Dr. Bill Johnson participated in an Inspection Authorization (IA) seminar in early March. He describes the IA ticket and one of the methods to maintain the currency of the IA certificate.
About the IA
The airman holding an FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate with the Inspection Authorization qualification is critical to the safety and airworthiness of general aviation aircraft. To fully understand their qualifications and privileges, look at the 14 CFR Part 65.91, 65.95 and 14CFR Part 43.13 and 15, respectively. These certified aviation maintenance technicians (AMT) are at the top of the heap of general aviation maintenance personnel. While nearly 100 percent of IAs exceed the minimum requirements, they must have at least three years' experience; with two years of clearly defined recent active engagement as a mechanic/inspector; having a designated fixed base of operations with all the tools, facilities, and data to inspect aircraft, powerplants, propellers, and aircraft components; and pass a written examination focused on safety standards for returning an aircraft to service after major repairs, alterations, and annual and progressive inspections performed under FAR Part 43. These maintenance professionals know their stuff.
Staying Current
IAs must remain current and are reauthorized several ways. That is described in 14 CFR Part 65.93(a) 1 through 5. In summary, the applicant must have yearly activity performing or supervising 1) a specified number of annual inspections, or 2) major repairs or alterations, or 3) progressive inspections, or 4) has completed an FAA-accepted refresher course within a 12-month prior to renewal, or 5) IA renewal can be accomplished by an oral examination, on knowledge of regulations and standards, by an FAA Inspector.
Item 4, FAA-accepted refresher training is the topic at hand. That training, most commonly is completed by attending an eight-hour class. However, it can be completed with training from the FAA Safety Team or other commercial websites. Many organizations, like the Aircraft Electronics Association, and AMT Magazine, offer online IA renewal training.
Selecting the Course Content and Speakers: A Government Industry Partnership
The full requirement for content of an IA renewal class is specified in FAA Order 8900.1, Volume 3, Chapter 56. FAA defines the content such that it can be matched to local/regional maintenance-related safety topics. It should relate to aircraft maintenance, inspection, repairs, and alterations. Selected nontechnical subjects, like maintenance human factors or personnel development can also be in an FAA-accepted class. In most cases, the classes are designed by FAA and local/regional maintenance providers.
I would like to discuss a seminar that was designed by the FAA Boise FSDO and a Boise-based international aviation company named The Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Started by a visionary female missionary pilot, in 1946, MAF operates nearly 95 aircraft worldwide as part of its Christian mission outreach. In most cases, the flight crews are experienced pilots that also hold A&P and IA credentials. About 30 percent of the 150 IA renewal delegates were from MAF. MAF sponsored the meeting at its U.S. headquarters, which includes an impressive maintenance base and training facility for advanced flight and maintenance crews. In my tour of MAF, I saw a range of aircraft from Cessna 206s to a new Quest Kodiak. The training facility had a modern flight simulator. Maintenance training had an excellent PT6 run-up stand. Again, this equipment was for advanced maintenance and flight training.
Per the FAA guidelines, the training had an excellent mix of technical and nontechnical topics, each topic is described below. The topics were selected to meet identified challenges of the targeted IA audience. The planning team discussed topics that had the highest potential to impact maintenance-related safety and compliance. They felt that the challenges focused on topics related to airworthiness, especially use of proper manufacturer documentation and FARs (three presentations); human performance (three presentations); and engine performance (two presentations, recip and turboprop). Speaker affiliation was: Industry (three), School (one), and FAA (three).
The Presentations
The content quality and delivery quality was a function of the speaker. The author believes that it is important to acknowledge them herein.
A Wake-up Call About Fatigue
Dr. Bill Johnson woke up the audience with the facts about fatigue. Americans are not sleeping enough. That is a threat to safety and to individual health. Johnson went through many events and accidents resulting from maintenance or pilot fatigue. He showed many of the FAA fatigue products, mostly on the www.mxfatigue.gov website. Johnson took his familiar path from science and research to practical fatigue advice for the individual, the organization, and the government. He said that specific hours of service regulations are not nearly as effective as a safety management system-like program that identifies fatigue-related risk and then manages it accordingly. Someone commented that general aviation does not have an SMS rule. Johnson made his familiar comment that you do not need a SMS rule to reduce risk and ensure continuing flight and worker safety.
Way to Alter Your Procedural Compliance Culture
The room went quiet when Johnson told the audience that they are not doing a good job regarding procedural compliance. That is not a comfortable topic when the audience includes mechanics and their local FAA inspectors. Johnson said, “You know that following procedures is a regulation, you know how to follow procedures, and you know where they are in your organization. Yet, failure to follow procedures is the top reason that FAA takes administrative action on mechanics and their organizations.” Johnson spoke about the general industry culture around skipping procedures when you are familiar with the task, when you are in a hurry, or when it is not convenient to obtain the procedure. Unfortunately for procedural compliance, most of the time you are familiar with the task, you are in a hurry, and it is not convenient. That means that not following procedures becomes part of the work and the safety culture. Johnson described a three-year research project that created a web-based training program aimed at your heart and mind. The training program, available at www.faasafety.gov or at followprocedures.com, helps you to become a safety champion, who seeks professionalism and job satisfaction by following procedures 100 percent of the time.
