Avionics News July 2021 - 18

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Continued from page 17
MEXICO
News & Regulatory Updates
The following information was provided by Universal
Avionics, an Elbit Systems Company.
FDR mandates issued by Mexico AFAC
Regulations adopted by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency
in Mexico (Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil - AFAC)
mandate certain fixed-wing turbine aircraft to carry specific
flight data recorders. The mandate applies to fixed-wing
turbine aircraft, based on the number of passenger seats
(excluding crew seats), or fixed-wing turbine aircraft with
MTOW that falls within the published rule, including cargo
aircraft and aircraft operating under Part 91 with a Mexican
registration. Foreign air carriers with Mexican authorization
also need to comply, but foreign operators (non-Mexican
registration) under Part 91 do not.
These FDR regulations are a bit complex, and we've
spoken to a few customers who have found them to be
confusing. We've organized the following information to
provide you with clear and insightful information on how the
FDR mandates could impact your operations.
FDR TYPE REQUIREMENT
The type of FDR required varies by date of Airworthiness
Certificate issued and MTOW:
* All TYPE I, IA and II FDRs must retain the
information recorded during the last 25 hours of
operation.
* Type IIA FDRs must retain the recorded information
during the last 30 minutes of operation (see Section
6.6.1 of regulation).
AFFECTED AIRCRAFT
The mandates also apply to large rotorcraft; however, fixedwing
aircraft are the subject of this summary:
* Fixed-Wing Turbine aircraft with Airworthiness
Certificate issued on or after 1 January 2016 that
have 10 or more PAX seats OR MTOW greater than
5,700 kg require a Type II FDR (6.7.2).
* Fixed-Wing Turbine Multi-Engine aircraft with
Airworthiness Certificate issued on or after 1
January 1990 AND nine or fewer PAX Seats OR
MTOW equal to or less than 5,700 kg require a Type
IIA FDR (6.7.6.3).
* Fixed-Wing Turbine aircraft with Airworthiness
Certificate issued on or after 1 January 1989 with 10
or more PAX seats OR MTOW greater of 5,700 kg
18 avionics news * july 2021
up to 27,000 kg require a Type II FDR (6.7.6.2).
* Fixed-Wing Turbine aircraft with Airworthiness
Certificate issued on or after 1 January 1987 but
before 1 January 1989 with 10 or more PAX seats
OR MTOW greater than 5,700 kg require an FDR
that records five specific parameters (6.7.7.1).
o Time (reference of time), Altitude,
Airspeed, Normal Acceleration, Heading.
* Fixed-Wing Turbine aircraft with Airworthiness
Certificate issued before 1 January 1987 with 10 or
more PAX seats OR MTOW of 5,700 kg require an
FDR that records five specific parameters (6.7.8.1).
o Time (reference of time), Altitude,
Airspeed, Normal Acceleration, Heading.
COMPLIANCE DATES
Based on the number of aircraft an operator owns,
compliance dates include the following:
* 1-2 Aircraft: Compliance date 31 December 2020.
* 3-4 Aircraft: Compliance date 31 December 2021.
* 5 or more aircraft:
* 25% of fleet must meet mandate by 30 June 2021.
* 50% of fleet must meet mandate by 31 December
2021.
* 75% of fleet must meet mandate by 30 June 2022.
* 100% of fleet must meet mandate by 31
December 2022.
* Operator must submit plan of equipage to AFAC
that includes STC information, equipment being
installed, and MRO that will be performing the
installation. Once this is submitted, the operator
must wait for approval from the Mexican authorities.
Please note, the information detailed above is current as of 30
March 2021 and is provided as guidance only. Please consult AFAC
published regulations for further and/or up-to-date information. q
SOUTH PACIFIC
News & Regulatory Updates
New Zealand CAA publishes revision to
AC43-1 - Aircraft maintenance
This AC provides methods acceptable to the director
for showing compliance with the general maintenance
rules set out in Civil Rule Parts 43 and 91 Subpart G.
Revision 5 incorporates Part 43 amendments since May
2009. Because this AC was last updated in 2009, it has
been largely updated.
The revised AC can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3wsQ9Hf. q
https://bit.ly/3wsQ9Hf
Avionics News July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News July 2021
