Aircraft_Maintenance_Technology_January-February_2020 - 42

ARSA INSIGHT

Airworthiness in Operation
Some form of the word "airworthy" appears exactly 100 times in 14 CFR part 91.
Who knew? It's a good bet that most aviation-savvy people in the United States
think of part 91 as the basic "rules of the road" for safe flying: Pass on the right (§
91.113(f)); no hotdogging (§ 91.303); don't be an idiot (§ 91.13); that sort of thing.

By Joseph Corrao

Joseph F. Corrao is
senior managing
attorney for Obadal,
Filler, MacLeod &
Klein, P.L.C. and vice
president of regulatory
affairs for the
Aeronautical Repair
Station Association.
He has more than 20
years of experience in
transportation policy
and legal counsel.

42

They're right. Part 91 is the basic regulatory bible
for flying throughout the aviation world, thanks to its
adoption by many nations as aviation matured. A fundamental, indispensable component of aviation safety
is airworthiness. Is it any wonder, then, that part 91 has
so much to say about that single word?
The first thing part 91 says about airworthiness is
that it's the mechanic's responsibility. No wait - that's
not right. It's the repair station's responsibility. No,
it's the FAA inspector's responsibility. Of course not!
Read the news, for gosh sake: it's the manufacturer's
responsibility!
Um ... No, that isn't right either. "The pilot in command of a civil aircraft is responsible for determining
whether that aircraft is in condition for safe flight." (§
91.7(b)) And it doesn't say which pilot; it's not just the
airline transport pilot or the commercial pilot; it's every
pilot in command. Actually, the very first thing part 91
says about airworthiness is, "No person may operate an
aircraft unless it is in an airworthy condition." (91.7(a))
That seems so obvious. Then again, I once knew a guy....

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

Another point part 91 makes about this fundamental
requirement is, "the owner or operator of an aircraft is
primarily responsible for maintaining that aircraft in
an airworthy condition...." (§ 91.403(a)). So far, owners,
operators and pilots in command all share responsibility for airworthiness. Add one more person to the list:
when a fractional ownership program aircraft is maintained under a Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance
Program (CAMP), the program manager "is primarily
responsible for ... maintaining the airworthiness of the
program aircraft, including airframes, aircraft engines,
propellers, rotors, appliances and parts." (§ 91.1413(a)).
Although operators in general are tagged with primary responsibility for maintaining the airworthiness
of their aircraft in § 91.403(a), U.S. regulations call out
some for special mention. Commuter and on-demand
commercial operators (§ 135.413(a)), operators of "commercial aircraft" with 20 or more passenger seats or a
payload capacity of 6,000 pounds or more not in common carriage (§125.243(a)) and airlines (§ 121.363(a))
all have additional requirements for establishing and

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
Aircraft_Maintenance_Technology_January-February_2020

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