A Look at the Proper Maintenance Guidance Materials
Steve Robinson is a maintenance instructor with Mission Aviation Services. Robinson talked about what procedures to follow to ensure compliance. He used stories to show good as well as bad examples. As an IA, he reviewed the concepts of approved vs. accepted data. He talked about maintaining document currency. He also talked about ensuring parts effectivity and using the right aircraft hardware for the job. He mentioned the challenges associated with conducting annual inspections on owner-maintained aircraft. For example, there is a reason that all A&P mechanics take a course on aircraft hardware identification. Certified personnel know that the big box hardware store is not where you obtain aircraft hardware or special aircraft tools. As an IA renewal should be, Robinson’s stories left the audience shaking their heads, acknowledging the tales and pictures.
PT6 Performance Monitoring Methods
Tom Welch is the Western territory sales manager for Covington Aircraft. Covington is a 40 plus-year-old engine company from near Tulsa, OK. It is a designated distributor and overall facility for the Pratt & Whitney family of “round engines” ranging from the famous R985 to the PT6 A-34. That PT6 engine is on the Qwest Kodiak aircraft, popular to many of the IAs in the audience. For the unfamiliar, Welch gave a great tutorial of the various PT6 free turbine designs. Like a great powerplant instructor, he described and showed the power section, gas generator, compressor, and associated gearboxes. Of course, he traced the reverse airflow engine design. Most importantly, he talked about 10 tips to monitor engine performance. That permitted the audience a review of speeds, temperatures, torque, cycle recording, fuel flow, oil analysis, and more. Welch’s technical presentation demonstrated that an IA renewal is an excellent mix of both regulatory and technical training on new products.
Leadership Self-Actualization for Continuing High Safety Standards
J.D. McHenry is the president and CEO of Global Jet Services. In a two-hour presentation, he covered topics related to human performance, self-actualization, workplace communication, safety culture, millennial workers, and more. He talked about the trade of aviation maintenance and the importance of each mechanic’s self-respect and recognition of the importance of the maintenance position in overall aviation safety. There was never a dull moment while McHenry was on stage. His presentation revealed that IA renewal training is much more than technical training.
Keep the Fire Flashing Brightly
Zach Lincolnhol is the technical sales rep-piston for Champion Aerospace. The real title of his presentation was Piston Ignition System Maintenance. Talking from his position as a millennial, he provided excellent feedback to the McHenry discussion about working with millennials which preceded his presentation. As a millennial he agreed and humorously disagreed with McHenry.
He proceeded to talk about the Champion product line with the wisdom of a Baby Boomer. He covered a lot of territory ranging from old Slick Magnetos to new design features of Champion Sparkplugs. His sophisticated technical presentation was delivered in language that the audience liked and understood. He generated a lot of questions and discussion. That was an indication of the relevance of his presentation. To me, the Champion Aerospace presentation was another demonstration that IA renewals thrive on great technical content.
Maintenance Records Entries and Other FAA Safety Team News
Of course, I am biased, but the closing FAA presentations were excellent.
Inspector Greg Horrell, from the Boise FAA Safety Team, showed a lot of maintenance-related products and programs, mostly accessible from the website. With the typical high level of enthusiasm, he showed high value material. He articulated the importance of ongoing recurrent training for all AMTs. He talked about the AMT Awards program and about the Charles Taylor Award program that is especially significant to many long-experienced (50+ years’ experience) delegates at the IA renewal. Quite honestly, he made me proud of the FAA outreach to general aviation maintenance personnel.
Inspector Cliff Smart, from the Boise Flight Standards District Office, reinforced the old adage that “... an aircraft is not airworthy until the paperwork is equal to the weight of the aircraft …” He covered the various maintenance records described in FAR’s 43 and 91. With continuous clarity he reviewed the topics of high importance for IAs. That included information on Airworthiness Directives, Form 337, field approvals, and more. His presentation was the “Right Way” to complete a day of IA renewal training.
End of Course Evaluation and Observations
Organizers distributed a thorough program and speaker evaluation. The IAs gave high marks to the speakers and logistics. Organizers and speakers appreciated that. There were many participant remarks about the great mix of technical and human-centered speakers.
This event reminded me of the depth of knowledge and dedication of the general aviation IA workforce. This meeting had, at least five generations represented (from 28 to 88 years). The high level of enthusiasm ignored age. They were all dedicated aviators! I was proud and honored to be a member in their ranks.
Special thanks to those that organized the event and helped me ensure the technical accuracy of this article. That includes Kenneth Simonian, Gregg Horrell, and Cliff Smart from FAA and Doug Heidebrink from the Mission Aviation Fellowship.
