VI.A.8. Subpart L - Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and

Alterations

Applicability. Part 121 certificate holders are required to

adopt a continuous airworthiness maintenance program (CAMP), which has

a proven track record for large transport category airplanes. Under §

135.411(a)(2), airplanes that are type certificated for a passenger-

seating configuration of 10 seats or more are already required to

comply with a CAMP similar to part 121 requirements. The proposed

rule would require all airplanes type certificated for 10 or more

passengers to comply with part 121 CAMP requirements. These

requirements are consistent with present-day maintenance standards and

techniques to manage airplane airworthiness. The proposal to include

affected commuters under part 121 maintenance requirements would not

necessitate a revision to § 121.361.

Section 121.361(b) contains a deviation provision allowing

certain foreign noncertificated persons to perform maintenance.

Affected commuters would now have this option available. Since many

of the airplanes that are the subject of this rulemaking are

manufactured outside the United States, this deviation provision would

allow certificate holders to have the original equipment manufacturers

perform some overhauls and repairs.

Comments: Jetstream Aircraft Limited supports the proposals to

apply this subpart to affected commuters.

American Eagle encourages proposed rulemaking which would mirror

current parts 121 and 25 maintenance and inspection requirements for

aircraft certificated under part 23 or SFAR 41 and used in commercial

aviation of any type.

FAA Response: Since the comments in effect support the proposed

rule changes, they are adopted as proposed.

Responsibility for airworthiness. Section 121.363 places the

responsibility for airworthiness of an airplane on the certificate

holder; § 135.413 contains a similar requirement. Under the proposal,

affected commuters must comply with § 121.363. Section 135.413(a)

requires a part 135 operator to have defects repaired between required

maintenance under part 43. This provision does not appear in part

121. Part 121 operators are required to have defects repaired in

accordance with their maintenance manual. Since an FAA-approved

maintenance manual requires no less than the part 43 requirements,

affected commuters would experience no change in requirements under

the proposal. On this issue, no comments were received and the final

rule is adopted as proposed.

Maintenance and preventive maintenance, and alteration

organization. Section 121.365 requires the certificate holder to have

an adequate maintenance organization for the accomplishment of

maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations on its airplanes.

The provision allows the certificate holder to arrange with another

person to accomplish the work, provided that the certificate holder

determines that the person has an organization adequate to perform the

work. This provision requires separate inspection functions to ensure

that those items directly affecting the safety of flight are verified

to be correct by someone other than the person who performed the work.

The FAA recognizes that other provisions of the proposed rule in

Notice 95-5, which would require affected certificate holders to

install new equipment and might lead to replacement of part 23 type

certificated airplanes with part 25 type certificated airplanes, could

necessitate that maintenance personnel (as required by this section

and by §§ 121.367 and 121.371) have additional skills and training.

Comments: American Eagle supports the proposal.

FAA Response: Since the only comment on this issue is

supportive, the rule is adopted as proposed.

Manual requirements. Sections 121.369 and 135.427 have almost

identical requirements specifying that the certificate holder include

in its manual a description of the organization required by § 121.365

and a list of persons with whom it has arranged for the performance of

any required inspections, other maintenance, preventive maintenance,

or alterations. The manual must contain the programs required by §

121.367, including the methods of performing required inspections,

other maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alterations. This

manual is necessary to ensure that the certificate holder has provided

an adequate maintenance program for the airworthiness of its airplanes

and to inform its personnel, or other persons who perform maintenance,

of their responsibilities regarding the performance of maintenance on

the airplane. In the proposal, the FAA required affected commuters to

comply with part 121. No comments were received on this issue and the

final rule is adopted as proposed.

Required inspection personnel. Sections 121.371 and 135.429

contain similar requirements for inspection personnel, including

provisions for specific qualifications for and supervision of an

inspection unit. Included is a requirement for listing names and

appropriate information of persons who have been trained, qualified,

and authorized to conduct required inspections. This requirement

ensures that competent and properly trained inspection personnel are

authorized to perform the required inspections. In Notice 95-5, the

FAA required affected commuters to comply with part 121. No comments

were received on this issue and the final rule is adopted as proposed.

Continuing analysis and surveillance. Section 121.373 on

continuing analysis and surveillance is almost identical to the

provisions of § 135.431. The FAA proposed that affected commuters

comply with § 121.373. Section 121.373 provides for: the

establishment by the certificate holder of a system to continually

analyze the performance and effectiveness of the programs covering

maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations; the correction

of any deficiencies in those programs; and the requirement by the

Administrator that the certificate holder make changes in either or

both of its programs if those programs do not contain adequate

procedures and standards to meet the requirements of this part. No

comments were received on this issue and the final rule is adopted as

proposed.

Maintenance and preventative maintenance training programs.

Sections 121.375 and 135.433 contain identical requirements

prescribing training programs that ensure that persons performing

maintenance or preventive maintenance functions (including inspection

personnel) are fully informed about procedures, techniques, and new

equipment in use and that those personnel are competent to perform

their required duties. The FAA proposed that operators comply with

part 121. On this issue, no comments were received and the final rule

is adopted as proposed.

Maintenance and preventive maintenance personnel duty time

limitations. Section 121.377 establishes the requirements for

maintenance personnel to be relieved from duty for a period of at

least 24 consecutive hours during any 7 consecutive days, or the

equivalent thereof within any calendar month. This requirement is for

maintenance personnel within the United States. This provision would

be a new requirement for affected commuters.

