So, after ten years, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) finalized rules for repair stations; the congressionally-mandated ban on international business expansion can lift. How did the repair station community get itself into a position that it had to request regulations it did not want and the public did not need? The ability to get a […]

As we enter 2014, the association takes the opportunity to review the most visible contributions to its members’ continued viability during the past year. Major regulatory victories for the industry included a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clarification that a maintenance provider may restore missing part information and the withdrawal of a maintenance duty time legal […]

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) formed because of a request from ten repair stations to use the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Form 8130-3 for Department of Commerce (DOC) export purposes (instead of having to fill out a DOC form). The association’s original board and staff were dedicated to regulatory compliance issues. ARSA became known […]

According to reports, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Safety organization is operating with reduced numbers. For design and production services (Aircraft Certification Services—AIR) that means about 100 employees; for Flight Standards Services (AFS) there are about 200 personnel system-wide. AIR has not halted airworthiness directives but all other activities are virtually at a standstill. The […]

Do you know whether you are a hazardous material (hazmat) employer? If you guess at the answer and are wrong the government has multiple methods of making you understand your responsibilities. The main regulations regarding handling and transporting hazmat are contained in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 171 through 180 with additional […]

Are you in or are you out? Drug and alcohol testing under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 120 can be a complicated maze. It is a violation when you don’t put people “in the pool” (under-test) as well as when you put the wrong people “in the pool” (over-test). The “pool” is the […]

Direct involvement in the political process is a must for every business; the smaller the enterprise, the more essential the engagement with local, state, and federal officials. The association engages political figures at the federal level to ensure congressmen and senators recognize, if not understand, the basic challenges associated with aviation safety. An international organization […]

There is nothing pretty or easy about a political process that directly impacts regulations. The Office of Management and Budget, charged with making sure federal rules don’t cost too much money, usually reviews rules within a ninety-day period. Of course, in the case of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) repair station rule, the deadline has […]

I was honored to be the keynote international speaker during the first Aviation MRO Indonesia event in Jakarta. Many questioned spending forty hours in transit to attend

A company cannot survive very long without employees; the investment to ensure a viable workforce cannot be avoided.