2024 – Edition 11 – December 6
Table of Contents
Note: The order of material varies in hotline emails, but is always presented the same on this landing page. Readers scrolling through content on or printing this page will find it organized consistent with the table of contents.
President’s Desk
Conference Corner
Regulatory Update
ARSA Works
Legal Briefs
ARSA on the Hill
Training & Career Development
Membership
Resources
Industry Meetings & Events
The President’s Desk
Counting Heads
ARSA’s Annual Conference is the international maintenance community’s “premier substantive event.” I read that every time the event page reloads to submit HAECO’s next attendee, it appears right up top – and it isn’t hyperbole.
The “premier” nature of the event is backed by decades of legwork and relationship building. It brings together regulators, legislators, and industry professionals that result in productive (if occasionally contentious) discussions about topics of practical importance to every international maintenance provider. Whether you’re in the room or viewing on a screen, the Conference in March is an unmatched opportunity to ask questions and then help the association press for real answers.
Since becoming a member of ARSA’s board, I have ensured the cumulative number of HAECO attendees is unmatched. While there may be one other highly involved ARSA member challenging that record, you can count on five or more attendees making the trip from Greensboro or another location in 2025.
Providing members of your team the opportunity to deepen the company’s impact and connection with members of Congress and to get face time with representatives from the FAA, EASA, and other civil aviation authorities is also unmatched. The investment made in each ARSA Conference is both a symptom and a cause of the association’s return on investment.
For 2025, ARSA has instituted a 10 percent discount on each additional company attendee. Use this incentive to expand your team’s knowledge of the association representing international aerospace maintenance providers, competency in regulatory compliance, and impact on those in every branch of government that regulate the industry.
Woody Allen said that 90 percent of success in life is just showing up. In international aviation maintenance, share that realization by having more than one head show up at the industry’s premier substantive event.
Click here to submit your registrations (plural), today.
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Bob Mabe 2025 ARSA president | HAECO Americas director of regulatory compliance |
Conference Corner
Register Now & Again
March 18-21, 2025
Event Information | Registration | Hotel
Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. with Livestream Options
Experience the international aerospace maintenance community’s premier event. Join ARSA members and guests from around the world to engage with government officials, network with peers, and gain knowledge to improve aerospace throughout the world.
Discounts are available for each additional attendee from the same company: An opportunity to introduce new team members to ARSA’s value and expand your own industry impact.
Advertising – Here’s to the Sponsors
Among the most enticing options available for ARSA supporters is Conference sponsorship.
Over the past decade, the Annual Conference has become a “who’s who” of maintenance industry leaders (visit the event page to see who stood up for ARSA in 2024…and learn how to join them). The companies that commit to the international maintenance community’s premier substantive event receive both visibility and immediate benefits in return for their investment.
Marketing – Sponsorship is highlighted in all ARSA communications for the first quarter of the year, including newsletters and on the Conference website. In January, all sponsor logos are added to the team’s email signatures; every message highlights those key supporters of the association’s work. Top level (Administratium, Platinum, and Gold) sponsors are thanked in member alerts. During the event, sponsors are thanked via signage and repeatedly “from the lectern” during presentations.
Event Access – Sponsors get complimentary registrations for the Executive-to-Executive Briefings on March 18 and Legislative Day on March 19. Top level sponsors get to participate in a “special invitation” dinner on March 19 after the IceBreaker reception. They also get free livestream access to the event and to the recordings after it is complete, so content can be shared with personnel that cannot make the trip to Washington.
Specific support – Each level has different elements of the Conference the sponsor can specifically support. During that portion of the event (or when the resource is mentioned) the sponsor is highlighted.
Special Opportunity – To get new sponsors in the door, the ARSA team has created special bundle pricing including a Silver Sponsorship and single registration to all elements of the Conference. Check out the event page for all pricing details.
Between advertising and sponsorship opportunities, ARSA has options for every type of business looking to invest in the international aerospace maintenance community while aligning itself with quality.
2025 Conference Sponsors will be announced in January. Click here to learn how to join them.
Regulatory Update
D&A Testing Rule Enters Key Review Stage
ARSA members are encouraged to follow the association’s example and engage the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) as it reviews the FAA’s final rule regarding expanding drug & alcohol testing requirements to repair stations located outside the United States.
After nearly a decade of no progress on the issue – and the coming and going of multiple congressional deadlines – the FAA has worked quickly in 2024 to get from notice a proposed rulemaking to the cusp of releasing a final rule. The text of that rule will not be available until it is published in the Federal Register – not specifically scheduled but expected in early 2025 – but OIRA’s review provides a key opportunity for industry to communicate costs of expanded testing regimes.
OIRA is a federal office established by Congress in the 1980 Paperwork Reduction Act. In addition to reviewing government collections of information from the public under the Paperwork Reduction Act, OIRA reviews draft proposed and final regulations under Executive Order 12866. The order requires an analysis of the costs and benefits of rules and, to the extent permitted by law, action only based on a reasoned determination that the benefits justify the costs.
In September 2024, ARSA’s executive leadership participated in a meeting with OIRA to discuss the costs associated with the FAA’s proposed rule. The association provided the White House office with a copy of its Annual Fleet and MRO Market report as well as a copy of the industry comments submitted in response to the NPRM (click here to see the record of ARSA’s meeting).
Member Action:
(1) Review the content below for background, particularly the comments submitted jointly by ARSA and six aviation trade associations to the NPRM in April 2024.
(2) View the RegInfo.gov Dashboard posting regarding the final rule (click here).
