On Aug. 7 ARSA sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requesting the agencies to provide a methodology for listing the air carriers for which certificated repair stations perform line maintenance in the U.S.

The FAA, TCCA and EASA each handle line maintenance in slightly different manners. Each authority also has differing agreements among and between themselves that account for those regulatory differences.

Unlike Europe and Canada, the FAA does not issue a “line maintenance” rating and the authority set forth in paragraph D107 in the Operations Specifications (OpsSpecs) is limited to the listed air carriers. Therefore, if a U.S. repair station works on a Canadian or EU-registered aircraft at a location not listed in the FAA-issued repair station certificate (which includes the OpsSpecs), it is technically working outside its ratings and authority.

ARSA’s letter provides potential solutions that establish an understanding of how each authority wishes a repair station with a line maintenance authorization or rating to record work it performs for air carriers under the other authorities’ jurisdiction.

Read ARSA’s letter to the FAA here.

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