Aircraft Certificates and Documents

Aircraft Certificates and Documents

• Required documents onboard an aircraft include:
  • Airworthiness Certificate (14 CFR §91.203)
  • Registration Certificate (14 CFR §91.203)
  • Radio Station License (if operating outside of U.S. (FCC 47 CFR §87.18)
  • Operating Limitations—Airplane flight manual (AFM)/pilot's operating handbook (POH) and supplements, placards, markings (14 CFR §91.9)
  • Weight and balance data (current)
  • Compass Deviation Card (14 CFR §23.1547)
  • External Data Plate/Serial Number (14 CFR §45.11)
• An airworthiness certificate is issued by the FAA when an aircraft meets design and manufacturing requirements for safe operation
• Aircraft must meet the original type certificate requirements to be airworthy
• Airworthiness certificates are classified as standard or special
• Standard airworthiness certificates (white paper) are for normal, utility, acrobatic, commuter, or transport category aircraft.
• Special airworthiness certificates (pink paper) are for primary, restricted, limited category aircraft, and light sport aircraft
• An experimental airworthiness certificate is a special certificate issued for aircraft without a type certificate or those that don't conform to their type certificate
• It is also issued to operate primary category kit-built aircraft assembled without production certificate holder supervision
• Standard airworthiness certificates do not expire if the aircraft meets its type design, is in safe condition, and maintenance/alterations are done per Parts 21, 43, and 91
• The airworthiness certificate must be displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance for passengers or crew to see
• Two conditions for an aircraft to be airworthy:
  • Conform to its type design (type certificate) via proper component installation per drawings, specifications, and other data, including applicable supplemental type certificates (STC) and field-approval alterations.
  • Be in condition for safe operation in relation to wear and deterioration.
• To determine if an aircraft conforms to its type design and is safe:
  • Ensure maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations have been done per Parts 21, 43, and 91
  • Ensure all required inspections, maintenance, preventive maintenance, repairs, and alterations are documented in the aircraft's maintenance records.
  • Conduct a thorough preflight inspection for wear, deterioration, structural damage, fluid leaks, tire wear, and inoperative instruments, using guidance in 14 CFR §91.213 for handling inoperative equipment.
• Compliance with required inspections and airworthiness directives is determined by checking maintenance records (aircraft and engine logbooks)
• Aircraft owners/operators must ensure maintenance personnel properly document aircraft maintenance records indicating approval for return to service
• The owner/operator is primarily responsible for maintaining an aircraft in airworthy condition (14 CFR 91.403)
• Aircraft owner responsibilities include:
  • Having a current airworthiness certificate and aircraft registration in the aircraft.
  • Maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with all applicable Airworthiness Directives.
  • Ensuring maintenance is properly recorded.
  • Staying informed about current regulations concerning the operation of that aircraft.
  • Notifying the FAA Civil Aviation Registry of any changes in permanent mailing address, the sale or export of the aircraft, or the loss of citizenship.
  • Having a current FCC radio station license if equipped with radios, including an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) if operated outside of the United States.
• An Airworthiness Directive (AD) is how the FAA notifies aircraft owners and other parties of unsafe conditions from design defects, maintenance, or other causes, and specifies operating conditions; compliance is mandatory
• Aircraft owner/operator is responsible for complying with pertinent ADs
• The two types of ADs:
  • Those of an emergency nature requiring immediate compliance before further flight
  • Those of a less urgent nature requiring compliance within a specified time
• Emergency ADs are issued for unsafe conditions requiring immediate action
• Emergency ADs aim to quickly correct an urgent safety-of-flight situation
• Known owners/operators of affected U.S.-registered aircraft or those with an affected product installed receive a copy of an emergency AD
• If an aircraft is not compliant with an AD's specified time/date during logbook review, operation is prohibited without Alternative Method of Compliance (AMOC) approval
• AD compliance is required by the compliance time/date in each AD
• To fly an aircraft with an expired AD to a repair facility, apply to the FAA for a special flight permit (unless the AD states otherwise), following procedures in 14 CFR §21.199
• A type certificate data sheet (TCDS) lists the specifications, conditions, and limitations under which airworthiness requirements were met for a product
• FAA issues a type certificate when a new aircraft, engine, propeller, etc. is found to meet FAA safety standards
• A supplemental type certificate (STC) is FAA's approval of a major change in the type design of a previously approved type-certificated product
• The STC authorizes an alteration to the airframe, engine, or component that has already been granted an approved type certificate
• STCs are issued when alterations are not specified or authorized in the TCDS and are part of permanent aircraft records.
• An aircraft registration certificate indicates registration with the FAA Aircraft Registry and ownership evidence that must be carried in the aircraft
• Aircraft registration certificates expire seven years after the last day of the month they were issued

