FAA Publishes Revised Field Approval Policy

Updated note to the previously issued AEA Reg Update:
As a reminder: EVL and ENG are both generally eligible for field approval by the local FAA Flight Standards District Office.

Items designated "Evaluation" by the letters "EVL" may be eligible for approval by means other than a supplemental type certificate, depending on the scope and complexity of the alteration. These items will not automatically qualify for a field approval; they require evaluation and review of guidance to determine if the field approval process may be applied and is appropriate. The ASI may seek assistance from the ACO, if necessary, in making determinations of items listed as "EVL."

Items designated "Engineering" by the letters "ENG" may be eligible for approval by means other than an STC, but require either supporting designated engineering representative (DER) or organization designation authorization (ODA) approved engineering data, or concurrence from the ACO, for issuance of field approval.

SUMMARY: 
The Federal Aviation Administration has revised the FAA Order 8900.1 field approval policy for aviation safety inspectors, correcting the challenges raised by the AEA late in 2011. (Field Approval Policy)

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS: 
This policy, as briefed at the AEA International Convention & Trade Show, is a dynamic policy that will be changed regularly until it becomes an interactive evaluation tool. As briefed, the complexity of aircraft, equipment and system interfaces today discourages the use of a simple paper analysis policy. As such, AFS-360 is migrating to an interactive decision tool, which is predicted to be available in 2013.

Major changes to the current policy include:

• Multifunction displays (MFD) or electronic map displays (EMD) is now ENG for all aircraft types.
• Terrain awareness and warning systems Class A (TAWS-A) is now ENG for all aircraft types.
• Terrain awareness and warning systems Class B (TAWS-B) is now EVL for transport category aircraft.

As always, a thorough review of the entire policy is encouraged to assure you know what your inspector has been authorized to support before you contact the local FAA office requesting a field approval.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Ric Peri, AEA vice president of government and industry affairs, by email at ricp@aea.net or by phone at 202-589-1144.