(3) Request an E.O 12866 meeting to describe the costs that would be imposed on the industry by expanded drug & alcohol testing requirements. For a background on these meetings and their importance, review this “Regulatory Update” from the July 2024 edition of ARSA’s members-only newsletter, the hotline.
(4) Contact ARSA to update the association on your engagement.
ARSA Works
Clarifying (by Dividing) Recordkeeping Guidance
On Nov. 19, ARSA submitted a pair of draft advisory circulars for FAA consideration to replace its proposed update to AC 43-9, Maintenance Records.
The documents divide overlapping responsibilities previously combined into a single AC. The revision to AC 43-9 provided to the FAA now focuses exclusively on recordkeeping responsibilities of persons authorized by part 43 to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alteration. The elements of compliance with record-making and keeping regulations in part 91, applicable to operators, have been placed in a proposed AC 91-417, Part 91 Miantenance and Inspection Records.
The submission follows an August request for extension to the comment period, made by ARSA and a collection of industry allies. The review and drafting period took longer than projected, but produced documents that can provide useful guidance regardless of FAA action. The association encourages its members to download each document, review, circulate among personnel, and use as internal instruction for compliance with the various requirements of parts 43 and 91 – particularly in service of customers who must comply with the rules for operators.
Draft AC 43-9D, Maintenance Records
Purpose: This AC provides certificate holders authorized to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations under Title 14 of the Code of Regulations (14 CFR) part 43 with acceptable methods for showing compliance with the maintenance recording requirements in §§ 43.9 and 43.11.
Draft AC 91-147, Part 91 Maintenance and Inspection Records
Purpose: This AC describes methods, procedures, and practices that have been determined to be acceptable means of showing compliance with the record-making and maintenance recordkeeping requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91.
Nailing Jell-O to the Wall
A key principle of ARSA’s engagement with the FAA is to never ask a question without already knowing the answer. Getting agreement on that answer is where the work (and challenge) is found.
In May, Executive Director Sarah MacLeod asked the Aircraft Maintenance Division whether Depot Maintenance Work Requirements (DMWR) or other military maintenance information contain methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to the Administrator for compliance with § 43.13(a). ARSA’s question was to ensure industry-wide clarity on a specific issue raised by a member – attention to members that “Ask ARSA First” is an important way the association attends to industry needs – and was delivered with complete analysis and answer:
As with all regulatory questions, it “depends”.
All maintenance providers must hold an appropriate certificate (see, § 43.3) and perform authorized work in accordance with the quality standard in
§ 43.13. So far, so good, however, other statements by the agency (below and repeated here) are incorrect.
The agency opines the methods, techniques, and practices contained in a DMWR (and apparently other federal government-developed information for maintenance of “military” aircraft) are acceptable “provided the ICA were accepted as part of the type certification approval process for the specific aircraft make/model/series.” The order cited does not trump the plain language in a regulation, so the statement is a bridge too far: the method, technique, or practice need not be included in the type certificate approval process at all; use of a manufacturer’s blessed method is only one way to meet section 43.13. Further, there may be no need to involve designated engineering representatives to approve instructions that already exist and are acceptable for establishing compliance with 43.13.
The method, technique, or practice must of course, be “…appropriate to the article being maintained…”; in other words, the result must return the article to at least its original or properly altered condition. If a DMWR achieves that performance-based requirement it meets section 43.13. There are no “improper uses” of DMWRs unless the result is an unairworthy repair, contradicting the agency’s statement regarding “…there may be other repair stations inappropriately using the DMWR to overhaul UH-60 components.” If the method, technique, or practice returns the article to the quality requirements of part 43, the agency would have the burden of proving the DMWR was unacceptable “to overhaul UH-60” or any other component on a civil aircraft that was once used by the federal government’s military branches.
In its own analysis, the FAA goes beyond the scope of both its jurisdiction and also relevancy to the issue at hand: “Nonetheless, there may be other regulatory requirements prohibiting the use of the beforementioned documents that fall outside the FAA’s purview, such as the Arms Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S.C., Sec. 2751 et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (Title 50, U.S.C., App. 2401 et seq.)” (Emphasis added.) There is no “nonetheless”; the agency has no jurisdiction over these other laws and regulations. The FAA cannot prohibit the use of data that meets the quality standard in part 43. Therefore, the statement is, as a famous TV lawyer says, “Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial.”
In its initial response, the agency doubled down on its guidance-reliant analysis that military maintenance instructions must be incorporated into ICA to be found “acceptable to” the agency. Pressing to get both sides to the right answer, MacLeod returned to the plain language of the regulations and reinforced the original analysis through further exchanges (including a meeting) with AFS-300.
As a result, the agency acknowledged the key point regarding acceptability: “The how-to-instructions (methods, techniques, and practices) are informally referred to as “acceptable data”. The how-to instructions do not need to have any specific FAA acceptance or approval as long as the person using them has a reasonable expectation that the FAA will find it acceptable for the purpose for which it was created, when and if the FAA reviews it.”
The response, based again in guidance (Order 8900.1, Vol. 6, Chap. 14, Sec. 1) got to a proper general point without acknowledging or answering the original question. ARSA continues to push the agency to agree with the plain language of its regulation (an ongoing labor as simple as nailing Jello to a wall) that specifically allows maintenance personnel to use “other methods, techniques, and practices” in accordance with § 43.13(a), provided the appropriate condition is reached under § 43.13(b).
In the meantime, maintenance providers should understand how to demonstrate compliance based on the association’s existing review of the issue – not just for other methods, techniques, and practices contained military maintenance instructions, but any “how to” instructions.
