FAA updates certification rules for aviation products and parts
19-Oct-2009 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published new regulations for manufacturers of aircraft and aviation products that will update and standardize FAA requirements to better align them with the current global manufacturing environment.
"We want to make sure that all aircraft and parts designed for them meet the highest standards no matter where they are manufactured or who makes them," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "These changes to our certification rules will help us do that."
The aircraft manufacturing industry has evolved significantly over the past several decades. The FAA first issued most of its certification rules in 1964, when a typical business model involved many aircraft manufacturers with relatively few suppliers. Today, there are fewer manufacturers, but the number of suppliers has increased. Many of those suppliers are located outside the United States and build much larger portions of the aircraft than in earlier years.
The major changes to the regulations include:
* Standardization of quality control system requirements for all aviation manufacturers.
* Updated export requirements to facilitate global acceptance and documentation of parts.
* Standardization of part?marking and identification requirements so they align with other countries' rules, and consolidation of the requirements into one regulation.
* Updated and standardized language in the regulations for production approvals, exporting and identification marking.