The FAA Certification Process Considerations

SofemaOnline (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com considers primary aspects of FAA Certification including aircraft & repairs.

Introduction - How Does the FAA Certify Aircraft?

The FAA collaborates with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other civil aviation authorities to maintain and advance the safety of international air transportation.

The Certification Process involves the following:

» A review of any proposed designs and the methods that will be used to show that these designs and the overall airplane complies with FAA regulations;
» Ground tests and flight tests to demonstrate that the airplane operates safely;
» An evaluation of the airplane's required maintenance and operational suitability for introduction of the airplane into service;

What is an Organization Designation Authorizations (ODA)?

Only FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors and authorized Representatives of the Administrator (i.e. Designees), as defined in 14 CFR Part 183, "Representatives of the Administrator", are authorized to issue an FAA airworthiness certificate.

Federal law authorizes the FAA to delegate to a qualified individual or organization the ability to conduct certain activities on behalf of the agency. In recent successive Acts, Congress directed FAA to streamline certification, including increased delegation to Organizational Designation Authorizations (ODA).

Note - The FAA does not allow companies to self-certify their aircraft, The agency remains directly involved in the testing and certification of any new and novel features and technologies through the Flight Standardization Board.

» ODA unit members may be authorized to issue airworthiness certificates. The work flow for issuance of these certificates must meet FAA requirements, including an inspection of the aircraft and review of the aircraft certification data.
» Before issuing a standard or special airworthiness certificate, or a special flight permit, ODA unit members must inspect the aircraft, and document the results of the inspection as described in FAA Order 8130.2

What is an airworthiness certificate?

An airworthiness certificate is an FAA document which grants authorization to operate an aircraft in flight.

There are two different classifications of FAA airworthiness certificates:

» Standard Airworthiness Certificate
» Special Airworthiness Certificate.

FAA Repair Approval

The criteria for approval of repairing aircraft and components, etc. are stipulated in Part 43 of the U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR).

The approval procedures for design data of repairs in the “Major Repair” category without using a method designated by the designer are specified in

» FAA Order 8110.4 “Type FAA Order 8110.37 “Designated Engineering Representative (DER)
» Order 8100.15 “Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Procedures”
» FAA Order 8900.1 “Flight Standards Information Management System”

The FAA or a person with a certain level of authority delegated by the FAA may approve the repair design data.

» When the FAA or a person with a certain level of authority delegated by the FAA has approved repair design data, Form 8110 3, Form 8100 9, and Form 337 (Block 3) are issued.
» Form 8110 3 is a document to be issued when a DER approves or recommends approving the repair design that conforms to the FAR criteria.
» With regard to the scope of the DER’s approval, the category (structural, power plant, radio, etc.) and the certificate content (static analysis, safety analysis, etc.) are limited per DER.
» For a repair design within the scope of the DER’s approval, “Approve these data” in the “Certification” column in Form 8110 3 is selected, which means that the repair design is deemed to have been approved by the FAA.

Repairs outside of the scope of DER approval

For a repair design outside the scope of DER’s approval, “Recommend approval of these data” in the “Certification” column in Form 81103 is selected.

In this case, the repair design is not deemed to have been approved by the FAA only with the Form 8110 3;

NOTE - additional documents indicating the FAA’s approval will be required.

Details of the system of design approval by the DER are specified in Order 8110.37 “Designated Engineering Representative Guidance Handbook

» Form 8100 9 is a document to be issued when an ODA approves or recommends approving the repair design that conforms to the FAR criteria.
» With regard to the scope of ODA’s approval, the category (structural, power plant, radio, etc.) and the content of the certificate (static analysis, safety analysis, etc.) are limited per ODA. For a repair design within the scope of the ODA’s approval, “Approve these data” in the “Certification” column in Form 8100 9 is selected, which means that the repair design is deemed to have been approved by the FAA.

Repairs outside of the scope of ODA approval

On the other hand, for a repair design outside the scope of the ODA’s approval, “Recommend approval of these data” in the “Certification” column in Form 8100 9 is selected.

In this case, the repair design is not deemed to have been approved by the FAA only with the Form 8100 9; additional documents indicating FAA’s approval will be required. Details of the system of design approval by ODA are specified in Order 8110.15

“Organization Designation Authorization Procedures Form 337 is a document to be issued when a U.S. based aircraft has been repaired.

Note - If a repair is performed based on data not approved by the FAA, an FAA inspector’s signature is required on Block 3 in Form 337.

Next Steps

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