Members Work – Straight to the Top for Competency
On Nov. 13, ARSA Affiliate Member Aero-Tech Engineering Consultants delivered a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker addressing “critical workforce shortages and bureaucratic inefficiencies in the aviation industry.” While that subject represents a massive undertaking, it is one to which the association, its members, and allies remain committed.
Aero-Tech Engineering President Jonathon Matlach, who was for 15 years an FAA Designated Engineering Representative and who’s company employs multiple designees to support alternate FAA-approved solutions that reduce maintenance costs, signed the letter. In coordination with ARSA ahead of its delivery, Matlach traced worsening issues with FAA attention and support for DERs to personnel turnover and loss of competency within the agency.
Those DERs, who are “already overloaded” in Matlach’s estimation, are suffering extended lead times, forced to face increased costs, and dealing with an FAA that disregards their work. The result is undermined confidence in the system and a manpower crisis. Meanwhile, the agency seeks more designees – whose qualification requirements are more stringent than those for government engineers – seemingly without the knowledge and resources to support them.
“Unfortunately, simply increasing the number of personnel will increase inefficiencies if the right talent isn’t placed in key positions,” Matlach’s letter said. “These individuals must be able to work efficiently and effectively to address the current workload and backload, but to prepare for future industry growth.”
The letter provided the Administrator three practical steps to address the problem:
(1) On-site training and collaboration through formal programs at both FAA offices and industry facilities.
(2) Fully leveraging the FAA’s Risk-Based Resource Management system by promoting agreements that allow designees to assume more responsibilities in lower risk areas.
(3) Expanding the designee workforce and empowering them through targeted outreach and training.
“By taking these steps, the FAA can efficiently and effectively address current workforce shortages, improve operational efficiency, encourage compliance, develop trust, establish transparency, and ensure that the U.S. retains its position in global aviation,” the letter concluded. “These solutions can be implemented with existing resources and systems, without rulemaking or regulatory changes.”
Matlach’s engagement with the FAA “at the top” provides a basis for pressing agency offices and elected officials (he’s preparing his materials already for ARSA’s Legislative Day of engagement on March 19) to improve safety. The recommendations delivered to the Administrator are consistent – particularly in terms of training and competency development – to ARSA’s and should be repeated by all members.
The association commends the work of members who amplify the industry’s voice before the agency. To read Matlach’s complete letter, click here.
What issues (and SOLUTIONS) can you help amplify? Contact ARSA with your plans and ideas.
ARSA on the Road – ICA, MMT, NATA, VAI
On Nov. 19 and 20 ARSA Executive Vice President Christian Klein attended the first in-person plenary session of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). ICA has been an ARSA priority for decades. The ARC was established in January 2024 in response to an ARSA-led rulemaking petition and legislative language included in the recent FAA reauthorization bill at ARSA’s request.
The purpose of the ARC is to:
[P]rovide recommendations to the FAA for ICA regulations, policy, and guidance. In doing so, the ARC will recommend a clear definition for ICA and recommend performance-based requirements for ICA applicability, content, and availability. It will propose how to distinguish between safety and customer convenience provisions in ICA and describe the safety intent of recommended ICA requirements. The ARC will consider the role of repair source approval and restrictions on the use of ICA to certain entities. The ARC’s recommendations will consider the standards of other authorities and, when possible, further international harmonization.
The ARC’s industry co-chairs are ARSA members, First Aviation Executive Director (and 2023 ARSA president) Josh Krotec and HEICO Vice President of Technical Services Patrick Markham. Klein and ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod are participating in multiple ARC working groups focusing on gaps in the current regulations, definitions of key terms, and how other leading aviation authorities handle ICA. The ARC has until Oct. 2026 to complete its work.
Industry, Authorities Meet at MMT
From Dallas, Klein traveled to Boston for the Maintenance Management Team (MMT) meeting at the FAA’s offices in Burlington, Mass. on Nov. 21 and 22. Each year the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), and Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) meet under the banner of the MMT to discuss bilateral maintenance issues. The last day of the meeting is an “industry day” during which regulators and stakeholders brief each other on important regulatory and industry developments.
Here are some key takeaways from the 2024 MMT:
- Revision 2 of the FAA-TCCA Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP) is under legal review and is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2025. Related guidance will be released thereafter, likely in the spring.
- TCCA and EASA signed Revision 3 to their Maintenance Annex Guidance (MAG) on July 11, 2024. The new MAG provides full mutual acceptance of component maintenance between the two authorities without further certification or supplement requirements. The agencies will shortly issue a letter to clarify their acceptance of the EASA Form 1 and TCCA Form 1 without a dual release. The letter will help Canadian and European approved maintenance organizations (AMOs) explain the change to customers and eliminate contract language requiring dual releases.
- The TCCA and ANAC signed a new Technical Arrangement – Maintenance (TA-M) in May 2024. Maintenance certifications from component rated AMOs (i.e., not airframe, engine, or propeller rated AMOs) are now accepted between ANAC and TCCA. TCCA has accordingly updated TCCA AC 573-009.
- The new FAA-ANAC MIP entered into force on Oct. 1. In the United States the MIP primarily impacts repair stations working on products (aircraft, engines, and propellers). Brazil does not require FAA repair stations to have separate ANAC certification to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations on components and approve them for return to service for installation on Brazilian registered aircraft.
- EASA is in discussions with the other authorities about how to incorporate the requirements of EASA Part-IS into its bilateral agreements. Part-IS (Regulation (EU) 2023/203) establishes rules for the identification and management of information security risks.
