Maintenance

Maintenance — continuing airworthiness

General (ICAO)

ICAO Annex 8 and Annex 6 require a maintenance programme for every aircraft, which must be followed to keep airworthiness.

Typical maintenance intervals

• 50-hour inspection — minor checks.
• 100-hour inspection — mandatory in CAT; recommended in NCO.
• Annual inspection — every 12 months.
• Major cycles by aircraft type (e.g. 2000-hour engine overhaul).

Airworthiness Directives (AD)

Airworthiness directives are binding corrections that must be implemented when defects are found on the aircraft, engine, propeller, or equipment:

• Issued by the State of Design Authority (e.g. EASA, FAA, CAA UK).
• Notices from other States are applicable when the State of Registry adopts them.

Europe (EASA / EU)

The EU regulates maintenance through Reg (EU) 1321/2014:

• Part-M: Continuing Airworthiness Management (complex aircraft).
• Part-ML: simplified for simple aircraft (PPL trainers ≤ 2730 kg MTOM, ELA1).
• Part-145: approved maintenance organisations.
• Part-66: maintenance personnel licences (B1, B2, B3, L1, etc.).
• Part-147: maintenance training organisations.

Pilot-owner maintenance (PPL trainers)

Under Part-ML aircraft owners may perform certain standard maintenance themselves (e.g. oil change, tyre change) — documented in the aircraft technical log.

EASA Airworthiness Directives

EASA publishes EASA Airworthiness Directives for EU-registered aircraft. Foreign ADs (e.g. FAA for US aircraft) apply when the EASA AD adopts them or the aircraft is "imported".

Germany (national)

LTA — Lufttüchtigkeits-Anweisung

"LTA" is a directive of the German Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) to correct deficiencies on the aircraft within a certain time period:

• LTAs are the German equivalent of EASA ADs.
• Issued by the LBA (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, Braunschweig).
• Must be implemented by aircraft holder and maintenance organisation — until the deadline, otherwise aircraft not airworthy.
• Published in the "Nachrichten für Luftfahrer" (NfL).

Nachrichten für Luftfahrer (NfL)

Important information and advice for aviation, as far as flight operation is concerned, is published in the "Nachrichten für Luftfahrer" (NfL 1):

• NfL I — general aviation (PPL, sport).
• NfL II — commercial transport.
• Announcements about aircraft and personnel are published in the "Nachrichten für Luftfahrer".

Type certification publication

The type certification of an aircraft is published in the "Nachrichten für Luftfahrer"; the responsible authority is the German Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt), which is subordinate to the BMVI.