Troubling NPRM Gets More Time To Develop Consensus--At The Last Minute

The folks at AEA tell us that on Friday, Aug. 17, the FAA announced an extension of the comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking that was published on May 21, which is a proposed rewrite of Part 145. The original deadline for the comment period was set for Aug. 20, but it has now been extended until Nov. 19.

Recently, the Aircraft Electronics Association joined with other associations in Washington, D.C., to put forward a unified voice and requested an extension to this critical and wide-ranging proposal regarding how AEA members operate their repair station businesses. The extension was granted and announced in the Federal Register.

To help understand the scope of the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed significant and potentially damaging rewrite of Part 145, the AEA has published a comparative analysis of the proposed changes to current regulatory language.

(Click here to read the AEA's Comparative Analysis)

The yellow highlighted portions of the comparative analysis indicate the distinct differences between the proposed changes and current regulatory language.

The FAA has proposed a significant rewrite of the repair station regulations without a clear layout of who may accomplish what maintenance. The proposal eliminates many of the currently utilized opportunities for mobile maintenance operations. In addition, it appears that a current radio-rated repair station with a limited airframe rating would, under this proposal, need to hold two additional airframe ratings just to retain the opportunities that it currently has. Most disappointing of all is the proposal to reverse many of the hard-fought provisions that were gained in previous rulemaking efforts.

FMI: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-21/pdf/2012-11984.pdf