BGA AIRWORTHINESS AND MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES
PART 1, LEAFLET 1-2
BGA WELDING APPROVAL ACCEPTANCE
The BGA do not carry out any testing or controlling of welders. In order to carry out welding on BGA aircraft the welder will have to meet one of the following requirements;
BGA and CAA C of A aircraft
1) Approved by the UK CAA as an aircraft welder holding CAA or JAR 145 welding approval in the correct discipline in accordance with BCAR A8-10.
2) Approved by the aircraft manufacturer and monitored under their quality control procedures.
BGA C of A aircraft
3) The BGA will accept a commercial welder who is skilled in the applicable discipline (T.I.G. or Gas) and is regularly tested. The testing must be supported by recent test certificates on the type of weld for which approval is sought. Recent means: the test certificate should be no more than two years old. Regularly tested means: that the welder is re-tested every two years. Test certificates: should be from an industry recognised testing house or by an ISO 9002 company or equivalent.
4) MOD approved aircraft welder who is regularly tested in the correct discipline. 5) Nuclear industry welder who is regularly tested in the correct discipline.
Notes
Provided that the inspector certifying the welding is satisfied that the welder meets the above criteria for either CAA or BGA C of A aircraft, the welder may be accepted without further reference to the BGA. It is the responsibility of the certifying engineer to be fully satisfied that the welder is skilled in the correct discipline and is current. It is recommended that the welders approval or test certificate should be inspected from time to time.
A BGA inspector or appropriately licensed aircraft engineer must certify all welding. Refer to Airworthiness Notice No 3 for CAA C of A aircraft.
The welder’s approval number, name or company name if commercial, must be entered on the aircraft worksheet or in the log book to enable the welder to be identified.
M.I.G. or Arc welding are not appropriate for aircraft structures due to the material used as the filler rod/wire and the uncontrollability for fine detailed work.
The reason for requiring approved or accepted welders who are regularly tested is to give confidence that the welders skill level is maintained at a consistently high level and that any bad habits that may develop are corrected before they become a problem.
If a BGA Inspector holds a welders approval as described 1 to 5 above, that inspector may carry out the welding and certify the job as well

AMP 1-2/Jul 02

BGA AMP Part 1, Leaflet 1-2, page 1