Page 35 - Volume 21 Number 11

Because maintaining an aircraft is an expensive proposition, aircraft owners often ask their aircraft maintenance providers to defer noncritical maintenance items. However, putting off minor issues can sometimes lead to bigger (and perhaps dangerous) problems down the road.
Give Me A Break
Outside of the above conditions, section 91.213 addresses inoperative equipment and provides relief from section 91.205 through the use of an FAA approved MEL. The MEL allows flight with components either inoperative or degraded. It’s aircraft-specific and spells out which equipment may be inoperative along with procedures required to operate under very specific conditions while maintaining airworthiness. If a component is not listed in the MEL, the item should be considered as required: the wings, landing gear and motors are obvious examples. The MEL will list actions and procedures that must be accomplished by the Operator “(O),”
Maintenance “(M)” and Dispatch “(D)” to use the relief provided by the MEL.
Technician) in an uncomfortable position of not only liability, but morality. The maintenance shop I use has encountered many owners experiencing this conundrum and asked me to write an article emphasizing the importance and long-term value in keeping up with both large and small maintenance needs. Maybe they were trying to tell me something.
You Can’t Make Me
While some shops may require that service bulletins (SB’s) are met and recommended overhaul times for components are not exceeded, only AD’s (Airworthiness Directives) and mandatory inspections, whether accomplished every 100 hours, on a progressive schedule, or as an annual inspection, are required by the FAR’s. Company flight departments or insurance companies may impose additional compliance conditions.
However, even if found during a mandatory inspection, the FAA allows us to defer some of the non-airworthy items our shop may uncover. Title 14 CFR section 91.205 lists the aircraft equipment and instruments that must be installed and requires the instruments and equipment to be in an operable condition. For example, if you don’t have an MEL and CDL (Minimum Equipment List and Configuration Deviation List, discussed shortly), you may only fly with certain instruments inoperative, provided that:
• The inoperative instruments are not basic VFR-day instruments that were required to get the aircraft certified in the first place;
• The inoperative instruments are not listed in the aircraft’s equipment list, such as stall warning horns or other items listed in the type certificate or items required for the type of f lying you’re about to do (such as lighting for night f lying);
• The required instruments are not required by an AD;
• Theinoperativeinstrumentsaredeactivated,clearlymarked as inop and are recorded in the maintenance records.
Another avenue in which we may continue to fly with missing pieces-parts is the CDL (Configuration Deviation List). Examples of CDL items are missing vortex generators, static discharge wicks or fairings and panels. For large aircraft, a separate NEF list (Nonessential Equipment Furnishings) may include things like window shades or galley equipment. However, when multiple operators discover an operational issue or defect with a critical
Arizona Type Ratings Quarter Page 4/C Ad
www.arizonatyperatings.com
November 2017 TWIN & TURBINE • 33