Bill Would Release Info On Abandoned Aircraft To Owners

The EAA and the Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) have worked for years with FAA regulators to obtain certification data for the owners of orphaned aircraft who need it. Now, it appears those efforts are to finally bear fruit.

The EAA has informed ANN the FAA this year has proposed legislation in its reauthorization bill to allow the release of abandoned type certificate (TC) or supplemental type certificate (STC) data (including blueprints) to individuals upon request.

The FAA issues TCs or STCs based on data such as engineering drawings and blueprints. The feds recognize the work necessary to generate all that data is valuable, so the FAA won't release it to anyone except the original certificate holder(s). The problem for vintage aircraft owners comes when they need that data to perform maintenance or make necessary modifications to their aircraft. Even if the certificate holder is gone or unreachable the FAA isn't legally allowed to release the engineering data.

The legislation proposed by the FAA would provide authority to the Administrator to release engineering data it possesses pertaining to an abandoned TC or STC for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to any person seeking to maintain the airworthiness of such a product. The legislation would also allow the release of any associated supplier-approved data for that product.

The EAA says the proposed law comes as a direct result of EAA and VAA's ongoing dialogue with the senior FAA management team. The association say the subject has been the topic of considerable examination in recent years at the annual EAA/FAA Winter Recreational Aviation Summit held in Oshkosh.

"We appreciate the FAA's willingness to work with EAA and EAA's Vintage Aircraft Association as we improve the safe and cost effective maintenance of vintage aircraft," said H.G. Frautschy, the executive director of EAA's Vintage Aircraft Association. "This proposed legislation will go a long way toward helping owners and mechanics gather the information they need to maintain these historic aircraft."

Under the proposal, data could be released under the following conditions: The certificate containing the requested data is inactive for at least three years; the TC owner of record, or the owner of record's heir, cannot not be located; and the designation of such data as public data will enhance aviation safety.

"Clearly, we do not want to impinge on the legitimate and legal right of a TC or STC owner to maintain their data as proprietary information and profit from that data provided they continue to support the product," Frautschy explained. "However, for those corporate entities that have been defunct for what is often decades, and are no longer providing support to the owners of their products, it falls squarely on the vintage aircraft owner to maintain their aircraft in accordance with that original engineering data."

Frautschy was quick to point out the FAA's proposal is only a start. He says when known TC holders are unwilling to release maintenance-related data, vintage aircraft owners receive no Continued Operational Safety (COS) support of the Type Certificate, as required by FAR 23.1529 and Appendix G to Part 23.

"EAA and it's Vintage Aircraft Association will continue to work with the FAA and Congress on this issue as they have recognized the difficulty mechanics, restorers and owners have encountered while diligently attempting to maintain vintage aircraft to their Type Certificate requirements."

Both the EAA and VAA are encouraging their memberships to contact their congressional representatives and urge support for the proposal. Information regarding bill numbers and specifics will be available on the websites for both organizations when it becomes available.

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.vintageaircraft.org