Comments: AACA states that most Alaskan certificate holders

utilize mixed fleets ranging from under 9 passenger seats, 10-19

seats, and more than 20 seats. These carriers frequently employ

maintenance personnel who are qualified to work on all the aircraft in

a particular certificate holder's fleet, regardless of the aircraft's

seating capacity. If the rule is adopted as proposed, these

certificate holders will have to schedule maintenance personnel

according to part 121 standards to avoid inadvertently violating the

maintenance personnel duty time limitations. At locations with

limited maintenance personnel and mixed fleets of 1-to-9, and 10-to-29

seat aircraft, this new requirement would place an additional

administrative scheduling burden and financial compliance cost on the

air carrier. Alternatively, an air carrier might have to develop and

apply two separate work schedules for mechanics, one for part 121

mechanics and aircraft and another for part 135 mechanics and

aircraft. AACA states that the FAA's economic analysis failed to

address any cost impacts of this requirement. AACA also asks for

guidance for those operators who employ maintenance personnel that

might work under both part 121 and part 135.

FAA Response: The existing rule requires only 24 consecutive

hours off during any 7 consecutive days. While it may have been

possible to work mechanics under part 135 7 days a week, without rest,

the FAA believes that the combination of union work rules, Department

of Labor regulations, and general practice of a day of rest each week

would, in effect, accomplish the same result as the rule.

Mechanics must receive adequate rest in order to properly perform

their duties. Prescribing a minimum standard will ensure that some

rest is provided. It would be inconsistent to require rest for the

pilots and flight attendants but not for the people responsible for

maintaining the airplane. The FAA believes that the burden of

scheduling and providing a day of rest would be minimal. Standard

time cards, a common practice, could be used to show compliance.

No FAA regulation prevents a mechanic from working for both a

part 121 and a part 135 employer when the mechanic is qualified and,

when working on airplanes operated under part 121, the certificate

holder meets the regulatory requirements of part 121 for time free

from duty.

It should also be noted that the rule allows flexibility by

requiring that a certificate holder shall relieve each person

performing maintenance or preventive maintenance from duty for at

least 24 consecutive hours during any 7 consecutive days, "or the

equivalent thereof within any calendar month."

The final rule is adopted as proposed.

Certificate Requirements. Sections 121.378 and 135.435 contain

identical requirements specifying that each person, other than a

repair station certificated under the provisions of subpart C of part

145, who is directly in charge of maintenance, preventive maintenance,

or alterations, and each person performing required inspections, hold

an appropriate airman certificate. The FAA proposed that affected

commuters comply with part 121. No comments were received on this

issue and the final rule is adopted as proposed.

Authority to perform and approve maintenance, preventative

maintenance, and alterations. Sections 121.379 and 135.437 contain

similar requirements allowing certificate holders to perform or make

arrangements with other persons to perform maintenance, preventive

maintenance, and alterations as provided in its continuous

airworthiness maintenance program and its manual. In addition, a

certificate holder may perform these functions for another certificate

holder. The rules require that all major repairs and alterations must

have been accomplished with data approved by the Administrator. The

FAA proposed that affected commuters comply with part 121. No

comments were received on this issue and the final rule is adopted as

proposed.

Maintenance recording requirements. Section 121.380 provides

for the preparation, maintenance, and retention of certain records

using the system specified in the certificate holder's manual. The

rule also specifies the length of time that the records must be

retained and requires that the records be transferred with the

airplane at the time it is sold. A small change was proposed to

§ 121.380(a)(2) to accommodate propeller-driven airplanes used by some

affected commuters and to

§ 121.380(a)(2)(v) to adopt the language found in § 135.439(a)(2)(v)

to provide more complete records on airworthiness directive

compliance.

Comments: Zantop International Airlines, Inc. (a current part

121 certificate holder) objects to the proposed change to

§ 121.380(a)(2)(i) that would add engine and propeller total time in

service to the list of items that must be recorded. Zantop says that

the engine and propeller requirement is new for them and that the

aircraft (airframe) total hours in service is the only time

transferred on many of its older aircraft. The new requirement would

result in searching maintenance records to determine the historical

time on the engine and propeller. In some cases this information may

not be available. Zantop recommends that an exemption be provided for

older aircraft or that these records only be required for future

certifications.

FAA Response: Although current § 121.380(a)(2)(i) does not

specifically call for total time in-service records of engines or

propellers, it does require a record of life-limited parts for these

components. The only way to accomplish this is by keeping records for

total time in service. Total time in service records may consist of

aircraft maintenance record pages, separate component cards or pages,

a computer list, or other methods as described in the applicant's

manual.

Tracing a life-limited part back to its origin would be required

only in those situations where the certificate holder's records are so

incomplete that an accurate determination of the time elapsed on the

life-limited part could not be made.

The part 135 certificate holders moving to part 121 will have no

impact from this rule, since they are already tracking airframe,

engine, and propeller time under § 135.439(a)(2)(i).

The airframe, engine, and propeller information is helpful in

tracking airworthiness directive compliance and life limits for life-

limited parts. It also standardizes language between part 135 and

part 121. The FAA believes that at least some of the current part

121 certificate holders have the information in existing required

records in order to show compliance with life-limited components.

However, the FAA has decided to allow current part 121 operators some

time to come into compliance with the requirements for recording total

time for engines and propellers. The final rule for § 121.380 has

been revised accordingly.

Transfer of maintenance records. Section 121.380a requires the

certificate holder to transfer certain maintenance records to the

purchaser at the time of the sale, either in plain language form or in

coded form. This section is worded the same as § 135.441 except

that the part 121 provision allows the purchaser to select the format

of the transferred records. Notice 95-5 specified that affected

commuters comply with part 121. No comments were received on this

issue and the final rule is adopted as proposed.