Wed, May 14, 2003
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.
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