- Although the FAA-EASA MAG 10 with the SMS requirement has not been signed or released, it will require FAA repair stations with EASA approval to implement a safety management system (SMS) by the end of 2025. The revisions is expected to be released before the end of the year. Therefore, the agencies encourage FAA repair stations to begin developing and implementing their SMS programs now. For more information about ARSA SMS resources, click here.
- As previously reported in the hotline, an eagle-eyed ARSA member in Europe noticed that, without explanation, the phrase “maintenance function” had been changed to “aircraft maintenance” in the section of FAA-EASA MAG 9 addressing EASA repair stations working away from the fixed location. The agencies confirmed the change was an unintentional copyediting error that will be corrected in the next MAG.
- The FAA and EASA are continuing to grapple with the documentation requirements for new parts installed by FAA repair stations during maintenance or alteration when working under the bilateral. ARSA Agency representatives have stated the issue will be addressed in the next version of the FAA-EASA Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP).
- Digitalization is on the minds of regulators and industry alike. Last year’s discussions revolved around an ARSA-managed survey that identified current industry practices and regulatory barriers to the adoption of digital technologies. This year’s meeting focused on a roadmap developed under the leadership of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) to facilitate broader regulator acceptance of digital technologies.
It’s clear the FAA is falling behind the other authorities when it comes to mutual acceptance. For example, under the new TCCA-EASA MAG, Canadian component AMOs now have significantly lower compliance costs when serving European customers.
In 2020, ARSA and its allies petitioned the FAA to amend 14 CFR part 43 to allow (not require) the agency to accept foreign maintenance certificates pursuant to a bilateral agreement. Until the FAA changes its rules, the agency cannot accept any foreign maintenance performed by a person not approved by the FAA. And until that happens, it’s unlikely that FAA component repair stations will receive the same treatment from EASA as their Canadian counterparts. Klein and ARSA allies at the MMT meeting encouraged the FAA to pursue the petition as part of the ongoing push towards mutual acceptance.
International compliance will be front and center during the annual “Opening Salvo” global regulators panel at the ARSA Conference in March. Click here to reserve your spot now.
Sharing the Gospel
ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod was also on the road this month, engaging with industry allies and promoting ARSA’s regulatory agenda. She spoke at the National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) 2024 Aviation Business Conference in Nashville on Nov. 13 and at Vertical Aviation International’s (VAI) annual Aerial Work Safety Conference in Boise. Both associations work closely with ARSA on regulatory and workforce issues.
ARSA Weighs in on International Parts Shipments
ARSA has requested the FAA and EASA resolve questions impacting shipments of non-critical Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) parts to the European Union (EU) and other jurisdictions when the parts’ design approval is based on identicality with an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC).
The confusion stems from whether the FAA-EASA Technical Implementation Procedures (TIP; Revision 7) requires STC validation by EASA, the interpretation of the term “export”, and the responsibilities of parts shippers.
EASA reads the TIP to require a determination that EASA has validated the FAA STC prior to shipment. ARSA does not dispute that the STC of a related FAA PMA part must be validated by EASA prior to installation in an EU registered aircraft, i.e., on a product under EASA’s regulatory jurisdiction. However, ARSA disagrees that the TIP requires the shipper to determine whether the STC has been validated by EASA and on what type-certificated product it will be installed before the part may be sent to Europe.
ARSA argued in an Oct. 24 letter to Dan Elgas, director of the FAA Aircraft Certification Service’s Policy and Standards Division (AIR-600), that the TIP is confusing and internally inconsistent. TIP paragraph 1.6.3.2 references certifying authority “approvals that are accepted by the [Validating Authority (VA)] without issuance of its own approval.” (Emphasis added.) Paragraph 3.2 states that “specific [Certifying Authority] approvals (further described in paragraph 3.3) … will be accepted by the VA without issuance of its own approval, and therefore no application for validation is required for…PMA Parts under the conditions of paragraph 3.3.4.” (Emphasis added.)
Unfortunately, the referenced paragraph 3.3.4 is unclear and can be read both to state the circumstances under which an FAA PMA part may be installed on a product under EASA’s regulatory jurisdiction, or to impose the validation requirement at the product level as a limitation on shipments of PMA parts to the EU. However, other parts of the TIP (e.g., paragraph 7.11) support the notion that the conditions and limitations stated in paragraph 3.3.4 are applicable only to PMA parts that are to be installed on a product which has been certified or validated by EASA, not “any PMA part that shall be shipped to the EU.”
ARSA believes the installer is the only person that can determine whether the product on which the article will be installed has been certified or validated by EASA or even needs to be certified by that authority. In the case of older STCs, and those issued before EASA existed, it is extremely difficult for the shipper to determine whether the STC was grandfathered by an EU Member State. Further, older FAA STCs were issued at a time when most ICAO countries accepted FAA design approvals without further showing on products subject to their regulatory jurisdiction.
A prohibition on shipping PMA parts to the EU also ignores the fact that they may be installed by an EU Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) on aircraft under the regulatory authority of the FAA or another non-EASA authority. It is costly, burdensome, impractical, and contrary to the responsibilities of the State of Registry to require a part “export” to meet an EASA approved design when it may not even be installed on an EU-registered aircraft. EASA’s interpretation also ignores the possibility that a TC holder may ship parts to a distributor in Europe for subsequent shipment to and installation on non-EU registered aircraft in another country.
For a solution, ARSA points to the TIP’s definition of “export”: “[t]he process by which a product or article is released from a civil aviation authority’s regulatory system for subsequent use in another civil aviation authority’s regulatory system.” (Emphasis added.) Based on the plain language of the TIP, parts sent to distributors or brokers in the EU are not regulatory “exports” because the mere sending of a part does not constitute an export until the part is released from one regulatory system for use in another. ARSA has therefore asked the authorities to clarify that the export occurs at installation because that is when the release from one system to another takes place.
