Airworthiness Directive
Encyclopedia
An Airworthiness Directive (commonly abbreviated as AD) is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft
that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected.
If a certified aircraft has outstanding airworthiness directives that have not been complied with, the aircraft is not considered airworthy. Thus, it is mandatory for an aircraft operator to comply with an AD.
In detail, the purpose an AD is to notify aircraft owners:
ADs are mandatory in most jurisdictions and often contain dates or aircraft flying hours by which compliance must be completed.
ADs may be divided into two categories:
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected.
If a certified aircraft has outstanding airworthiness directives that have not been complied with, the aircraft is not considered airworthy. Thus, it is mandatory for an aircraft operator to comply with an AD.
Purpose
ADs usually result from service difficulty reporting by operators or from the results of aircraft accident investigations. They are issued either by the national civil aviation authority of the country of aircraft manufacture or of aircraft registration. When ADs are issued by the country of registration they are almost always coordinated with the civil aviation authority of the country of manufacture to ensure that conflicting ADs are not issued.In detail, the purpose an AD is to notify aircraft owners:
- that the aircraft may have an unsafe condition, or
- that the aircraft may not be in conformity with its basis of certificationType certificateA Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
or of other conditions that affect the aircraft's airworthiness, or - that there are mandatory actions that must be carried out to ensure continued safe operation, or
- that, in some urgent cases, the aircraft must not be flown until a corrective action plan is designed and carried out.
ADs are mandatory in most jurisdictions and often contain dates or aircraft flying hours by which compliance must be completed.
ADs may be divided into two categories:
- Those of an emergency nature requiring immediate compliance prior to further flight, and
- Those of a less urgent nature requiring compliance within a specified period of time.
Issuance
ADs are issued by most civil aviation regulatory authorities, including:- Civil Aviation Safety AuthorityCivil Aviation Safety AuthorityThe Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...
(Australia) - European Aviation Safety AgencyEuropean Aviation Safety AgencyThe European Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union with offices in Cologne, Germany, which has been given regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It was created on 15 July 2002, and it reached full functionality in 2008, taking over functions...
- Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation AdministrationThe Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(USA) - Transport CanadaTransport CanadaTransport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
United States
The FAA issues ADs by three different processes:- Standard AD process: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), followed by a Final Rule
- Final Rule and Request for Comments
- Emergency ADs - issued without time for comment. This is only used issued "when an unsafe condition exists that requires immediate action by an owner/operator...to rapidly correct an urgent safety of flight situation."