Aircraft Maintenance and Responsibilities

Aircraft maintenance is performed for several reasons. There is preventative scheduled maintenance and then unscheduled maintenance.  Preventative maintenance is scheduled to help prevent failures in various aspects of the aircraft or power plant. These include such things as replacing a part or component on a scheduled timeframe that is determined by the mean time between failures of the product found through testing or failure rates found through fleet use (with a factor of safety that is determined by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)), Non Destructive Inspections (NDI), or inspections deemed necessary by the airlines. Unscheduled maintenance is aptly named as this is maintenance to be conducted because something failed or is expected to have failed.

Each country or entity that conducts flights nationally or internationally will have different approaches to what exactly are the maintenance responsibilities of the airlines that operate within their jurisdiction. One commonality between them all if that the overall objective is to have an aircraft that meets the standards of the country, commonly referred to as Air Worthiness. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are two entities that have a large impact on the way international flights are conducted, but the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sets the standard on what is expected when flying an aircraft from one country to another. More information about ICAO can be found at http://www.icao.int/about-icao/Pages/default.aspx

So what are the responsibilities of maintenance? To answer this we will look at two separate entities, the FAA and EASA.  Through these two, we will look at what is common. If you would like to read from for yourself, the address used for the information will be listed with that particular entity.

FAA – Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are what the United States uses to determine Air Worthiness standards that will be used. Which particular CFR applies is determined by the Part that the flight or airline is currently using for that particular operation. These are determined by a number of things that include: length of flight, number of passengers, type of aircraft, etc. Each carrier or operator generally will operate under Part 119, 121, or 135. These Parts are what determine which particular regulations are applicable to them in any given situation. Air Worthiness is determined through Part 39, the Air Worthiness Directives for Parts 119, 121, and 135. Through all the various CFR Parts and Advisory Circulars, operators in the United States are given the guidelines to operate on all levels. Some programs are only recommended and many are required. Sorting through the information can at times be difficult to determine if all requirements are fulfilled. More information can be found at the FAAs web page at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/afs/afs300/.

EASA – This is the European equivalent of the FAA. Although very similar to the FAA, publications are not as confusing. Continuing Airworthiness Requirements – Part M places all requirements required to maintain and operate an aircraft within one publication. Requirements include required personnel, training, maintenance expectations, air worthiness directives, maintenance standards, and maintenance organization. Multiple EASA manuals can be found in whole or part at http://easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/technical-publications.

Both the FAA and EASA set forth the requirements to set up and maintain a maintenance department that is safe, effective, and has a quality output. Many other programs are also used to ensure that aircraft operators are following all regulations and requirements in a satisfactory manner. Much of the responsibility falls on the air carrier to set up their maintenance department and is required to meet all standards set forth for Air Worthiness as set up by their respective agency. Some standardization for Air Worthiness exists due to the large number of flights that go in and out of these countries to other countries and are an attempt to ensure that everything is in compliance with ICAO. This standard ensures that all aircraft flying in another country are not flying aircraft that are not compliant with local regulations and do not endanger lives or assets.