FAA postpones publication of controversial bulletin dealing with part 135 configuration and maintenance

The Federal Aviation Administration has postponed for an additional 60 days the controversial handbook bulletin, HBAW 04-06, that addresses aircraft configuration and maintenance programs for aircraft operated under Part 135.  Many operators, in order to meet a "nine or fewer passenger seat" configuration standard, have placarded or otherwise blocked certain seats to make them unusable.  These aircraft are then generally maintained under 134.411(a)(1) requirements.  The new guidance in HBAW 04-06 would require the physical removal of these seats, or a switch to the 134.411(a)(2) maintenance program.
 
Most operators would be required to obtain a STC for the seat removal.  Using a placard to make a seat unusable by passengers, even if previously approved by the FAA, would not be acceptable under this new policy.
 
Until this delay, operators were expected to bring the aircraft into conformity with the bulletin within 30 days.  If the operator elected to obtain a STC for seat removal, that process would have begun within the 30-day window.

Through discussions with the leadership of FAA's Flight Standards Service, the NATA has successfully convinced the FAA to postpone the handbook bulletin's conformity dates.

"We are quite pleased that the FAA has heeded our request to provide an extension on this handbook bulletin," NATA vice president of government and industry affairs Eric Byer stated.  "Jim Ballough and his team at Flight Standards have been working closely with the association and its charter operators to ensure that a fair and equitable solution can be reached." 

The association has also secured a face-to-face meeting between its representatives, charter operators and Ballough and his staff to continue deliberations. "We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to the FAA how this handbook bulletin will clearly hit small business charter operators in the wallet while providing no true safety benefits," concluded Byer.

FMI: www.nata.aero