Aircraft owners can relate to the fear that develops each time our mail contains that official correspondence from the Department of Transportation. All of us dread opening the envelope that contains an airworthiness directive (AD) from the FAA, and then are puzzled as to whether or not it applies to the model and serial number of aircraft we own. I have always said that there is no such thing as an old airplane; there are merely old airframes with a collection of new parts.
Often these ADs pertain to a particular part that may or may not have been installed. AOPA has continually pursued the highest safety levels for aircraft airworthiness—at a reasonable and affordable cost. As the aircraft fleet continues to age, it seems that the FAA issues ADs more and more frequently. Don't think that you are immune to the AD infliction if you are a renter. Often aircraft are taken out of service for compliance, and when high-cost ADs are issued, the hourly rental rate usually is increased. AOPA strives to maintain a critical balance between safety and economic impact, often relying on the technical expertise of aircraft type clubs and the real-world experience of aircraft owners, operators, and mechanics in the formulation of our comments.
This informal coordination between the FAA, AOPA, aircraft type clubs, and aircraft owners and operators during the development of an AD has created a vital communications pipeline between the FAA and you, the members of the GA community. This new informational conduit, although not yet official, has already had a profound positive impact on the FAA's more recent ADs.
Most notable of these was the recent turbocharged twin Cessna exhaust AD. Based on some manufacturer recommendations and other service information, the FAA proposed an AD with some particularly onerous provisions. Some speculated that the cost of complying with the proposed AD could force a number of aircraft owners to scrap their aircraft.
AOPA immediately went to work by sending an action alert to every registered owner of a turbocharged twin Cessna on the public record. As a result, AOPA received more than 200 comments to the FAA's AD proposal. These comments provided a wealth of information regarding the true economic impact of the proposal, and offered several alternative means of compliance that were much more logistically feasible—and much more affordable. AOPA also enlisted the help of the Cessna Pilots Association. The technical expertise of this aircraft type club proved invaluable, and ultimately produced an alternative means of AD compliance that addressed the FAA's safety concerns and substantially reduced the economic impact of the AD.
We've recently experienced similar successes with other aircraft type clubs as well. The American Champion wing spar AD is an excellent example of when the common-sense suggestions of aircraft type clubs led to vast improvements in an AD's provisions—and a significant reduction in the cost of AD compliance. The practical suggestions of the Citabria Owners Group and the National Aeronca Association saved owners of affected aircraft the pain and expense of unnecessarily installing several additional inspection panels on their wings. Their comments also resulted in the incorporation of a much less invasive inspection procedure into the final AD.
AOPA has been working diligently over the past several months to formalize this new informational conduit (dubbed the AD coordination process) in an effort to make it a part of official FAA policy. It's been a collaborative effort involving owner organizations such as AOPA and EAA, type clubs such as the Citabria Owners Group and Cessna Pilots Association, and many people from various departments within the FAA. I'm proud to report that this effort is rapidly nearing completion. This month your association will host a working session to solicit comments from the type clubs and negotiate with the FAA the final changes to the document. If all goes as planned, the AD coordination process may be a reality as early as the end of July.
Once the AD coordination process is finalized, those who fly and maintain affected aircraft finally will have an official means to share their real-world experience and common-sense ideas with the FAA. For the first time in history, the GA community will be able to recommend alternative means of AD compliance before the FAA begins the rulemaking process. If the FAA recommends a procedure that isn't logistically feasible, AOPA, EAA, and the aircraft type clubs can say so before the proposed rule is published. If a manufacturer lobbies the FAA to mandate a maintenance action to remedy an airworthiness concern that we're not experiencing in the real world, the information we provide to FAA engineers will allow them to make an educated decision and take the best course of action.
The AD coordination process, once finalized, will prove especially valuable when dealing with complex problems such as the current situation involving Beech T–34 wing spars. As our fleet continues to age and manufacturers abandon type certificates or refuse to continue to provide parts and factory support (as is the case with Raytheon and the T–34), a reliable network of aircraft-specific expertise will become a necessity.
Airworthiness directives are a necessity not only for GA, but also for the safety of all flight—including air carriers. However, AOPA takes its representation seriously on behalf of its member/owners. As we've done for the past 60 years, we'll continue to pursue the highest safety levels for aircraft airworthiness—at a reasonable and affordable cost. With this important effort, perhaps all of us who own older airplanes will see fewer of those official AD letters from the government.
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