CONGRESS again shoots blanks at Foreign Repair Stations
Based on a Congressional mandate, the FAA recently issued InFo 24012, implementing 49 USC § 44733— Prohibiting US Air Carriers from entering into new contracts for heavy maintenance work with part 145 foreign repair stations located in an International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program Category 2 country The InFo is terse in its explanation and […]
SMS for Repair Stations is good for Aviation Safety and very Scalable
[FAA, SMS, Repair Stations, ARSA, Part 145, scalable] Though Safety Management Systems have been part and parcel of aviation for a decade and though each incremental iteration has been relatively painless and highly successful in reducing risk, the initial mandates have drawn negative responses anticipating that the SMS “process” will burden the facility’s production. As […]
Is it time to fashion a Foreign Repair Station ban based on National Security Concerns?
What’s new with the sponsorship of this new bill? The sponsors at the JFK press event are Republicans and they may be susceptible to a balanced approach. It is a different time and now it is clear that America’s relationships with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are adverse, and that country has been found […]
EASA/FAA MRO SMS compromise Easy/Peasy compliance statement- not worth the quick fix?
The FAA and EASA have been strong proponents of applying SMS, the global standard for minimizing risks, to most aspects of aviation. The European Union organization has extended this discipline to entities authorized to perform maintenance and repairs on aircraft (MROs or Part 145 holders). THE FAA HAS NOT MANDATED ITS PART 5 FOR THIS […]
CONSULTANT has great ideas for adding IT to MROs for safety and efficiency- MERIT a COE?
The global consulting firm Capgemini SE, headquartered in Paris, has offered the below extensive and insightful review of the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (14 CFR Part 145) industry. The primary point of the analysis is the incredible utility that IT, artificial intelligence, block chain technologies, robotics, robot inspection drones, and big data could improve the […]
SMS is coming to Part 145; delay is not a positive tactic
Safety Management Systems (SMS) is the standard of excellence for AVIATION SAFETY; the globally revered standard for risk management seems to have stricken TERROR into those certificate holders added to the purview of 14 CFR Part 5 . The JDA team has assisted certificate holders under Part 121, Part 135 and voluntary compliance, Our uniform […]
How will this FAA NOTICE impact Processing of all these Certificate Applicants
The FAA notice N 8900.728 (BELOW) is labeled Determine Applicant Readiness for Certification. This statement of procedures and policies is intended to establish consistency among the FAA offices (local/FSDO) With such geographical dispersion, Washington leaders have been frustrated in implementing NATIONAL STANDARDS at the local level. It has been our experience that some FSDO officials […]
FAA SMS for GA- reasons to JUST DO IT!!!
Below, the FAA has repeated a theme that has dominated its (ICAO’s. EASA’s and most CAA’s) safety regime. This INFORMATION FOR OPERATORS was directed at General Aviation and the applicability of the Safety Management System (SMS) to this segment of flight. The accompanying trade press reported this announcement and devoted commentary to the reasons why […]
OIG audit of STCs might slow down the process-HELP?
The US DoT Office of Inspector General (OIG), as required by specific Congress language, announced that it was starting a “series of audits focused on FAA’s consistency of interpretation and application of policy regarding supplemental type certificates (STCs)…” The focus of this investigation includes: and This most demanding, exacting, laborious and safety intense mission of […]
Boeing’s AI looking in the right places?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE in aviation has benefitted from the availability of massive data bases and MOST IMPORTANTLY the power of today’s meta computers to Analyze All Of The Information, To Identify Reliable Trend Lines And To Help The Safety Experts Design Measures That Are Likely To Lessen The Likelihood Of Reoccurrences!!! Below is an excellent article […]
New Flight Standards and Aircraft Certification- 2 day in office Contract- equivalent LEVEL OF SAFETY???
Not in the FAA press release (immediately below), a new contract with the 11,000 safety critical workers now have the contractual OPTION TO APPEAR AT THEIR OFFICES ONLY TWO DAYS A WEEK (from second section of this post)!!! The Biden Administration, year ago, stated that it opposed such loose management approach to federal service: “White […]