The concept of a Regional Monitoring Agency (RMA) came out of the work done by the Review of the General Concept of Separation Panel (RGCSP) when it recognized that there was a requirement for monitoring of aircraft height-keeping performance as part of any Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) implementation program. In establishing this requirement, the RGCSP acknowledged that the RMA would take responsibility for ensuring that appropriate monitoring was carried out in order to provide sufficient data for completion of a risk assessment. Eventually an RMA was conceived as an organization established by an authorized body to provide safety oversight services in connection with the implementation and continued safe use of RVSM within a designated airspace.

The Caribbean and South American Monitoring Agency (CARSAMMA) has been established at the Centro de Gerenciamento da Navegação Aérea – CGNA (Air Navigation Management Center) in Brazil to support implementation and continued safe use of the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) in CAR/SAM airspace and to support implementation and continued safe use of the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) in specific portions of CAR/SAM airspace.
Principal duties and responsibilities of the CARSAMMA include:

  • Monitor all the aspects of horizontal and vertical navigation performance,
    including height-keeping performance;

  • Monitor operator compliance with State approval requirements after RVSM implementation;

  • Conduct safety and readiness assessments after RVSM implementation on
    CAR/SAM Regions and to report results appropriately;

  • Initiate necessary remedial actions if RVSM requirements are not met;

  • Etablish and maintain a database of RVSM approvals;

  • Facilitate the transfer of approval data to and from other RVSM regional monitoring agencies.