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509 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.415 

(b) Each certificate holder who main-

tains its aircraft under § 135.411(a)(2) 
shall— 

(1) Perform the maintenance, preven-

tive maintenance, and alteration of its 
aircraft, including airframe, aircraft 
engines, propellers, rotors, appliances, 
emergency equipment and parts, under 
its manual and this chapter; or 

(2) Make arrangements with another 

person for the performance of mainte-
nance, preventive maintenance, or al-
teration. However, the certificate hold-
er shall ensure that any maintenance, 
preventive maintenance, or alteration 
that is performed by another person is 
performed under the certificate hold-
er’s manual and this chapter. 

§ 135.415 Service difficulty reports. 

(a) Each certificate holder shall re-

port the occurrence or detection of 
each failure, malfunction, or defect in 
an aircraft concerning— 

(1) Fires during flight and whether 

the related fire-warning system func-
tioned properly; 

(2) Fires during flight not protected 

by related fire-warning system; 

(3) False fire-warning during flight; 
(4) An exhaust system that causes 

damage during flight to the engine, ad-
jacent structure, equipment, or compo-
nents; 

(5) An aircraft component that 

causes accumulation or circulation of 
smoke, vapor, or toxic or noxious 
fumes in the crew compartment or pas-
senger cabin during flight; 

(6) Engine shutdown during flight be-

cause of flameout; 

(7) Engine shutdown during flight 

when external damage to the engine or 
aircraft structure occurs; 

(8) Engine shutdown during flight due 

to foreign object ingestion or icing; 

(9) Shutdown of more than one en-

gine during flight; 

(10) A propeller feathering system or 

ability of the system to control over-
speed during flight; 

(11) A fuel or fuel-dumping system 

that affects fuel flow or causes haz-
ardous leakage during flight; 

(12) An unwanted landing gear exten-

sion or retraction or opening or closing 
of landing gear doors during flight; 

(13) Brake system components that 

result in loss of brake actuating force 

when the aircraft is in motion on the 
ground; 

(14) Aircraft structure that requires 

major repair; 

(15) Cracks, permanent deformation, 

or corrosion of aircraft structures, if 
more than the maximum acceptable to 
the manufacturer or the FAA; and 

(16) Aircraft components or systems 

that result in taking emergency ac-
tions during flight (except action to 
shut-down an engine). 

(b) For the purpose of this section, 

during flight 

means the period from the 

moment the aircraft leaves the surface 
of the earth on takeoff until it touches 
down on landing. 

(c) In addition to the reports required 

by paragraph (a) of this section, each 
certificate holder shall report any 
other failure, malfunction, or defect in 
an aircraft that occurs or is detected at 
any time if, in its opinion, the failure, 
malfunction, or defect has endangered 
or may endanger the safe operation of 
the aircraft. 

(d) Each certificate holder shall sub-

mit each report required by this sec-
tion, covering each 24-hour period be-
ginning at 0900 local time of each day 
and ending at 0900 local time on the 
next day, to the FAA offices in Okla-
homa City, Oklahoma. Each report of 
occurrences during a 24-hour period 
shall be submitted to the collection 
point within the next 96 hours. How-
ever, a report due on Saturday or Sun-
day may be submitted on the following 
Monday, and a report due on a holiday 
may be submitted on the next work-
day. 

(e) The certificate holder shall trans-

mit the reports required by this section 
on a form and in a manner prescribed 
by the Administrator, and shall include 
as much of the following as is avail-
able: 

(1) The type and identification num-

ber of the aircraft. 

(2) The name of the operator. 
(3) The date. 
(4) The nature of the failure, mal-

function, or defect. 

(5) Identification of the part and sys-

tem involved, including available infor-
mation pertaining to type designation 
of the major component and time since 
last overhaul, if known. 

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510 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 135.417 

(6) Apparent cause of the failure, 

malfunction or defect (e.g., wear, 
crack, design deficiency, or personnel 
error). 

(7) Other pertinent information nec-

essary for more complete identifica-
tion, determination of seriousness, or 
corrective action. 

(f) A certificate holder that is also 

the holder of a type certificate (includ-
ing a supplemental type certificate), a 
Parts Manufacturer Approval, or a 
Technical Standard Order Authoriza-
tion, or that is the licensee of a type 
certificate need not report a failure, 
malfunction, or defect under this sec-
tion if the failure, malfunction, or de-
fect has been reported by it under § 21.3 
or § 37.17 of this chapter or under the 
accident reporting provisions of 49 CFR 
part 830 of the regulations of the Na-
tional Transportation Safety Board. 

(g) No person may withhold a report 

required by this section even though 
all information required by this section 
is not available. 

(h) When the certificate holder gets 

additional information, including in-
formation from the manufacturer or 
other agency, concerning a report re-
quired by this section, it shall expedi-
tiously submit it as a supplement to 
the first report and reference the date 
and place of submission of the first re-
port. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–102, 70 FR 76979, Dec. 
29, 2005; Doc. No. FAA–2022–1355; Amdt. Nos. 
135–143; 87 FR 75848, Dec. 9, 2022] 

§ 135.417 Mechanical interruption 

summary report. 

Each certificate holder shall mail or 

deliver, before the end of the 10th day 
of the following month, a summary re-
port of the following occurrences in 
multiengine aircraft for the preceding 
month to the responsible Flight Stand-
ards office: 

(a) Each interruption to a flight, un-

scheduled change of aircraft en route, 
or unscheduled stop or diversion from a 
route, caused by known or suspected 
mechanical difficulties or malfunctions 
that are not required to be reported 
under § 135.415. 

(b) The number of propeller 

featherings in flight, listed by type of 
propeller and engine and aircraft on 

which it was installed. Propeller 
featherings for training, demonstra-
tion, or flight check purposes need not 
be reported. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–60, 61 FR 2616, Jan. 26, 
1996; Docket FAA–2018–0119, Amdt. 135–139, 83 
FR 9175, Mar. 5, 2018] 

§ 135.419 Approved aircraft inspection 

program. 

(a) Whenever the Administrator finds 

that the aircraft inspections required 
or allowed under part 91 of this chapter 
are not adequate to meet this part, or 
upon application by a certificate hold-
er, the Administrator may amend the 
certificate holder’s operations speci-
fications under § 119.51, to require or 
allow an approved aircraft inspection 
program for any make and model air-
craft of which the certificate holder 
has the exclusive use of at least one 
aircraft (as defined in § 135.25(b)). 

(b) A certificate holder who applies 

for an amendment of its operations 
specifications to allow an approved air-
craft inspection program must submit 
that program with its application for 
approval by the Administrator. 

(c) Each certificate holder who is re-

quired by its operations specifications 
to have an approved aircraft inspection 
program shall submit a program for ap-
proval by the Administrator within 30 
days of the amendment of its oper-
ations specifications or within any 
other period that the Administrator 
may prescribe in the operations speci-
fications. 

(d) The aircraft inspection program 

submitted for approval by the Adminis-
trator must contain the following: 

(1) Instructions and procedures for 

the conduct of aircraft inspections 
(which must include necessary tests 
and checks), setting forth in detail the 
parts and areas of the airframe, en-
gines, propellers, rotors, and appli-
ances, including emergency equipment, 
that must be inspected. 

(2) A schedule for the performance of 

the aircraft inspections under para-
graph (d)(1) of this section expressed in 
terms of the time in service, calendar 
time, number of system operations, or 
any combination of these. 

(3) Instructions and procedures for 

recording discrepancies found during