Avionics News May 2022 - 15

As the Federal Aviation Administration has
progressed from generation to generation of staffing,
the history and intent of the regulations have been
progressively lost as each new generation made its
mark on the regulations.
interpretations as well as specific related policy statements to the
simplified Advisory Circular 145-3 that provided guidance on the
development of inspection procedures manuals.
Following 1962, the information about the scope and intent of
various parts of 14 CFR Part 145 was migrated to internal FAA
policy. Although originating as a simple advisory document, the
internal guidance has grown exponentially from a few focused
chapters of guidance to 46 sections contained within four separate
volumes of FAA orders. This does not include the two
advisory circulars (145-9 (RSM/QCM) and 145-10 (RSTP)) or
the expanded surveillance topics of the SAS data collection tools.
Beyond the guidance and policy, there are additional information
contained within FAA legal interpretations, the Regulatory Consistency
Communication Board decisions, and the additional policy
statements contained within numerous other documents.
The preliminary findings of the ARAC included that the current
advisory circulars do not provide guidance on the certification
and surveillance process or expectations regarding 14 CFR
Part 145; rather, they contain information on " writing a manual "
(RSM/QCM and RSTP). Additionally, important historical compliance
information was lost in the transformation of the CARs
to 14 CFR and the cancelation of CAM 52, and the separation of
guidance to the public (advisory circulars) from that issued to the
agency's workforce (FAA order and policy) that was compounded
by the implementation of the FSIMS and the prescriptive
nature of the SAS.
An example of some of the historical processes is the scope of
airframe rating. According to CAR 52, the scope of an airframe
rating means: " Airframe shall mean any and all kinds of fuselages,
booms, nacelles, cowlings, fairings, empennages, airfoil
surfaces, and landing gear, and all parts, accessories, or controls,
of whatever description, appertaining thereto, but not including
powerplants and propellers. "
Taking the intended meaning of rating scopes a step further,
CAR 52 provided guidance on the intent of all-metal
construction (class 3 and 4 ratings). CAR explained that:
" All-metal construction, when that phrase is used to describe
the composition of an airframe, shall mean that the structure
of the airframe is made of metal only, irrespective of the kind
of covering utilized. "
The working group has found that the FAA's system for
transforming regulations into guidance material for the public
and its workforce does not consistently and continuously
ensure alignment with the plain language and objectives of the
myriad statutes and executive orders applicable to rulemaking,
oversight and enforcement activities. A long-standing observation
is that neither guidance nor the agency's current oversight
system, executed through the SAS data collection tools, consistently
reference or annotate applicable laws, regulations or
legal interpretations. The data collection tools do not establish
a baseline for data-driven, risk-based decision-making for
oversight of certificate holders based upon the amount, type,
scope, and complexity of work performed and the certificate
holder's size.
The working group's objective is to provide pertinent
information on the application, certification process, continued
compliance, and oversight of Part 145 applicants and
certificate holders based upon the plain language of the regulation
and the safety intent expressed in rulemaking and legal
documents so it can be applied to each unique applicant and
certificate holder.
The goals are to capture valid information from previous
versions of the applicable regulations for background, perspective
and parameters for certification and oversight activities,
and ensure elements or information reserved for agency
personnel use do not contain any data on compliance or oversight
that exceeds regulatory requirements or intent.
To meet this objective, the working group is developing a proposed
acceptable means of compliance document that contains
the information needed by both the agency and the industry in a
single document. The applicant, certificate holder and agency will
have one comprehensive place to find information on making the
required showing and finding of compliance based on the plain
language of Part 145. The final recommendation will contain
information on the life cycle of the repair station operations from
application process to continued compliance and the agency oversight
activities.
As you can imagine, the working group's final report with its
AMC will be voluminous. However, the final report will provide
recommendations on how the agency can use the information
Continued on page 60
avionics news * may 2022 15
Avionics News May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News May 2022
