Proposal Would Ensure Availability of Safety/Maintenance Information

The House Aviation Subcommittee must act favorably on legislation to make aircraft maintenance data available to those legally required to have it, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) maintains. The association's proposal to break a decades-old logjam on access to basic safety data is being actively considered on Capitol Hill. It may be included in the Aviation Subcommittee's version of a bill to reauthorize certain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs, scheduled for markup today, May 14.

Adoption of the proposal is vital to the nation's thousands of maintenance providers, including certificated repair stations, air carriers and commercial operators. These providers require current and complete maintenance manuals, service bulletins and related materials in order to properly inspect and repair aircraft.

Independents Are Effectively Cut Out, in Present Scenario

The FAA already requires that these materials, also known as Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICAs), be made available to aircraft owners and maintenance providers. Yet some manufacturers have adopted policies that prevent independent repair stations from obtaining maintenance manuals under any circumstances.

When manuals can be obtained, many repair stations are forced to pay manufacturers exorbitant prices for them, or to obtain them from airlines or other sources, adversely affecting their ability to keep the manuals current. The maintenance industry is asking only for data essential to continued airworthiness, not manufacturer proprietary information or unique repairs developed beyond that basic safety data.

"The FAA must enforce its requirement to furnish maintenance manuals, which has been on the books since 1941," according to Sarah MacLeod, ARSA Executive Director. "Our proposal will require that ICAs be made available for the cost of preparation and distribution. It will direct the FAA to clearly identify the kinds of information which must be contained in ICAs and will clarify compliance responsibilities."

ARSA represents the interests of independent aircraft maintenance and alteration facilities before the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and other federal agencies.

FMI: www.arsa.org