The PMA parts shipment issue is just the most recent to arise from the confusing bilateral agreements. In January 2023, ARSA and allied organizations asked the agencies to clarify that a U.S. repair station’s installation of a new article received from a U.S. PAH without FAA Form 8130-3 is not an export at the time it is released by the PAH even if the article is subsequently installed in a dual release maintenance action subject to Annex 2 of the bilateral agreement.
“Neglecting to deal with the underlying issue of when regulatory jurisdiction changes will create more problems, uncertainty and inconsistent application for industry and regulators alike,” ARSA’s letter said. “Given the potential impact on PMA parts going to Europe with FAA Form 8130-3s, with and without EASA validated product designs, we urge swift resolution.”
To read the complete letter, click here.
Final Documents/Your Two Cents
This list includes Federal Register publications, such as final rules, Advisory Circulars and policy statements, as well as proposed rules and policies of interest to ARSA members.
Legal Briefs
Editor’s note: This material is provided as a service to association members for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal or professional advice and is not privileged or confidential.
Surprise … It’s the FAA!
By Christian Klein, Executive Vice President
The FAA Reauthorization Act (Public Law No: 118-63) signed by President Biden on May 16, 2024 contains several provisions proposed by ARSA to address FAA oversight shortcomings and the technical workforce shortage. Overall, it’s the best FAA bill in recent memory.
Unfortunately, however, one section opposed by ARSA and most leading aviation trade associations was included: Sec. 302. of the bill (“Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvements”), which establishes new foreign repair station oversight requirements, including “surprise” inspections.
Sec. 302(a) of the FAA bill amended 49 U.S.C. sec. 44733(e) to require the FAA to “ensure that part 145 repair stations located outside the United States are inspected annually, without prior notice to such repair stations…consistent with United States obligations under international agreements and the applicable laws of the country in which the repair station is located.”
ARSA and its allies were able to negotiate significant changes to the language originally proposed in 2019. The original proposal, for example, would have (absurdly and in violation of diplomatic norms) prohibited advance notice of the inspection even to the government of the country in which the repair station was located. It also failed to recognized U.S. obligations under bilateral agreements.
Having helped shape the legislation, ARSA and its allies are now engaging with the FAA to implement the new inspection requirements in the least disruptive manner possible. In a letter to the FAA sent by ARSA, the Aircraft Electronics Association, and Airlines for America, the associations said the new foreign oversight mandates from Congress can be easily met through existing policy and regulation.
The fact that the statute recognizes U.S. obligations under bilateral agreements is significant. The U.S.-European Union bilateral aviation safety agreement and related guidance make the local authority responsible for inspecting its own repair stations/approved maintenance organizations and confirming compliance with the bilateral. Through Sampling Inspection System (SIS) audits, the FAA monitors the foreign authority, and, at the FAA’s discretion, repair stations located in that State. When the FAA determines surveillance of a foreign repair station is appropriate, the bilateral partner must be notified, but the agreements and agency guidance are silent on notifying the repair station.
To conduct unannounced inspections of foreign repair stations in countries in accord with a bilateral, the FAA must first inform the foreign civil aviation authority of the requirement, e.g., through the procedures outlined in the U.S.-EU Maintenance Annex Guidance (MAG), Section A, paragraphs 1 and 2. When executing the oversight, the maintenance implementation procedures do not require any notification by the FAA to the foreign repair station when it determines that surveillance is warranted. Thus, it appears that no changes are needed to guidance or procedures to fulfill the statutory requirement when overseeing a foreign repair station in a bilateral country.
ARSA and its allies cautioned the agency against conducting unannounced foreign repair stations when key personnel are absent. The associations suggested the agency could inform foreign repair stations of the months of the year in which the FAA will be conducting surveillance without revealing the dates or times to the country or approved maintenance organization/repair station. This would ensure the agency could conduct its surveillance effectively and efficiently as the absence of key personnel can result in follow-up surveillance and other wasteful outcomes.
Whether the agency shares the association’s perspective remains to be seen.
ARSA on the Hill
Election Fallout and NDAA
By Christian Klein, Executive Vice President
The 118th Congress is back in Washington, D.C. for a post-election wrap up of unfinished business. Here’s what ARSA is watching:
Who’s in Charge Here?
The congressional committees with jurisdiction over the FAA will have new leadership, at least in the Senate. In the wake of the GOP’s Senate takeover, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is expected to assume the gavel of the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee; Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is likely to remain as the committee’s senior Democrat.
There’s no word yet on the leadership of the Senate’s aviation safety, operations and innovation subcommittee. Sen Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the subcommittee’s current ranking member, is likely to seek the chair given the aviation sector’s massive presence in his state. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), the current subcommittee chairman, a former military aviator, and the 2021 recipient of ARSA’s Legislative Leadership Award is a logical choice to serve as the next ranking member.
The outlook on the House of Capitol Hill side is less certain. House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) became the committee’s ranking member in 2019 and assumed the chairmanship when Republicans won the House in 2022. However, Republican House conference rules prohibit members from serving as a committee’s senior member (chairman, ranking member, or some combination) for more than six years.
Chairman Graves, a 20-year veteran of the House T&I Committee and another recipient of ARSA’s Legislative Leadership Award, has applied for a waiver to be chairman for two more years. A pilot and aviation enthusiast, Graves was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the ARSA-proposed aviation workforce grant program and helped lead the committee through COVID, the Boeing MAX investigations, and development of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. He chaired the committee during the recent FAA reauthorization. As the hotline went to press, there were unconfirmed reports that the waiver would be granted.
