Task I.B
Airworthiness Requirements
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with airworthiness requirements, including airplane certificates.
References: 14 CFR parts 39, 43, 91; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25
Quick Review
The PIC must determine the aircraft is airworthy before every flight. "Airworthy" means it conforms to its type certificate and is in condition for safe operation.
No. A standard certificate stays valid as long as the aircraft is maintained and inspected per regulation, conforms to its type certificate, and registration is valid (91.7).
Yes: for most light aircraft built after 1975 the POH is the FAA-designated AFM, and you must operate within it, its markings, and placards (91.9).
Owner/operator: responsible for maintenance and inspections (91.403). PIC: responsible for determining the aircraft is airworthy before each flight, and must discontinue flight if it becomes unairworthy (91.7).
After 1 hour of cumulative use, or when half its useful life has expired (91.207(c)).
Annual: no. The only way past it is a special flight permit from the FSDO.
100-hour: may be exceeded by up to 10 hours, and only to reach a place where the inspection can be done; the overage comes off the next interval.
An annual can substitute for a 100-hour, but not the reverse (91.409).
An FAA order to correct a known unsafe condition; compliance is mandatory and recorded. Three types (PHAK ch 9):
- Emergency: comply before further flight
- One-time
- Recurring: comply at the specified interval
I work the decision ladder in order; the item must not be required by any layer:
- MEL: if one exists, it controls
- KOEL: Kinds of Operations Equipment List in the POH
- TCDS: Type Certificate Data Sheet
- STC: requirements from any installed STC
- 91.205: day/night VFR minimum equipment
- Any other regulation that applies (ADs, the operation)
- PIC decision: legal still has to be safe
If nothing requires it: deactivate or remove it, placard it "INOP", and a pilot or mechanic determines it's safe (91.213(d)).
Authorizes flying an aircraft that doesn't currently meet airworthiness requirements but is safe to fly, to a place of repair (Part 21, via 91.213/91.407).
Deep Dive
ARROW, extended: the PECS additions
PECS extends ARROW with four more things that belong in (or on) the airplane. Examiners love these because most applicants stop at ARROW.
Two more ARROW details:
- The radio station license for international flight isn't the whole story. The pilot also needs a restricted radiotelephone operator permit for international operations.
- What actually makes the Airworthiness Certificate keep working: the aircraft conforms to its type design, the required inspections are current, and previous maintenance was properly completed and signed off.
Annual: an A&P mechanic holding an Inspection Authorization (IA). 100-hour: any licensed A&P (91.409).
No, never. ADs split into urgent and non-urgent: emergency ADs must be complied with before further flight; the rest by their stated deadline or interval. There is no 10-hour grace like the 100-hour, and no ferry-permit workaround for an emergency AD (PHAK ch 8).
It depends on the airplane, not the flight.
- The checkride itself isn't flight instruction for hire, but 91.409(b) attaches to how the aircraft is used: a school or club airplane provided for instruction for hire must be within its 100-hour no matter what today's flight is.
- So for the typical applicant in a rental trainer, yes: verify it's current.
- The 10-hour overfly allowance only permits flying to reach the place of inspection; it doesn't cover a checkride.
- An owner-flown airplane never operated for hire genuinely needs only the annual.
Yes. The 91.207(f) exception that excuses training flights within 50 NM of the departure airport doesn't help here: a checkride is not training, so the ELT must be installed and current. One more detail: the half-of-battery-useful-life date is recorded by the mechanic in the maintenance logs, so that's where you go to prove ELT battery status.
Three separate logbooks:
- Airframe
- Engine
- Propeller
Inspections and AD compliance get signed off in the applicable log.
SAIBs and service bulletins
A SAIB (Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin) is an FAA-issued, non-regulatory advisory; compliance is voluntary. Manufacturer service bulletins are the factory's equivalent recommendation. Either one can be the precursor to an AD if the FAA later decides the issue is a genuine unsafe condition, which is why smart owners read them even though Part 91 operators aren't required to comply.
The inop-equipment decision ladder
Work the decision in this order when something is broken. It's a great oral answer because it distinguishes four documents people constantly confuse:
- MEL: Minimum Equipment List, an FAA-approved, aircraft-specific list of what may be inoperative. You don't get one automatically; you have to request it, and changes require sending the FAA a letter with a proposed MEL based on the Master MEL.
- KOEL: Kinds of Operations Equipment List, in the POH: what the manufacturer requires for each kind of operation (day VFR, night VFR, IFR).
- TCDS: Type Certificate Data Sheet, the aircraft's "birth certificate": the certification basis and equipment the type certificate requires (maintenance-side document).
- STC: Supplemental Type Certificate. Any modification installed under an STC can carry its own equipment requirements.
- 91.205: the day/night VFR minimum equipment regs.
- Any other regulation that applies (ADs, the operation being flown).
- PIC decision: even if everything above says legal, I still decide whether it's safe.
If the item isn't required by any of those layers, deactivate or remove it and placard it INOP, and note it in the logs.
When is it required? Only for night operations for hire (including instruction for hire). A casual personal night flight doesn't legally need it, though flying at night without one is a judgment call I'd think hard about.
If not required: deactivate or remove it and placard it inoperative. Deactivating can be as simple as pulling and collaring the circuit breaker. Depending on what the fix involves, either a mechanic or the pilot does the deactivation.
One FLAPS footnote: the spare "fuses" requirement is satisfied by circuit breakers in modern aircraft.
DAR and the ferry permit
Get a special flight (ferry) permit so the airplane can legally fly to where repairs can be made. The path:
- Contact the FSDO
- They connect you with a DAR (Designated Airworthiness Representative), a private individual the FAA appoints to act on its behalf (the permit can also be issued directly by the FAA)
- The DAR issues the ferry permit
Official ACS elementsreference
Knowledge13 elements
The applicant demonstrates understanding of:
PA.I.B.K1General airworthiness requirements and compliance for airplanes, including:PA.I.B.K1aa. Location and expiration dates of required aircraft certificatesPA.I.B.K1bb. Required inspections and airplane logbook documentationPA.I.B.K1cc. Airworthiness Directives and Special Airworthiness Information BulletinsPA.I.B.K1dd. Purpose and procedure for obtaining a special flight permitPA.I.B.K1ee. Owner/Operator and pilot-in-command responsibilitiesPA.I.B.K2Pilot-performed preventive maintenance.PA.I.B.K3Equipment requirements for day and night VFR flight, including:PA.I.B.K3aa. Flying with inoperative equipmentPA.I.B.K3bb. Using an approved Minimum Equipment List (MEL)PA.I.B.K3cc. Kinds of Operation Equipment List (KOEL)PA.I.B.K3dd. Required discrepancy records or placardsPA.I.B.K4Standard and special airworthiness certificates and their associated operational limitations.
Risk Management1 element
The applicant is able to identify, assess, and mitigate risk associated with:
PA.I.B.R1Inoperative equipment discovered prior to flight.
Skills3 elements
The applicant exhibits the skill to:
PA.I.B.S1Locate and describe airplane airworthiness and registration information.PA.I.B.S2Determine the airplane is airworthy in the scenario given by the evaluator.PA.I.B.S3Apply appropriate procedures for operating with inoperative equipment in the scenario given by the evaluator.