Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Gordon Gilbert

The U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General Office (DOT IG) has launched the third in a series of&nbsp;audits&nbsp;to assess how consistently the FAA interprets and applies policy regarding supplemental type certificates, repair stations, and technical standards orders. The audits were mandated under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
According to the FAA, the agency oversees more than 5,000 certificated repair stations domestically and internationally. While the agency's repair station certification procedures are standardized, individual FAA offices may interpret standards, which include orders, guidance, and regulations, differently when evaluating system design, approving ratings, or assessing compliance.
"Our objective will be to evaluate whether [the] FAA has sufficient controls in place to provide reasonable assurance that inspectors are consistent in interpreting and applying standards when certificating domestic repair stations," said the DOT IG. "We will conduct our work at FAA headquarters and regional offices responsible for certificating repair stations, multiple certificated repair stations, and trade associations."
The findings from the first two audits in the series have not been disclosed. However, the DOT IG has conducted 10 separate repair station audits between 2015 and 2023, focusing on FAA oversight of foreign repair station certification, risk-based compliance methods, and security. There is no set time limit for the current audit process

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