Processo de certificação aeronáutica civil brasileira : estudo dos impactos na competitividade da indústria nacional

Abstract

Commercial aircrafts are understood as the safest transportation when data such as operation hours by accident or incident are analyzed. According to studies conducted by the US National Security Council (NSC), the odds of a fatal crash is about one in eleven millions – which is smaller than elevators’ fatal failures, since commercial aircrafts operate for longer distances and time. Nevertheless, in order to aircraft products reach the highest reliability levels before start flying, it is necessary they to be extensively tested, ensuring that projects, materials and production methods comply to international safety requirements. This assessment process is called Aircraft Certification and is recognized as the most complex, time and money consuming of aircraft production, particularly for the civil aviation aircrafts. In Brazil, this activity is under the accountability of a Federal Agency, which regulates an important sector of the national economy. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to analyze the Brazilian Aircraft Certification Process and assess its possible impacts in the competitiveness of national aerospace industry. Research information is based on a wide bibliographical review, regarding certifying process and national aerospace industry, followed by a field research, conducted through semi-structured interviews focused on understanding the perceptions of big companies, small and medium enterprises (SME) and Aircraft Certification Authority on this subject. Analysis of collected data indicate the Certifying Process is not capable by itself to influence the industrial development, but the structures of the organizations evolved on the Certification Process and the lack of interest and public policies may limit the competitiveness of the national aerospace industry. Opportunities which can contribute to the organizations and to the studied processes were identified, but current circumstances lead to the conclusion that in short and medium time it is going to be very difficult to a big Brazilian aerospace company to succeed in reaching the levels of the two major global aircraft builders, as well as for the small and medium enterprises in building bigger aircrafts, following the steps of the big companies.