Join ARSA Ask ARSA Pay ARSA

Advisory Circular 43-18 and the Category Parts List

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) has posted the Category Parts List (CPL) referenced in Advisory Circular (AC) 43-18 on the FAA website. Here is a link to the document. The CPL link also is available from this page on FAA’s Aircraft Certification website.

AC 43-18 (link to a .PDF version of the AC here), “Fabrication of Aircraft Parts By Maintenance Personnel,” describes the CPL as a necessary tool “to determine the criticality category of the part and the level of AIR involvement needed in the design data approval process for certificate holders fabricating parts.”

The AC, released in March, also says the CPL “is regularly updated and maintained in electronic format on the Aircraft Certification Service’s website by AIR.”

Several members recently informed ARSA that they couldn’t find the CPL online. ARSA quickly determined that, contrary to what the AC states, the list wasn’t available outside of the FAA.

The Association sent the agency a letter pointing out the discrepancy and asking it to be corrected. The agency soon informed ARSA that the CPL was available.



More from ARSA

2025 Annual Conference – It Happened

March 18-21, 2025 2025 Event Information | 2025 Sponsors Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. with Livestream Options ARSA is grateful to the sponsors, participants, speakers, and support personnel who made the…Read More

Weston Award Recognizes Crowley’s Commitment to Learning

On March 20, ARSA recognized Jerry Crowley with its Leo Weston Award for Excellence in Government Service. Crowley is a long time FAA aviation safety inspector who was a professional…Read More

Industry Requests More Time to Comment on FAA Order 8130.21J

On March 28, ARSA joined 11 ally trade associations in requesting the FAA provide more time to comment on Draft Order 8130.21J, “Completion of FAA Form 8130-3 under Part 21.”…Read More

Small Biz Recruitment by Repair Stations

The National Skills Coalition and its partner organization Business Leaders United invite the repair station community to support a study of small and mid-sized business recruiting practices. The study seeks…Read More

Maintenance Industry Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Peaks, Enters “Supercycle”

On March 19, ARSA used its Annual Legislative Day gathering to release its 2025 Global Fleet & MRO Market Report. The analysis provided for the association by Oliver Wyman Vector,…Read More
ARSA