If Graves is not issued a waiver, the new chairman is likely to be Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.). The T&I Committee’s second most senior Republican, Crawford currently serves as chairman of the highways and transit subcommittee and served two terms as ranking member of the railroads, pipelines, and hazardous materials subcommittee. Whether the Steering Committee will grant Grave’s waiver request or put the T&I gavel in new hands will be determined in the days ahead. In the meantime, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) is expected to continue as T&I’s ranking Democrat.
The future leadership of the House aviation subcommittee is also in question. Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.), the current chairman, chose to retire from Congress at the end of this year after his district was redrawn. Graves, who received ARSA’s 2024 Legislative Leadership Award, has been a highly effective subcommittee leader, in part due to his experience as a congressional staffer. Crawford is next in subcommittee seniority after Graves but is likely to stay on as the highway subcommittee chairman if he doesn’t get the full T&I gavel. Other senior Republican members of the aviation subcommittee who could replace Graves are Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Scott Perry (R-Penn.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), and Brian J. Mast (R-Fl.). Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) is likely to remain the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat.
President-elect Trump’s victory means there will also changes in the executive branch. Trump has nominated former GOP congressman and Fox commentator Sean Duffy to serve as secretary of transportation. While Duffy has limited transportation policy experience (he served on the House Financial Services Committee during his eight years in Congress), his nomination isn’t regarded as controversial, as suggested by this statement from House T&I Committee Ranking Member Larsen in response to Duffy’s appointment:
“Transportation policy has a long bipartisan history, and I look forward to continuing to maintain the tradition under Former Representative Sean Duffy’s leadership and working together to pass the next surface transportation authorization, creating more jobs, if he is confirmed as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.”
The election results have also raised questions about FAA’s leadership. Michael Whitaker, the current FAA administrator, was confirmed in late 2023 and has four years left in his term. There’s no indication he plans to step down, but the FAA is squarely in the crosshairs of the new administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). One of the leaders of the DOGE effort is Elon Musk who has complained publicly that the FAA is impeding progress at his company Space X. Whether and how the agency’s leadership could be impacted by potential tension with new administration remains to be seen.
DOD Maintenance Contracting
ARSA is seeking to include language in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to improve competition for Department of Defense (DoD) aircraft maintenance contracts. Many ARSA members who provide (or wish to provide) maintenance services to the DoD and branches of the military have been denied access by manufacturers to the maintenance data necessary to compete for and perform DoD maintenance contracts.
Sec. 828 of the Senate NDAA bill would address the issue by prohibiting DOD from entering into a contract for “the procurement of goods or services unless the contractor agrees in writing to provide the DOD fair and reasonable access to all the repair materials, including parts, tools, and information, used by the manufacturer or provider or their authorized partners to diagnose, maintain, or repair the good or service.” The provision, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received bipartisan support in committee. ARSA is working to keep in the provision in the bill but is facing strong opposition from manufacturing organizations that oppose “right to repair” legislation.
In an Oct. 29 letter to Senate Armed Services Committee members in support of Sec. 828, ARSA said instructions for continued airworthiness, component maintenance manuals, and other technical data essential to the maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding and alteration of government-owned aircraft should be shareable with any party with whom the government wishes to contract for these services. “While Sec. 828 is not specific to aviation, we believe it will send a clear message to the DOD, all branches of the armed forces, the contracting community, and taxpayers that maintenance data must be made available in the name of competition, cost reduction, and readiness,” ARSA said.
FY 2025 Appropriations
Talks are underway on Capitol Hill to reach a federal government spending deal before the current continuing appropriations resolution expires on Dec. 20. The next continuing resolution will likely keep the government operating through late winter or early spring, giving the new administration and congressional leaders time to negotiate a longer-term deal. The annual appropriations process is critical to the maintenance industry because it ensures the FAA’s continuing operations. Past government shutdowns resulting from appropriations lapses have caused major disruptions throughout the aviation sector.
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Want to Learn More About ARSA PAC? ARSA’s Political Action Committee helps elect congressional candidates who share ARSA’s commitment to better regulation and a strong aviation maintenance sector. In this critical election year, ARSA PAC has never been more important. But ARSA is prohibited from sending PAC information to members who haven’t opted in to receive it. Please take a second to give us prior approval to talk to you about ARSA PAC. Doing so in no way obligates you to support PAC. It just opens the lines of communication. Click here to give ARSA your consent today. |
Aviation Life Calendar
December Through April
Something exciting happens every day in an aviation career.
If you want to keep aviation in the forefront of career choices, celebrate success every day with these resources. Every one provides a positive view of the industry’s ability to make the impossible an everyday event by individuals from every walk of life, socio-economic level, race, creed, color, religion, orientation, and physical capability.
Check back regularly for updates.
Training & Career Development
ARSA Brings Long Experience to New Vertical Aviation Event
Next March, as it prepares for the 2025 ARSA Annual Conference, the association’s team will make a special appearance at the inaugural edition of VERTICON (formerly HELI-EXPO) in Dallas, Texas.
Sarah MacLeod, Marshall S. Filler, Christian Klein, and Brett Levanto, executive team members of the association (and of its management firm Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C.) will lead a number of Elevations Courses (formerly known as Professional Education Courses) at the kickoff of VERTICON week.
Will you be at VERTICON? Contact Levanto (click here for his email) to see where you can find ARSA’s team and to schedule a meeting. To review the training sessions run by the team, scroll through the list below.
Click here to register for the event and visit verticon.org/education/elevations-courses for course information.
