engines, airborne equipment and ground-based equipment affecting flight safety
• Conditions of manufacture and test of aircraft and equipment
• Maintenance of aircraft and equipment
• Operation of aircraft and equipment
• Licencing of pilots and maintenance engineers
• Licencing of airports and navigational aids
• …

The NAA may also be involved in the investigation of aircraft accidents, although in many cases this is left to a separate body.