Avionics News March 2023 - 16

F R O M R I C
P E R I
AE A VICE PRE SIDEN T OF GOVERNMEN T & INDUS TR Y AFFAIR S
The Aircraft Electronics Association's international membership continues to grow. Currently, the AEA
represents avionics businesses in more than 40 countries throughout the world. To better serve the needs of the
AEA's international membership, the " International News and Regulatory Updates " section of Avionics News
offers a greater focus on international regulatory activity, international industry news and an international
" Frequently Asked Questions " column to help promote standardization. If you have comments about this
section, send emails to avionicsnews@aea.net.
UNITED STATES
News & Regulatory Updates
FAA extends comment period
for SMS proposal
The comment period for the notice of proposed
rulemaking published Jan. 11, 2023, at 88 FR 1932,
and scheduled to close March 13 is extended until
April 11.
As previously reported in the February edition of
Avionics News:
The Federal Aviation Administration proposes
to update and expand the requirements for safety
management systems and require certain certificate
holders and commercial air tour operators to develop
and implement an SMS. This proposed rule would
extend the requirement for an SMS to all certificate
holders operating under the rules for commuter and
on-demand operations, commercial air tour operators,
production certificate holders that are holders or
licensees of a type certificate for the same product,
and holders of a TC who license out that TC for production.
Noticeably absent from the proposal is any
direct requirement for Part 145 repair stations.
Part 5 currently applies only to persons authorized
to conduct operations under Part 121. The FAA
proposes to amend § 5.1 and expand the applicability
of Part 5 to: (1) any person authorized or applying
16 avionics news * march 2023
to conduct operations under Part 135 or § 91.147;
(2) any person who holds or applies for a PC issued
under Part 21 for a product for which they are the TC
holder or licensee; and (3) TC holders who license the
TC for production.
Included in section C: Request for Comments, the
FAA asks the following questions applicable to repair
stations:
(9) The FAA seeks comments and information
regarding expanding the applicability of Part 5
in the future. Should the FAA consider a future
rulemaking project to expand the applicability
of Part 5 to include repair stations certificated
under Part 145?
Repair stations perform a wide range of repair
and maintenance work on an equally wide range
of aircraft and components. Some repair stations
do not perform work on aircraft used for
passenger-carrying operations. Should the FAA
consider applying Part 5 to all certificated Part
145 repair stations?
Should applicability be limited to a subset
of Part 145 repair stations? The FAA seeks
information and supporting data regarding how
the applicability should be limited to a subset
(i.e., to which repair stations should Part 5 be
applicable).
For more information, listen to AEA Amplified
podcast episode 27 on the SMS NPRM at
aea.net/podcast. q

http://www.aea.net/podcast

Avionics News March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2023