Airline Equipment Maint Inspections, Frequency?

D_C71

D_C71

Filing Flight Plan
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D_C
I just attended a Ground School class (CFI) last week. My classroom ground instructor for the day was good, and seemed knowledgeable.

We were discussing "Required Inspection Periods," and the usual "100-Hour," "Annual," etc. We got into MEL's (Minimum Equipment Lists) and how Airlines handle inspections.

In earlier classroom and ground instruction elsewhere, I was led to believe that Regional and Major Carrier Airlines operated under "different" inspection rules than the common commercial "100-hour" and "Annual" inspection periods.

I had heard, that inspection-periods for various components, structures, etc, were inspected based on studies and negotiated-agreements between Aircraft-Manufacturers, Operators/Airlines and the FAA.

This classroom ground instructor was adamant that Airliners, owned / operated by major air carriers, required the same 100-hour and Annual inspections, as would a common Cessna 172 used at a flight-school.

Is he right?

If not, where might I locate "evidence to the contrary" on the internet?

Would like to know one way or the other.

Thanks.
 
You may be thinking of a progressive inspection, for part 91 ops it's described in 91.409. I'm not sure about 121 ops but I assume with their level of utilization progressives would be preferred.

Joe
 
D_C71 said:
I just attended a Ground School class (CFI) last week. My classroom ground instructor for the day was good, and seemed knowledgeable.

We were discussing "Required Inspection Periods," and the usual "100-Hour," "Annual," etc. We got into MEL's (Minimum Equipment Lists) and how Airlines handle inspections.

In earlier classroom and ground instruction elsewhere, I was led to believe that Regional and Major Carrier Airlines operated under "different" inspection rules than the common commercial "100-hour" and "Annual" inspection periods.

I had heard, that inspection-periods for various components, structures, etc, were inspected based on studies and negotiated-agreements between Aircraft-Manufacturers, Operators/Airlines and the FAA.

This classroom ground instructor was adamant that Airliners, owned / operated by major air carriers, required the same 100-hour and Annual inspections, as would a common Cessna 172 used at a flight-school.
Is he right?

If not, where might I locate "evidence to the contrary" on the internet?

Would like to know one way or the other.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The ground instructor is wrong and should know better if he holds an A&P.

§ 91.409 Inspections.


(2) An aircraft inspected in accordance with an approved aircraft inspection program under part 125 or 135 of this chapter and so identified by the registration number in the operations specifications of the certificate holder having the approved inspection program;

(e) Large airplanes (to which part 125 is not applicable), turbojet multiengine airplanes, turbopropeller-powered multiengine airplanes, and turbine-powered rotorcraft. No person may operate a large airplane, turbojet multiengine airplane, turbopropeller-powered multiengine airplane, or turbine-powered rotorcraft unless the replacement times for life-limited parts specified in the aircraft specifications, type data sheets, or other documents approved by the Administrator are complied with and the airplane or turbine-powered rotorcraft, including the airframe, engines, propellers, rotors, appliances, survival equipment, and emergency equipment, is inspected in accordance with an inspection program selected under the provisions of paragraph (f) of this section, except that, the owner or operator of a turbine-powered rotorcraft may elect to use the inspection provisions of §91.409(a), (b), (c), or (d) in lieu of an inspection option of §91.409(f).
(f) Selection of inspection program under paragraph (e) of this section. The registered owner or operator of each airplane or turbine-powered rotorcraft described in paragraph (e) of this section must select, identify in the aircraft maintenance records, and use one of the following programs for the inspection of the aircraft:
(1) A continuous airworthiness inspection program that is part of a continuous airworthiness maintenance program currently in use by a person holding an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate issued under part 121 or 135 of this chapter and operating that make and model aircraft under part 121 of this chapter or operating that make and model under part 135 of this chapter and maintaining it under §135.411(a)(2) of this chapter.
(2) An approved aircraft inspection program approved under §135.419 of this chapter and currently in use by a person holding an operating certificate issued under part 135 of this chapter.
(3) A current inspection program recommended by the manufacturer.
(4) Any other inspection program established by the registered owner or operator of that airplane or turbine-powered rotorcraft and approved by the Administrator under paragraph (g) of this section. However, the Administrator may require revision of this inspection program in accordance with the provisions of §91.415.
Each operator shall include in the selected program the name and address of the person responsible for scheduling the inspections required by the program and make a copy of that program available to the person performing inspections on the aircraft and, upon request, to the Administrator.
(g) Inspection program approved under paragraph (e) of this section. Each operator of an airplane or turbine-powered rotorcraft desiring to establish or change an approved inspection program under paragraph (f)(4) of this section must submit the program for approval to the local FAA Flight Standards district office having jurisdiction over the area in which the aircraft is based. The program must be in writing and include at least the following information:
(1) Instructions and procedures for the conduct of inspections for the particular make and model airplane or turbine-powered rotorcraft, including necessary tests and checks. The instructions and procedures must set forth in detail the parts and areas of the airframe, engines, propellers, rotors, and appliances, including survival and emergency equipment required to be inspected.
(2) A schedule for performing the inspections that must be performed under the program expressed in terms of the time in service, calendar time, number of system operations, or any combination of these.
(h) Changes from one inspection program to another. When an operator changes from one inspection program under paragraph (f) of this section to another, the time in service, calendar times, or cycles of operation accumulated under the previous program must be applied in determining inspection due times under the new program.


