Advisory Circular 43-18 and the Category Parts List
April 20, 2012
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
2026 Annual Conference – Gold Medalists
March 17-20, 2026 Event Information | Registration Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. with Livestream Options for Online Participants Experience the international aerospace maintenance community’s premier event. Join ARSA members and invited…Read MorePreventing Baseless Electronic Recordkeeping Requirements
February 26, 2026 | Categories:
ARSA News & Updates, Design & Production, EASA, FAA, Maintenance, Press Releases, Regulatory
On Feb. 26, ARSA and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) jointly commented on the FAA’s Draft Advisory Circular (AC) 120-78B, “Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping, and Electronic Manuals.” The associations acknowledged…Read More
Mid-Month Member Asked – Recordkeeping Guidance?
February 24, 2026 | Categories:
ARSA News & Updates, Design & Production, EASA, FAA, Maintenance, Press Releases, Regulatory
Most editions of the hotline – ARSA’s premier member newsletter – include something “A Member Asked” in the previous month. That individual query increases the knowledge of all members. This…Read More
ARSA Survey Invite Sent
February 17, 2026 | Categories:
ARSA News & Updates
On Feb. 17, an invitation to complete ARSA’s member survey was sent to the email address of every primary contact. The message was subjected “ARSA 2026 Member Survey Invitation” and…Read More
