516 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 135.433 

pending a decision by the Adminis-
trator. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–60, 61 FR 2617, Jan. 26, 
1996; Docket FAA–2018–0119, Amdt. 135–139, 83 
FR 9175, Mar. 5, 2018] 

§ 135.433 Maintenance and preventive 

maintenance training program. 

Each certificate holder or a person 

performing maintenance or preventive 
maintenance functions for it shall have 
a training program to ensure that each 
person (including inspection personnel) 
who determines the adequacy of work 
done is fully informed about procedures 
and techniques and new equipment in 
use and is competent to perform that 
person’s duties. 

§ 135.435 Certificate requirements. 

(a) Except for maintenance, preven-

tive maintenance, alterations, and re-
quired inspections performed by a cer-
tificated repair station that is located 
outside the United States, each person 
who is directly in charge of mainte-
nance, preventive maintenance, or al-
terations, and each person performing 
required inspections must hold an ap-
propriate airman certificate. 

(b) For the purpose of this section, a 

person 

directly in charge 

is each person 

assigned to a position in which that 
person is responsible for the work of a 
shop or station that performs mainte-
nance, preventive maintenance, alter-
ations, or other functions affecting air-
worthiness. A person who is 

directly in 

charge 

need not physically observe and 

direct each worker constantly but 
must be available for consultation and 
decision on matters requiring instruc-
tion or decision from higher authority 
than that of the person performing the 
work. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–82, 66 FR 41117, Aug. 6, 
2001] 

§ 135.437 Authority to perform and ap-

prove maintenance, preventive 

maintenance, and alterations. 

(a) A certificate holder may perform 

or make arrangements with other per-
sons to perform maintenance, preven-
tive maintenance, and alterations as 
provided in its maintenance manual. In 
addition, a certificate holder may per-

form these functions for another cer-
tificate holder as provided in the main-
tenance manual of the other certificate 
holder. 

(b) A certificate holder may approve 

any airframe, aircraft engine, pro-
peller, rotor, or appliance for return to 
service after maintenance, preventive 
maintenance, or alterations that are 
performed under paragraph (a) of this 
section. However, in the case of a 
major repair or alteration, the work 
must have been done in accordance 
with technical data approved by the 
Administrator. 

§ 135.439 Maintenance recording re-

quirements. 

(a) Each certificate holder shall keep 

(using the system specified in the man-
ual required in § 135.427) the following 
records for the periods specified in 
paragraph (b) of this section: 

(1) All the records necessary to show 

that all requirements for the issuance 
of an airworthiness release under 
§ 135.443 have been met. 

(2) Records containing the following 

information: 

(i) The total time in service of the 

airframe, engine, propeller, and rotor. 

(ii) The current status of life-limited 

parts of each airframe, engine, pro-
peller, rotor, and appliance. 

(iii) The time since last overhaul of 

each item installed on the aircraft 
which are required to be overhauled on 
a specified time basis. 

(iv) The identification of the current 

inspection status of the aircraft, in-
cluding the time since the last inspec-
tions required by the inspection pro-
gram under which the aircraft and its 
appliances are maintained. 

(v) The current status of applicable 

airworthiness directives, including the 
date and methods of compliance, and, 
if the airworthiness directive involves 
recurring action, the time and date 
when the next action is required. 

(vi) A list of current major alter-

ations and repairs to each airframe, en-
gine, propeller, rotor, and appliance. 

(b) Each certificate holder shall re-

tain the records required to be kept by 
this section for the following periods: 

(1) Except for the records of the last 

complete overhaul of each airframe, 
engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance 

517 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.443 

the records specified in paragraph (a)(1) 
of this section shall be retained until 
the work is repeated or superseded by 
other work or for one year after the 
work is performed. 

(2) The records of the last complete 

overhaul of each airframe, engine, pro-
peller, rotor, and appliance shall be re-
tained until the work is superseded by 
work of equivalent scope and detail. 

(3) The records specified in paragraph 

(a)(2) of this section shall be retained 
and transferred with the aircraft at the 
time the aircraft is sold. 

(c) The certificate holder shall make 

all maintenance records required to be 
kept by this section available for in-
spection by the Administrator or any 
representative of the National Trans-
portation Safety Board. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978; 43 
FR 49975, Oct. 26, 1978] 

§ 135.441 Transfer of maintenance 

records. 

Each certificate holder who sells a 

United States registered aircraft shall 
transfer to the purchaser, at the time 
of the sale, the following records of 
that aircraft, in plain language form or 
in coded form which provides for the 
preservation and retrieval of informa-
tion in a manner acceptable to the Ad-
ministrator: 

(a) The records specified in 

§ 135.439(a)(2). 

(b) The records specified in 

§ 135.439(a)(1) which are not included in 
the records covered by paragraph (a) of 
this section, except that the purchaser 
may allow the seller to keep physical 
custody of such records. However, cus-
tody of records by the seller does not 
relieve the purchaser of its responsi-
bility under § 135.439(c) to make the 
records available for inspection by the 
Administrator or any representative of 
the National Transportation Safety 
Board. 

§ 135.443 Airworthiness release or air-

craft maintenance log entry. 

(a) No certificate holder may operate 

an aircraft after maintenance, preven-
tive maintenance, or alterations are 
performed on the aircraft unless the 
certificate holder prepares, or causes 
the person with whom the certificate 
holder arranges for the performance of 

the maintenance, preventive mainte-
nance, or alterations, to prepare— 

(1) An airworthiness release; or 
(2) An appropriate entry in the air-

craft maintenance log. 

(b) The airworthiness release or log 

entry required by paragraph (a) of this 
section must— 

(1) Be prepared in accordance with 

the procedure in the certificate hold-
er’s manual; 

(2) Include a certification that— 
(i) The work was performed in ac-

cordance with the requirements of the 
certificate holder’s manual; 

(ii) All items required to be inspected 

were inspected by an authorized person 
who determined that the work was sat-
isfactorily completed; 

(iii) No known condition exists that 

would make the aircraft unairworthy; 
and 

(iv) So far as the work performed is 

concerned, the aircraft is in condition 
for safe operation; and 

(3) Be signed by an authorized certifi-

cated mechanic or repairman, except 
that a certificated repairman may sign 
the release or entry only for the work 
for which that person is employed and 
for which that person is certificated. 

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(3) 

of this section, after maintenance, pre-
ventive maintenance, or alterations 
performed by a repair station located 
outside the United States , the air-
worthiness release or log entry re-
quired by paragraph (a) of this section 
may be signed by a person authorized 
by that repair station. 

(d) Instead of restating each of the 

conditions of the certification required 
by paragraph (b) of this section, the 
certificate holder may state in its 
manual that the signature of an au-
thorized certificated mechanic or re-
pairman constitutes that certification. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–29, 53 FR 47375, Nov. 
22, 1988; Amdt. 135–82, 66 FR 41117, Aug. 6, 
2001] 

Subpart K—Hazardous Materials 

Training Program 

S

OURCE

: Docket No. FAA–2003–15085, 70 FR 

58829, Oct. 7, 2005, unless otherwise noted.