Transport Category aircraft have maintenance intervals set out by the manufacturer. This is a "progressive" inspection and can vary depending upon the make and model of the aircraft. Intervals are determined by calendar time, hours flown or cycles, or a combination of the above.

As an example a Boeing 727 has an "A", "B", "C" and "D" inspection. The "A" inspection covers A1 through A12 done at 150 hour intervals and covering different areas for each inspection. Some carriers do them at 100 hour, some are approved for 150 hour. The "B" inspection is more detailed and done at another preset time interval. The "C" check is very extensive usually requiring the aircraft to be in the hangar for about a month. If my memory serves me correctly "C" checks are done every 24 months. The C check is kinda like a big annual inspection.

The big one is the "D" check. During this inspection the aircraft is literally disassembled and rebuilt including a complete strip and paint of everything, skin x-rays, landing gear rebuild, control surface rework, fuel system rework, etc,etc. This one usually takes 2 to 3 months to accomplish. If I remember correctly the D check is done every 5 years or number of cycles.

Landing gear have overhaul intervals, as does the APU. Engines are maintained on condition and no specified overhaul times, so it's not uncommon to see an engine with 20,000 hours.

Cessna Citations have 1 through 5 inspections. Someone familiar with business jets can tell you more about their maintenance plans.
 
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Appreciate the replies and info. "Progressive Inspections" sounds familiar to me from my earlier classroom training and (some) A & P classes I took a few years back.

Thanks Again. Now I just need to (diplomatically) present this info to that instructor.

DC
 
Rotor&Wing said:
Cessna Citations have 1 through 5 inspections. Someone familiar with business jets can tell you more about their maintenance plans.
Click to expand...
Here is one for a Citation 680. I went to the maintenance presentation at delivery and for someone who has no maintenance background I was astonished as all the recordkeeping required.

Sovereign (680) Maintenance Guide
 
D_C71 said:
IThis classroom ground instructor was adamant that Airliners, owned / operated by major air carriers, required the same 100-hour and Annual inspections, as would a common Cessna 172 used at a flight-school.

Is he right?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

NO, he is not correct.

see FAR part 121 and 125

This part prescribes rules governing

PART 121--OPERATING REQUIREMENTS: DOMESTIC, FLAG, AND SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATIONS

(a) The domestic, flag, and supplemental operations of each person who holds or is required to hold an Air Carrier Certificate or Operating Certificate under part 119 of this chapter.

(b) Each person employed or used by a certificate holder conducting operations under this part including maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alteration of aircraft.

(c) Each person who applies for provisional approval of an Advanced Qualification Program curriculum, curriculum segment, or portion of a curriculum segment under SFAR No. 58 of 14 CFR part 121, and each person employed or used by an air carrier or commercial operator under this part to perform training, qualification, or evaluation functions under an Advanced Qualification Program under SFAR No. 58 of 14 CFR part 121.

