FAA Opens Discussion at AVIATION WEEK's MRO Conference

AD compliance, safety, self-disclosure examined by FAA's Jim Ballough, John Hickey

By AVIATION WEEK

    --  AD compliance issues related to the FAA-mandated audit fall into three
        categories: 1) outright non-compliance for which aircraft are
        grounded; 2) perceived compliance, but poor workmanship, which could
        cause issues such as chafing of the wiring that could result in
        mandatory groundings; 3) basic compliance, but slight deviations in
        application need to be examined. Once an issue has been identified,
        airlines should not continue to operate affected aircraft, said the
        FAA.
    --  The FAA maintains that overall compliance is at 99%, but airlines are
        uneasy about the remaining 1%. "We're just wondering what's going to
        happen next," says Oliver Martins, American Airlines' engineering,
        planning and quality assurance chief (Aviation Week & Space
        Technology, Apr. 21, p. 23).
    --  The FAA is reviewing its AD and self-disclosure processes to see how
        they can be improved to minimize ambiguities. As in the past, it
        continues to work with suppliers and airlines during this review.
    --  Companies should implement SMS and known best practices to internally
        evaluate themselves and ensure safety.
    --  The FAA is reviewing its oversight of suppliers and the routing of
        Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUPs). Both may result in further hearings
        from Congress in months to come.

For current figures, data and projections related to MRO, the following PowerPoints from the "Forecast and Survey Presentations" session on Tuesday, April 15, are available on AviationWeek.com:

    --  Chris Doan, president & CEO, TeamSAI, Inc.
    --  Kevin Michaels, principal, AeroStrategy
    --  Chris Spafford, partner in Oliver Wyman's Aviation practice and co
        president for CAVOK, a division of Oliver Wyman

For the latest aviation, aerospace and defense news, and for more information on the MRO North America 2008 Conference & Exhibition including photos, blogs and videos, visit AviationWeek.com. Full coverage of the conference will also be available in the June 2008 issue of Overhaul & Maintenance.

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SOURCE AVIATION WEEK