Nuts and Bolts - Nuts and Bolts - June
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION SAFETY TEAM
June 30, 2009 Issue: 09-02
Nuts And Bolts - A Newsletter Written By Mechanics For Mechanics
What Does “CURRENT” Mean To You ?
Inside this issue:
What Does “Current” Mean To You ? AMT On-Line Change is at hand and it’s hard! AMT On-Line Cont. AMT On-Line Cont. First Song and Video for mechanics Legal Matters Case Study What Is It? ISDR - Internet Service Difficulty Reporting IA Renewal Reminder Newsletter Article Submissions • 1 2
The answer depends on who you are. If you are Mr. Webster it means “belonging to the present time”. If you are the operator of a large airplane on a maintenance/inspection program under Title 14 CFR section 91.409(f)(3) then current means current at the time you selected the program. If you are a mechanic, current means it was current at the time you performed the maintenance or inspection. I know you’re thinking, here comes more bureaucratic confusion. It’s not, let me explain what’s going on. Last December the FAA put out an internal memo from Chief Council that gave a legal interpretation on the use of the phrase “current maintenance instructions”. The issue was to address whether or not an aircraft operator using a current maintenance/inspection program for it’s large aircraft under 91.409(f)(3) was obligated to amend it’s inspection program to align with the manufacturers instructions whenever a revision was made. This all started when Cessna developed a new structural inspection program and Gulfstream reduced it’s inspection threshold by one half. The December 2008 memo from chief council declared that the operator is not obligated because the changes imposed on the operator had not gone through the notice and comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedures act, (
APA) , (5 U.S.C. §553).
The memo used language that further indicated that this decision included maintenance instructions. Well guess what? The memo, like anything else written, leaked out to the public which was not the intended reader. And as expected, someone obviously twisted the intent of the memo to support their use of that stack of dirty, dusty, outdated, and illegal maintenance manuals that we all have rat-holed somewhere in the shop. I say that because I have recently had numerous inquires about this very subject that seems to have started after the memo came out. Let’s straighten this out. The memo, which was a great piece of work, is intended to clarify
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oversight issues for Inspectors assigned to operators of aircraft like Citations or Gulfstreams that are using a manufacturers recommended inspection or maintenance/inspection program under 91.409(f)(3).These operators are obligated at the time they acquire and put into service these type aircraft to select and identify in the maintenance records of that equipment what inspection program they are going to use. The program they identify is the one to be used from that point on and is not subject to change even if the manufacturer changes the program. The operator is obligated to provide his inspection program to whoever is doing the inspection if it is not the most recent version. The program identified must be the current program at the time it is identified and may not be retroactive. The only way the program is required to change is through an FAA rulemaking (APA) or an AD note, or the owner elects to adopt a more current version. The FAA published INFO 09008 dated: 5/22/09, (Information for Operators) does a great job of explaining this subject, including a frequently asked questions section. This InFO is available at
http://
www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/
airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/ media/2009/info09008.pdf So, contrary to the rumor mill, the December memo does not apply to you if you are exercising the privileges of your mechanic certificate or if you are a repair station. Think about it like this, the memo only mentions Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules), we (maintenance folks), are bound to the rules in Part 43, (Maintenance, Preventative Maintenance and Rebuilding, and Alteration). Section 43.13(a) states in part: Each person performing maintenance, alteration, or preventive maintenance on an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance shall use the methods, techniques, and practices prescribed in the current manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness prepared by its manufacturer. CONCLUSION: If you think you don’t have to have current maintenance manuals to work on aircraft I have a bridge I’d like to sell you. Author: Mike Jordan
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If you are interested in safety and would like to help the FAASTeam spread the word in your local aviation community, we need to talk to you. Contact your local FAASTeam Program Manager.
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