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FAA Asks To Release Vintage Aircraft Certification Data Bill Would Release Info On Abandoned Aircraft To Owners

The EAA and the Vintage
Aircraft Association (VAA) have worked for years with FAA
regulators to obtain certification data for the owners of orphaned
aircraft who need it. Now, it appears those efforts are to finally
bear fruit.

The EAA has informed ANN the FAA this year has proposed
legislation in its reauthorization bill to allow the release of
abandoned type certificate (TC) or supplemental type certificate
(STC) data (including blueprints) to individuals upon request.

The FAA issues TCs or STCs based on data such as engineering
drawings and blueprints. The feds recognize the work necessary to
generate all that data is valuable, so the FAA won't release it to
anyone except the original certificate holder(s). The problem for
vintage aircraft owners comes when they need that data to perform
maintenance or make necessary modifications to their aircraft. Even
if the certificate holder is gone or unreachable the FAA isn't
legally allowed to release the engineering data.

The legislation proposed by the FAA would provide authority to
the Administrator to release engineering data it possesses
pertaining to an abandoned TC or STC for an aircraft, engine,
propeller, or appliance to any person seeking to maintain the
airworthiness of such a product. The legislation would also allow
the release of any associated supplier-approved data for that
product.

The EAA says the proposed law comes as a direct result of EAA
and VAA's ongoing dialogue with the senior FAA management team. The
association say the subject has been the topic of considerable
examination in recent years at the annual EAA/FAA Winter
Recreational Aviation Summit held in Oshkosh.

"We appreciate the FAA's willingness to work with EAA and EAA's
Vintage Aircraft Association as we improve the safe and cost
effective maintenance of vintage aircraft," said H.G. Frautschy,
the executive director of EAA's Vintage Aircraft Association. "This
proposed legislation will go a long way toward helping owners and
mechanics gather the information they need to maintain these
historic aircraft."

Under the proposal, data could be released under the following
conditions: The certificate containing the requested data is
inactive for at least three years; the TC owner of record, or the
owner of record's heir, cannot not be located; and the designation
of such data as public data will enhance aviation safety.

"Clearly, we do not want to impinge on the legitimate and legal
right of a TC or STC owner to maintain their data as proprietary
information and profit from that data provided they continue to
support the product," Frautschy explained. "However, for those
corporate entities that have been defunct for what is often
decades, and are no longer providing support to the owners of their
products, it falls squarely on the vintage aircraft owner to
maintain their aircraft in accordance with that original
engineering data."

Frautschy was quick to point out the FAA's proposal is only a
start. He says when known TC holders are unwilling to release
maintenance-related data, vintage aircraft owners receive no
Continued Operational Safety (COS) support of the Type Certificate,
as required by FAR 23.1529 and Appendix G to Part 23.

"EAA and it's Vintage
Aircraft Association will continue to work with the FAA and
Congress on this issue as they have recognized the difficulty
mechanics, restorers and owners have encountered while diligently
attempting to maintain vintage aircraft to their Type Certificate
requirements."

Both the EAA and VAA are encouraging their memberships to
contact their congressional representatives and urge support for
the proposal. Information regarding bill numbers and specifics will
be available on the websites for both organizations when it becomes
available.
FMI: www.eaa.org, www.vintageaircraft.org