The FAA’s Instructions for Continued Airworthiness Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ICA ARC) published its report and held its final meeting in September. The ARC was first proposed in an ARSA-led petition to the FAA in 2021 and eventually mandated by Congress at the association’s request in the last FAA reauthorization law (A 25-year timeline of ARSA’s ICA efforts is available on the association’s issue page).

The charter directed the ARC to provide recommendations to the FAA for ICA regulations, policy, and guidance. Specifically, the ARC was tasked with recommending “a clear definition for ICA and recommend performance-based requirements for ICA applicability, content, and availability.” It was also asked how to distinguish between safety and customer convenience provisions in ICA, describe the nexus between ICA and safety, and consider the role of repair source approval and restrictions on the use of ICA to certain entities.

From the spring of 2024 to the summer of 2026, more than 100 individuals representing owners, operators, maintainers, design and production approval holders, the FAA, and other foreign regulators spent thousands of hours in ARC working groups and plenary sessions. The ARC’s industry co-chairs were First Equity’s (formerly First Aviation) Josh Krotec, a former ARSA president and board member, and HEICO Aerospace Parts Group Vice President of Technical Services Patrick Markham. ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod and Executive Vice President Christian Klein played visible roles, leading working groups and contributing to report drafting.

To review the complete report, click here.

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