Elevations Courses
Any participant who completes one of these sessions and submits his or her completion certificate to (brett.levanto@arsa.org) will be given a code to access one free hour of ARSA online training.
Note: These sessions are provided on behalf of OFM&K and are listed in schedule order.
Regulations Affecting Aircraft Part Purchase and Sale
March 8 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
This course reviews the civil aviation regulations in 14 CFR that impact the purchase, sale, receiving, stocking, inspection and installation of civil aviation articles for maintenance purposes. It also overviews other guidance as well as regulatory and contractual requirements that should be considered.
Session information & Registration
Know the Rules Like You Know Your Tools
March 8 | 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
This session covers the FAA’s organization, authority and process for promulgating rules, then walks through the general requirements in 14 CFR to explain how its various components link together in a “regulatory chain” that must be comprehended by aviation businesses. Topics specific to maintenance include part 43 maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding and alteration; part 65, subpart D mechanics (certification); part 65, subpart E repairmen (certification); and part 145 repair stations.
Session Information & Registration
Human Factors: Admitting You’re Human
March 10 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
This session introduces “human factors” and puts their consideration into an aviation context, connecting their mitigation with SMS development. It reviews the general definitions and key components of human factors understanding and reviews the rules and guidance on the subject from various aviation regulatory and oversight organizations. It then discusses examples, mitigations, and exercises associated with key human factors elements as well as methods for integrating into training and safety systems.
Session information & Registration
Public Aircraft Operations
March 10 | 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
This course provides instruction on the statutory provisions and FAA guidance governing public aircraft operations. It covers the basic requirements for an aircraft to be operated as a public aircraft, what constitutes an eligible governmental function, and the practical implications of using the same aircraft to conduct both civil and public operations. It also discusses the FAA policy regarding operations conducted under contract for a government entity.
Session Information & Registration
Whether you are able to participate in Dallas or not, much of the material presented ARSA’s team members at VERTICON is available through the association’s online training program. To review the library of available courses and register for immediate access to on-demand sessions, click here.
From 2019
ARSA’s Sarah MacLeod really does have a good time at @HeliAssoc @HELIEXPO. Thanks to Advanced Composites Florida for providing proof. #AVMRO pic.twitter.com/Fw9hBBr47z
— ARSA (@ARSAWorks) March 6, 2019
Part 91 – Compensation or Hire
This session explores the details of the general operating rules in 14 CFR part 91 impacting operations performed for compensation or hire. It highlights the elements of the rule governing such operations and identifies relevant other areas in 14 CFR.
Click here for more information and to register for immediate on-demand access.
Registration for an ARSA training session includes:
- Access to the on-demand recording of each session for 90 days.
- Digital copies of the presentation and all reference material with links to relevant resources and citations.
- A certificate upon completion of each class.
The association’s training program is provided through Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C., the firm that manages ARSA. To go directly to OFM&K’s online training portal, visit potomaclaw.inreachce.com. To learn more about the association’s training program and see course availability, visit arsa.org/training.
Public Aircraft
This three-part series on the regulations and guidance for public aircraft operation will provide in-depth analysis and case-study review of various requirements. Sessions must be purchased together and viewed in order, completion of each pre-requisite – either via a live session or on-demand recording – is required for access to subsequent classes.
Click here for more information and to register for immediate on-demand access.
Registration for an ARSA training session includes:
- Access to the on-demand recording of each session for 90 days.
- Digital copies of the presentation and all reference material with links to relevant resources and citations.
- A certificate upon completion of each class.
The association’s training program is provided through Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C., the firm that manages ARSA. To go directly to OFM&K’s online training portal, visit potomaclaw.inreachce.com. To learn more about the association’s training program and see course availability, visit arsa.org/training.
Regulatory Compliance Training
Test your knowledge of 14 CFR § 21.24, primary category type certificates.
Click here to download the training sheet.
Membership
In Good Company
ARSA’s advocacy success is facilitated by membership renewal rates, which in the third quarter of 2024 were 93.5 percent (and 88.5 percent year to date).
Members also show support by utilizing member benefits including Annual Conference participation, using ARSA’s experts to help with regulatory questions and concerns, and participating in legislative efforts.
As we wind down to the end of 2024, ARSA thanks members and their registered individuals for the continued support and extend best wishes for the holiday season and new year.
Don’t Be Ignored – STC Audit Survey
Congress’ May 2024 reauthorization of the FAA, requires the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to audit the FAA’s Flight Standards and Aircraft Certification Services (see P.L. 118-63, Sec. 821). In November, the first of three audits mandated by the law was initiated.
Congress mandated the OIG conduct its audits with input from all stakeholders. To ensure the executive branch agency listens to its congressional masters and engages stakeholders, ARSA is asking members to identify issues related to consistency in interpretation and application of regulation, policy, orders, and guidance across agency offices and individuals.
To participate, answer the following questions:
Note: The question is displayed in its own, embedded window. If the “Submit” button is not visible on the screen, you must scroll within the survey window to submit your response.
