San Diego, CA August 18, 2009 – Forensic Imaging and Archiving (FIA) announces Aeronautical Forensic Archiving (AFA), a division of the company that provides Quality Assurance by photographically documenting aircraft inspections, maintenance and/or repairs. AFA creates a permanent archive of an aircraft’s history to increase confidence and help retain market value for the owner, leasing entity, insurance and/or finance company. The service strictly adheres to the manufacturers specifications to maximize safety and confidence in the aircraft.
AFA contracts with an aircraft-specific photographer for each project to insure all squawks and subsequent recommendations are visually verified, justified and documented with detailed notes, high quality photographs and relevant information through a patented online system. Over time, AFA documentation identifies trends or wear patterns as they develop, leading to a safer aircraft and a solid investment.
“I’m very impressed with the technology and method of delivery employed by AFA,” said Tom Hannawa, President/Chief Instructor of the American Aviation Academy. “This service can potentially save lives and countless sums of money.”
AFA President, David A. Blackburn, an avid aviator, discovered the benefits of Forensic Imaging and Archiving for aircrafts when he upgraded to a more complex airplane. By entering the pre-buy inspection points for his aircraft into the software originally used by FIA to prevent construction defects and cost overruns, Blackburn improved his knowledge and verified the value of the aircraft. The software identified every section of the aircraft and listed points of inspection required for the inspection. The photographs, capable of being enlarged 300 percent, made even the twists in safety wire twists visible.
Realizing the FIA system worked for his own aircraft, the AFA division was launched using software to accept the Manufacturers Inspection Checklist for any aircraft. Using the inspection criteria out of the manual, AFA captures a picture for every point of the pre-buy inspection. The software forensically tags the photos (GPS coordinates, UTC time coding and directional compass) the moment the shutter closes. All photographs and information is sent to a secure archive to prevent tampering and are uploaded real-time to a website accessible, individually, by all participants (owner, mechanics, parts department, billing department, shop foreman, etc.). All squawks are photographed with notes of current conditions and recommendations, including if a part is broken, worn or timed out, are marked as an IFR (issue for review).
The IFR is emailed to the parts department for pricing and to the owner for approval. Upon approval, parts are ordered, billed and installed. With pricing, owner approval and ordering of parts streamlined, the aircraft is in and out of the maintenance hangar days or weeks earlier. Once the inspection is complete, all repairs are archived.
“If AFA can prevent one accident from occurring or save one life, it will be worth every cent,” said Blackburn. “The benefits for Pre-buy inspections and repossessions in a lease agreement are numerous. As we create an archive of inspections over time, the owner will visually identify wear, use trends and malfunctions – valuable for lenders, escrows, sellers, insurance companies, manufacturers, FAA inspectors and the NTSB.”
ABOUT AFA
The services provided by Aeronautical Forensic Archiving are designed to photographically document Aircraft that require FAA and pre-buy inspections. AFA creates permanent digital files of an aircrafts maintenance and inspection for the owner, insurance company or finance company so they can view notes, photographs, inspection reports and all other relevant information through a patented online system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. AFA conducts follow up inspections at required milestones.
AFA knows that if documented inspections are done on a regular basis they will show trends as they develop, thus leading to a safer aircraft and a secure investment. For more information visit www.aeronauticalforensicarchiving.com or call 877-FIA-INC1 (342-4621).