(d) Nonstop Commercial Air Tours conducted for compensation or hire in accordance with §119.1(e)(2) of this chapter must comply with drug and alcohol requirements in §§121.455, 121.457, 121.458 and 121.459, and with the provisions of part 136, subpart A of this chapter by September 11, 2007. An operator who does not hold an air carrier certificate or an operating certificate is permitted to use a person who is otherwise authorized to perform aircraft maintenance or preventive maintenance duties and who is not subject to anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention programs to perform—

(1) Aircraft maintenance or preventive maintenance on the operator's aircraft if the operator would otherwise be required to transport the aircraft more than 50 nautical miles further than the repair point closest to the operator's principal base of operations to obtain these services; or

(2) Emergency repairs on the operator's aircraft if the aircraft cannot be safely operated to a location where an employee subject to FAA-approved programs can perform the repairs.

(e) Each person who is on board an aircraft being operated under this part.

(f) Each person who is an applicant for an Air Carrier Certificate or an Operating Certificate under part 119 of this chapter, when conducting proving tests.

(g) This part also establishes requirements for operators to take actions to support the continued airworthiness of each airplane.

or

PART 125--CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS: AIRPLANES HAVING A SEATING CAPACITY OF 20 OR MORE PASSENGERS OR A MAXIMUM PAYLOAD CAPACITY OF 6,000 POUNDS OR MORE; AND RULES GOVERNING PERSONS ON BOARD SUCH AIRCRAFT

§ 125.1 Applicability.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this section, this part prescribes rules governing the operations of U.S.-registered civil airplanes which have a seating configuration of 20 or more passengers or a maximum payload capacity of 6,000 pounds or more when common carriage is not involved.

(b) The rules of this part do not apply to the operations of airplanes specified in paragraph (a) of this section, when—

(1) They are required to be operated under part 121, 129, 135, or 137 of this chapter;

(2) They have been issued restricted, limited, or provisional airworthiness certificates, special flight permits, or experimental certificates;

(3) They are being operated by a part 125 certificate holder without carrying passengers or cargo under part 91 for training, ferrying, positioning, or maintenance purposes;

(4) They are being operated under part 91 by an operator certificated to operate those airplanes under the rules of parts 121, 135, or 137 of this chapter, they are being operated under the applicable rules of part 121 or part 135 of this chapter by an applicant for a certificate under part 119 of this chapter or they are being operated by a foreign air carrier or a foreign person engaged in common carriage solely outside the United States under part 91 of this chapter;

(5) They are being operated under a deviation authority issued under §125.3;

(6) They are being operated under part 91, subpart K by a fractional owner as defined in §91.1001 of this chapter; or

(7) They are being operated by a fractional ownership program manager as defined in §91.1001 of this chapter, for training, ferrying, positioning, maintenance, or demonstration purposes under part 91 of this chapter and without carrying passengers or cargo for compensation or hire except as permitted for demonstration flights under §91.501(b)(3) of this chapter.

(c) The rules of this part, except §125.247, do not apply to the operation of airplanes specified in paragraph (a) when they are operated outside the United States by a person who is not a citizen of the United States.

(d) The provisions of this part apply to each person on board an aircraft being operated under this part, unless otherwise specified.

(e) This part also establishes requirements for operators to take actions to support the continued airworthiness of each airplane.

Contnued airworthiness is not a progressive inspection, it is a program that is taylored to each operator, and approved by the FAA. this may be any thing that the FAA wants, such as mentioned above.

Flight schools on the other hand operate under FAR part 141.

141.1 Applicability.
This part prescribes the requirements for issuing pilot school certificates, provisional pilot school certificates, and associated ratings, and the general operating rules applicable to a holder of a certificate or rating issued under this part.

In that certificate, is a section dictating what maintenance standard will apply.
 
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Rotor&Wing said:
The ground instructor is wrong and should know better if he holds an A&P.

Or if he can read the regs
Click to expand...

see FAR part 121/125 &141

FAR part 91 does not apply.
 
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