FAA Extends Comment Period for Proposed Part 145 Rewrite

The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) announces that the Federal Aviation Administration has extended the comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking that was published on May 21, which is a proposed rewrite of Part 145. The original deadline for the comment period was set for Aug. 20, but it has now been extended until Nov. 19.

AEA joined with other associations in Washington, D.C., to put forward a unified voice and requested an extension to this critical and wide-ranging proposal regarding how AEA members operate their repair station businesses.

This proposal makes wholesale changes to the avionics industry with potentially damaging and costly repercussions. The agency proposes to remove radio and instrument ratings and allow airframe-rated repair stations to work on radio and instrument components with questionable qualifications. In addition, the proposal eliminates many of the currently utilized opportunities for mobile maintenance operations.

To help understand the scope of the FAA’s proposed significant, and what it characterizes as a potentially damaging rewrite of Part 145, the AEA has published a comparative analysis of the proposed changes to current regulatory language. Visit www.aea.net/governmentaffairs/pdf/ to view AEA’s comparative analysis. The yellow highlighted portions of the comparative analysis indicate the distinct differences between the proposed changes and current regulatory language.

Comments are due no later than Nov. 19, 2012.

AEA has played host to three webinars on this proposal. Each of the webinars is available on the member’s-only section of the AEA website.

AEA stresses that this proposal is critical, and understanding the FAA’s proposal and its intent is extremely important to the continued operation of your business. Each repair station member (including manufacturers) is encouraged to attend one of the three AEA Regional Meetings. If your attendance and participation in this discussion is simply not possible, then you are encouraged to review all three of the webinars online.

To read the NPRM visit www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-21/pdf/2012-11984.pdf