FAA Attempts to Loosen Grip on Abandoned Vintage Aircraft Data

[Guest Chainsaw]

EAA, VAA Efforts Lead to Potential Relief for Owners and RestorersEAA and the Vintage Aircraft Association have been working for years to unlock the regulatory vault that holds the orphaned aircraft data necessary to maintain vintage aircraft, and it appears those efforts could soon begin to pay off.

 

In its proposed reauthorization bill to Congress the FAA has proposed legislation that would allow the release of abandoned type certificate (TC) or supplemental type certificate data (including blueprints) to individuals upon request, so they can maintain the airworthiness of their vintage aircraft. This would remedy the current “Catch-22†surrounding orphaned TCs, where owners are legally required to maintain and modify their aircraft using approved data, even though the data is unavailable because the owner of the type certificate cannot be found or is no longer in existence.

 

The legislation would provide authority to the Administrator to release engineering data possessed by the FAA related to an abandoned type certificate or supplemental type certificate for an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance to a 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. This is a direct result of EAA and VAA’s ongoing dialogue with the senior FAA management team and has been the topic of considerable examination in recent years at the annual EAA/FAA Winter Recreational Aviation Summit held in Oshkosh..

 

EAA and VAA are pleased to see some progress after years of work on this complicated issue. “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. “In response to long-standing requests from EAA, the FAA had attempted to develop a legal process that would allow them to release data from type certificates that were obviously abandoned. But existing laws restricted FAA’s ability to release such data because it was deemed to be intellectual property even though the owner of record had long since ceased to exist. This proposed legislation will go a long way toward helping owners and mechanics gather the information they need to maintain these historic aircraft.â€

 

Data could be released provided the following circumstances are met: 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. “We in no way want to harm any individual or company economically through this proposal. 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. If it is not available for legal reasons, the owner is genuinely caught between a rock and a hard place and indeed safety is ultimately compromised.

 

“This proposal is an excellent start, but is by no means the complete solution to the data availability problem for older aircraft,†Frautschy continued. Specifically, when known type certificate 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.â€

 

EAA and VAA will inform their members of the legislation’s specifics when the Bush Administration’s budget request to Congress is made public in the coming weeks. Members from both organizations will be encouraged to help support this legislation by contacting their congressional representatives when bill numbers and specific legislation become available.

http://www.vintageaircraft.org/news/200 ... 0Data.html