Placards and Markings

• Placard and marking information can be found in the FAA type certificate data sheet or aircraft specification for each airplane eligible for an airworthiness certificate
• The information may also be found in the airplane flight manuals (AFM), approved manual materials, markings, and is reproduced in the “Limitations” section of the AFM or as directed by an AD
• Examples of required placards and markings:
  • Placards-Day-Night-VFR- IFR placard, "Flight Maneuvers Permitted" placard, “Caution Control Lock Remove before Starting," "Maneuvering Speed," "Compass Calibration Card."
  • Markings—Airspeed indicator markings; cockpit control markings; fuel, oil, and coolant filler openings.

Aircraft Maintenance

• Required tests and inspections include:

  • Annual inspection within the preceding 12 calendar months (14 CFR §91.409)
  • Airworthiness directives and life- limited parts compliance, as required (14 CFR §91.403, S91.417)
  • VOR equipment check every 30 days (for IFR ops) (14 CFR §91.171)
  • 100-hour inspection, if used for hire or flight instruction in aircraft a CFI provides (14 CFR §91.409)
  • Altimeter, altitude reporting equipment, and static pressure systems tested and inspected (for IFR ops) every 24 calendar months (14 CFR §91.411)
  • Transponder tests and inspections, every 24 calendar months (14 CFR §91.413)
  • Emergency locator transmitter, operation, and battery condition inspected every 12 calendar months (14 CFR §91.207)

• An annual inspection is a complete aircraft and engine inspection as required by regulations

• It should be accomplished every 12 calendar months on all certificated aircraft

• Only an A&P (airframe and powerplant rated) technician holding an inspection authorization (IA) can conduct an annual inspection

• 100-hour inspections are required for:

  • All aircraft under 12,500 pounds (except turbojet/turbopropeller-powered multiengine airplanes and turbine-powered rotorcraft) used to carry passengers for hire
  • Aircraft used for flight instruction for hire, when provided by the person giving the flight instruction

• If an aircraft is operated for hire, it requires both a 100-hour inspection and an annual inspection, if not operated for hire, only annual inspection is required

• An A&P mechanic with an IA can perform an annual inspection, while any A&P mechanic (no IA required) can perform 100-hour inspections

• If on a 100-hour inspection schedule:

  • Operation may continue beyond 100 hours by no more than 10 hours while en route to inspection location
  • The excess time used to reach the inspection location must be included in computing the next 100 hours in service.

• An aircraft overdue for an annual inspection may be operated under a Special Flight Permit issued by the FAA for flying to a location where the inspection can be done

• All applicable ADs that are due must be complied with before the flight.

• Special flight permits are for aircraft that don't meet airworthiness requirements but are safe to fly

• They are issued for:

  • Flying an aircraft to a base for repairs, alterations, or maintenance
  • Delivering or exporting an aircraft
  • Production flight testing new-production aircraft
  • Evacuating aircraft from areas of impending danger
  • Conducting customer demonstration flights in new-production aircraft that have satisfactorily completed production flight tests.

