Is online human factors, fuel tank safety and EWIS training accepted by EASA and the UK CAA?

Can human factors training be done online — is EASA Part-145 e-learning accepted?

Yes, if your Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE) says so. Part-145 and its AMC do not prescribe classroom delivery for human factors, fuel tank safety or EWIS training. AMC4 145.A.30(e) accepts training from the organisation itself, independent trainers or any training organisation acceptable to the competent authority, and Appendix IV to AMC5 145.A.30(e) expressly allows distance learning for fuel tank safety Phase 2. Acceptance is decided by the standard written into your MOE under 145.A.70.

That answer surprises people who have been told “EASA does not accept online training”. It helps to see where that belief comes from. Type training and practical assessments under Part-66 and Part-147 do carry approval requirements. The safety, human factors, EWIS and fuel tank safety training that every Part-145 organisation must give its staff does not. It sits under a different clause with a different logic, and this guide walks through that clause, the two AMC documents that hang off it, and the questions a compliance monitoring manager should ask before accepting any course, online or not.

What do the rules require, and what do they leave open?

The anchor is point 145.A.30(e) of Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014. The organisation must establish and control the competency of personnel involved in maintenance, airworthiness reviews, safety management and compliance monitoring, in accordance with a procedure and to a standard agreed with the competent authority. That competency must include an understanding of the application of safety management principles, including human factors and human performance issues, appropriate to the person’s function.

Notice what the clause does not say. It does not name a course, a duration, a provider type or a delivery method. It names an outcome (competency) and a mechanism (a procedure and standard agreed with the authority). The detail comes from the acceptable means of compliance:

• AMC4 145.A.30(e), “Safety training (including human factors)”, lists who should be trained, says initial training should cover the syllabus in GM1 145.A.30(e) before the person starts the job function, and requires further training of an appropriate duration in each 2-year period. Point (d) is the sentence that matters for this guide:

“Safety training may be conducted by the maintenance organisation itself, independent trainers, or any training organisations acceptable to the competent authority.” — AMC4 145.A.30(e)(d)

• AMC5 145.A.30(e), “Other trainings”, sends you to AMC 20-22 for EWIS and to Appendix IV to AMC5 145.A.30(e) for fuel tank safety.
• 145.A.35(d) adds a separate duty for certifying staff and support staff: sufficient training in each 2-year period to keep knowledge of technologies, procedures and safety management, including human factors, up to date.

Nowhere in that chain is “classroom” a requirement. Where the AMC does speak about delivery, it does so to permit distance learning, not to forbid it.

Who decides acceptance: your organisation’s MOE?

Yes. AMC4 145.A.30(e)(e) states that the safety training procedures should be specified in the MOE, and 145.A.70 makes the MOE the document in which the organisation describes, among other things, its training procedures and the procedure for competency assessment. When the competent authority approves the MOE, it approves the training standard inside it. From that moment the question “is this course accepted?” has a concrete answer: does the course meet the standard described in your MOE training chapter?

That places the decision with three people in your own organisation:

1. The compliance monitoring manager, who owns the MOE text and audits against it.
2. The safety manager, who under AMC4(c) uses continuation training to feed back audit findings and safety information.
3. The person carrying out the competency assessment under AMC1 and AMC2 145.A.30(e), who decides whether the course, together with experience and any practical demonstration, makes the individual competent for their function.

A provider cannot make your course “accepted” by claiming an approval it does not have. A compliance monitoring manager cannot reject an online course by pointing at Part-145 alone, because Part-145 does not say what they think it says. Both must go to the MOE.

What should a compliant certificate state?

Because acceptance is evidence-driven, the certificate is only useful if it lets an auditor connect the training to the rule. Look for these elements:

• The course name and the regulatory reference it serves: GM1 145.A.30(e) for safety and human factors, AMC 20-22 with the target group for EWIS, Appendix IV to AMC5 145.A.30(e) with the phase for fuel tank safety.
• Whether it is initial or continuation training, since AMC4(b) and (c) treat them differently.
• The learner’s name, the completion date and the issuer’s legal identity. MOST.AERO certificates name the course, the date and the issuer, MOST.AERO, a brand of AEROVISER OÜ.
• Whether an assessment was passed, and the pass mark, where the AMC requires one. Fuel tank safety Phase 2 requires a multiple-choice examination at 75 %. Safety and human factors training under AMC4 does not prescribe an examination; MOST.AERO safety training courses issue a completion certificate with no exam, and the page for each course says so.

Then file it with the syllabus and your own competency assessment record. Point 145.A.55(d) requires personnel records to be kept for as long as the person works for the organisation and for at least three years after they leave.

When is online not enough?

Online delivery is a tool, not a loophole, and there are four situations where a screen alone will not close the requirement.

Fuel tank safety Phase 2. Appendix IV allows a distance course, but it sets conditions: continuous evaluation, intermediate questions before the trainee moves on, recorded examination content and results, and access to an instructor in person or at distance. A video with a download button is not Phase 2. Phase 1, by contrast, may be a training bulletin or self-study with a signature.

Practical wiring skills. AMC 20-22 lets Groups 1 and 2 be trained through classroom discussion, computer-based training or hands-on practical training, and leaves the assessment method to the training organisation. If your competency assessment finds that a technician needs to demonstrate connector repair or wire splicing, the demonstration has to happen on hardware. Online modules cover the knowledge; your organisation covers the skill.

Organisation-specific continuation content. AMC4(c) says the purpose of further training is to keep staff current and to collect feedback on the organisation’s own safety and human factors issues, with duration related to its audit findings. A generic online course can carry the regulatory syllabus, but the session where your safety manager discusses last year’s occurrences is yours to run.

Type training and Part-66 examinations. These are outside 145.A.30(e). Basic knowledge examinations under 66.A.25 are conducted by a Part-147 organisation or the competent authority, and no online course changes that.

What is different in the UK?

Less than the marketing suggests. The Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/588, wrote the EU competency wording into UK 145.A.30(e) word for word, substituting the CAA as competent authority, and inserted the management system requirement at UK 145.A.200. The UK obligations therefore run through the same MOE route. The CAA’s dedicated human factors guidance is CAP 716, Aviation Maintenance Human Factors (EASA Part-145), Issue 2 of December 2003, which the CAA still lists as a current publication. The UK versions of the AMC and GM sit in the CAA regulatory library, which requires registration; check them for CAA-specific wording before you write your MOE chapter. For the SMS timeline, see our guide on UK Part-145 SMS and safety training.

Checklist for compliance monitoring managers

Question	Where the answer comes from	Pass condition
Does our MOE training chapter allow external and distance-learning providers?	MOE, 145.A.70	Yes, or amend the MOE first
Does the syllabus map to the right reference?	GM1 145.A.30(e); AMC 20-22 Appendix A or B; Appendix IV	Every topic covered or justified
Initial or continuation, and is that what the person needs?	AMC4 145.A.30(e)(b) and (c); 145.A.35(d)	Matches the training record
Is an examination required for this subject?	Appendix IV (Phase 2: MCQ, 75 %)	Exam present where required
Does the certificate name course, reference, date, learner, issuer?	The certificate	All five present
Has a competency assessment been recorded?	AMC1 and AMC2 145.A.30(e)	Signed and filed
Is the record retained correctly?	145.A.55(d)	Duration of employment plus 3 years

Related courses. Part-145 Safety Training including Human Factors — Initial follows the eleven GM1 145.A.30(e) topics; the Continuation course covers the 2-year cycle; Part-145 Regulatory Training explains the MOE mechanism this guide relies on.