If the embedded survey does not appear/load, open the survey independently by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/STC_audit
Welcome & Welcome Back – New & Renewing Members
ARSA’s members give the association life – its work on behalf of the maintenance community depends on the commitment of these organizations. Here’s to the companies that joined or renewed in November:
New Members
DuPlessis, Jack – JCTC, EDU
Sadra Hemmati, EDU
Renewing Members
Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc., R06, 2010
Aircraft Accessories of Oklahoma, Inc., R03, 2022
A.O.G Aircraft Services Inc., R01, 2018
AerSale Landing Gear Solutions, R03, 2009
Bridger Aviation Repair LLC dba Bridger Aerospace, R03, 2019
Citadel Completions LLC, R04, 2018
Gulf Aerospace, Inc., R02, 2005
AEVEX Aerospace dba Ikhana Aircraft Services, R04, 2003
Austin Aerotech Repair Services Inc., R01, 2012
Component Repair Technologies, Inc., R05, 1995
Federal Express Corporation, Assoc, 2000
L2 Aviation LLC. dba L2 Consulting Services Inc., R04, 2023
Liebherr-Aerospace Saline, Inc., R05, 2006
Linear Motion LLC, R02, 2017
Mid-Continent Instrument Co., Inc. dba Mid-Continent Instruments & Avionics, R04, 1998
Nelson Engineering Co., R04, 2013
Ohlinger Industries, Inc., R04, 2006
Quality Aircraft Accessories, Inc., R01, 2021
Repairtech International, Inc., R03, 1992
Southwind Aviation Supply, LLC, R02, 2008
StandardAero Alliance, Inc., Corp, 2010
Tailwind Inspection, Inc., R01, 2006
Turbines, Inc., R02, 2017
University of Alaska Anchorage Aviation Technology Division , EDU, 2023
US Technicians, Inc., R01, 2021
VSE Aviation Services, Co.-KS, R01, 2012
A Member Asked…Remedial Training?
Q: I am working on getting our training manual approved and the FAA is saying we must have procedures for remedial training. This has never been an issue and I’m hoping to figure out my possible avenues.
A: The requirements for repair station training in § 145.163 are very simple. In general, the training program must consist of initial and recurrent training and ensure each employee assigned to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alterations, and inspection functions is capable of performing the assigned task. As often happens, that simplicity has been used by the FAA to enforce guidance-based requirements including a demand for “remedial training” to “rectify an employee’s demonstrated lack of knowledge or skill” (from AC 145-10).
ARSA’s position is that “remedial” training is a form of recurrent training as required by the rule and that all training is administered to rectify a gap between the individual’s body of knowledge and what’s required to perform their work. The model Training Program Manual included in the RSQM Compilation defines recurrent training as “[including] remedial training and other educational opportunities that reinforce knowledge and skills required to perform the task(s) unsupervised.” It uses demonstrations of competency in addition to training completion (recorded on the Employment Summary, which though only required by § 145.161(a)(4) to be kept for personnel listed on a roster, ARSA’s manual system requires for all technical personnel) as methods of tracking capability and charges the person responsible for the program with “comprehensively assessing Technical Personnel using the program and ensuring that an appropriate training plan is established.”
The program itself doesn’t prescribe a timeline for any training, i.e., whether an experience be provided “as soon as possible” as encouraged by the FAA guidance, because the manual’s purpose is to provide the framework for how the repair station addresses skill/knowledge gaps and then allowing Technical Personnel to do it in whatever ways ensure capability.
Hopefully this background and example gives you a sense of “possible avenues” (which also include simple pushback that the rule doesn’t require remedial training).
Have questions about aviation regulatory compliance, legislative policy, or ARSA resources? Ask ARSA first!
Resources
ARSA strives to provide resources to educate the general public about the work of the association’s member organizations; should you need to provide a quick reference or introductory overview to the global MRO industry, please utilize AVMRO.ARSA.org.
About ARSA PAC
ARSA’s Political Action Committee helps elect congressional candidates who share ARSA’s commitment to better regulation and a strong aviation maintenance sector. But ARSA is prohibited from sending PAC information to members who haven’t opted in to receive it.
Careers in Aviation Maintenance
How do you share the industry’s story with the people who could be its future? Teach them about the great work done every day to keep the world in flight. (Even if we can’t recruit somebody, we sure can make them thankful for our work.)
U.S./EU Maintenance Annex Guidance
See all of the association’s public updates since 2012 on the Maintenance Annex Guidance between the United States and European Union. The page focuses in particular on matters related to parts documentation issues arising since MAG Change 5 was issued in 2015.
Industry Meetings & Events
| Conference | Dates | Location |
| MRO Latin America | 2/4-5/2025 | Panama City, Panama |
| MRO Middle East | 2/10-11/2025 | Dubai, UAE |
| VERTICON | 3/10-13/2025 | Dallas, Texas |
| Aviation Week Supply Chain Conference | 3/12-13/2025 | Southlake, Texas |
| ARSA Annual Conference | 3/18-21/2025 | Arlington, Virginia |
| NBAA Maintenance Conference | 4/29-5/1/2025 | Columbus, Ohio |
| IAQG Meeting Week & 57th General Assembly | 4/7-10/2025 | Brussels |
| MRO Americas | 4/8-10/2025 | Atlanta, Georgia |
the hotline is the monthly publication of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the not-for-profit international trade association for certificated repair stations. It is for the exclusive use of ARSA members and federal employees on the ARSA mailing list. For a membership application, please call 703.739.9543 or visit arsa.org/membership/join. For information about previous editions, submit a request through arsa.org/contact. This material is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, consulting, tax or any other type of professional advice. Law, regulations, guidance and government policies change frequently. While ARSA updates this material, we do not guarantee its accuracy. In addition, the application of this material to a particular situation is always dependent on the facts and circumstances involved. The use of this material is therefore at your own risk. All content in the hotline, except where indicated otherwise, is the property of ARSA. This content may not be reproduced, distributed or displayed, nor may derivatives or presentations be created from it in whole or in part, in any manner without the prior written consent of ARSA. ARSA grants its members a non-exclusive license to reproduce the content of the hotline. Employees of member organizations are the only parties authorized to receive a duplicate of the hotline. ARSA reserves all remaining rights and will use any means necessary to protect its intellectual property.
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