• Obtain special flight permits from the local FSDO (Flight Standards District Office) or Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR)

• After inspections and repairs, the pilot-in-command of a civil aircraft determines if the aircraft is airworthy

• The pilot-in-command must discontinue the flight if unairworthy, mechanical, electrical, or structural conditions occur

• After alterations or repairs that may substantially affect flight operations, the following is required before operating or carrying passengers:

  • An appropriately rated pilot with at least a private pilot certificate flies the aircraft;
  • Makes an operational check of the maintenance performed or alteration made
  • Logs the flight in the aircraft records

• Flight operations with known inoperative equipment are allowed under specific conditions such as:

  • Operation of an aircraft with a minimum equipment list (MEL), as authorized by 14 CFR §91.213(a)
  • Operation of an aircraft without a MEL under 14 CFR §91.213(d)

• When inoperative equipment is found before departure using 14 CFR §91.213(d):

  • Cancel the flight, obtain maintenance, or defer the item/equipment
  • Manufacturer's POH/AFM procedures should be used for inflight discrepancies

• To determine airworthiness when an instrument or equipment item is inoperative during preflight and there is no MEL by asking questions to determine if:

  • The inoperative instruments or equipment part of the VFR-day type certification
  • The inoperative instruments or equipment listed as required on the aircraft's equipment list or Kinds of Operations Equipment List (KOEL) for the type of flight operation being conducted?
  • The inoperative instruments or equipment required by 14 CFR §91.205, §91.207 or any other rule of Part 91 for the specific kind of flight operation being conducted? (For example, VFR, IFR, day, night.)
  • The inoperative instruments or equipment required to be operational by an AD?

• If the answer is "Yes" to any of these questions, the aircraft is not airworthy, and maintenance is required before I can fly.

• If the answer is "No" to any of these questions, then the inoperative instruments or equipment must be removed from the aircraft (by an A&P) or deactivated and placarded INOPERATIVE

• The minimum equipment list (MEL) is a listing of instruments, equipment, and procedures allowing aircraft operation under specific conditions with inoperative equipment

• The FAA-approved MEL includes only equipment the FAA deems safe to have inoperative with appropriate conditions and limitations

• Maintenance deferrals must follow MEL terms/conditions and operator-generated procedures.

• Instruments and equipment required for VFR day flight (14 CFR 91.205):

  • Anticollision light system-aviation red or white for small airplanes certificated after March 11, 1996
  • Tachometer for each engine
  • Oil pressure gauge for each engine
  • Manifold pressure gauge for each altitude engine
  • Altimeter
  • Temperature gauge for each liquid-cooled engine
  • Oil temperature gauge for each air-cooled engine
  • Fuel gauge indicating quantity in each tank
  • Flotation gear-if operated for hire over water beyond power-off gliding distance from shore
  • Landing gear position indicator, if airplane has retractable gear
  • Airspeed indicator
  • Magnetic direction indicator
  • Emergency locator transmitter (if required by 14 CFR §91.207)
  • Safety belts (shoulder harnesses for each front seat also required in aircraft manufactured after 1978)

• Instruments and equipment required for VFR night flight (14 CFR 91.205):

  • all instruments and equipment for VFR day flight are required, plus the following:
    • Fuses one spare set or three fuses of each kind required accessible to the pilot in flight
    • Landing light—if the aircraft is operated for hire
    • Anticollision light system—approved aviation red or white
    • Position lights (navigation lights) — approved forward and rear position
    • Source of electrical energy adequate for all installed electrical and radio

• FAA-certificated A&P mechanic, an A&P mechanic with IA, an appropriately-rated FAA-certificated repair station, or the aircraft manufacturer can perform maintenance on an aircraft

• Preventive maintenance is simple or minor preservation operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations (14 CFR Part 43)

• Certificated pilots, excluding student, sport, and recreational pilots, can perform preventive maintenance on aircraft they own/operate if the aircraft is not used in air carrier service

• For preventive maintenance, pilots must record the work, date of completion, and their name, signature, certificate number, and certificate type in the maintenance logbook

• Time Between Overhaul (TBO) is computed by the engine manufacturer

• It is a reliable estimate of when the manufacturers engine can perform reliably within the established engine parameters

• For Part 91 operations, compliance with the TBO is not a mandatory maintenance requirement

• Good reasons for aircraft owners to comply with TBO times recommended by the manufacturer:

  • Overhaul at TBO ensures safety and reliability.
  • An engine overhaul at TBO is usually less expensive than one for an engine that has been run an additional 200 or 300 hours.
  • Running the engine past TBO usually accelerates the overall wear of the engine due to bearing movement outside tolerances, loss of protective materials such as plating or nitrating on the cylinder walls, and vibration caused by engine reciprocating parts that have worn unevenly and are now out of balance.