ARSA RSS Feed ARSA LinkedIn
Ask ARSA Pay ARSA

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Regulations

On December 12, 2003, the President signed into law the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. Section 611 of the Act requires TSA to “issue final regulations to ensure the security of foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations” within 240 days (by August 8, 2004).

On February 27, 2004, the TSA held a public meeting concerning repair station security, and asked the questions below. Written responses to the questions were due by March 29, 2004 to the DOT Docket Management System (docket TSA-2004-17131). TSA said that it will later propose security rules.

Exposing vulnerabilities

The Association believes that some of TSA’s questions could publicly expose repair station vulnerabilities, if any, and is deeply concerned that TSA did not afford an entirely confidential comment procedure. Both the TSA meeting and the Docket Management System are open to the public. TSA stated that it will not post confidential information to the public docket, but did not elaborate on this assurance.

TSA questions

1. What security measures are currently in place at foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations? Do you use access control, perimeter security, or identification media? What kind of employee background checks, if any, are conducted on employees prior to hiring, or periodically?

2. What security vulnerabilities do you believe currently exist at foreign and domestic repair stations?

3. What minimum standards should be in place to prevent unauthorized access, tampering, and other security breaches at foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations?

4. What does your current security system cost?

5. Should TSA regulations be tailored to the type of rating the repair station holds, number of employees, proximity to an airport, number of repairs completed, or other characteristics? If so, please explain how that could be accomplished.

6. Should aircraft operators play a role in ensuring that repair facilities maintain a secure workplace? If so, what should aircraft operators do to enhance repair station security?

7. Have you experienced security breaches at your facility? If so, what measures were instituted to prevent recurrence?



More from ARSA

FAA to Cancel C.A.S.E. OpSpec Guidance

On Nov. 16, the FAA agreed with ARSA and the Aircraft Electronics Association in determining its new OpSpec D090 for Repair Stations was not supported by a regulatory requirement. The…Read More

Nuts & Bolts Nominations Due Dec. 15

Airlines for America’s Engineering, Maintenance, and Materiel Council (EMMC) is accepting nominations for the 2024 Nuts & Bolts Awards. The awards, granted to an airline and non-airline recipient each year,…Read More

New Cross-Reference Matrices for Compliance with U.S./UK MAG

ARSA’s new cross-reference matrices are available for U.S.-based repair stations looking to show compliance with the special conditions established under the bilateral agreement between the United States and the United…Read More

FAA, EASA Publish TIP 7 & Update AIR Contacts

On Nov. 6, ARSA discovered the publication of Revision 7 of the Technical Implementation Procedures related to the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the United States and European Union. The…Read More

Quick Question – Age Yourself (and Your People)

The “aging” maintenance workforce is a regular talking point. As current technicians reach their fifth and sixth decades, finding and preparing people to replace those “master mechanics” is an essential…Read More
ARSA