Is It Airworthy?

With a few exceptions, the typical personal aircraft is relatively reliable. Modern, solid-state avionics rarely break, we long ago figured out how to build and maintain mechanical flight instruments and, presuming the airframe is both flown and maintained regularly, dispatch reliability of personal aircraft often can be compared to the modern automobile. But, stuff does break every now and then, usually right before were prepping to launch for a family vacation or an important business trip. Some failures automatically mean going via human mailing tube; others often can be resolved after a couple of hours in the shop. In between those two extremes are equipment failures which may reduce the aircrafts capabilities, but dont materially affect either its airworthiness, ability to fly or safety.

Key Takeaways:

• Aircraft airworthiness with inoperative equipment is determined by whether the item is legally required for the specific flight operation, as outlined in FAR 91.205.
• For non-required inoperative equipment, pilots must follow FAR 91.213 by either removing it or placarding it "inoperative," deactivating it, and ensuring it poses no hazard.
• Maintenance for deferred inoperative equipment must be completed (repaired, replaced, or removed) by the aircraft's next required inspection per FAR 91.405.
• Beyond regulations, pilots must always assess the failed equipment's impact on the proposed flight's safety to make an intelligent go/no-go decision.

Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->

See a mistake? Contact us.