Non-Incidence / Accident Statement

Commonly referred to as the NIAS (Non incident or accident statement) or NIS (Non incident statement), this is a letter which acts as a statement that a component, part or aircraft has not been involved in an “accident” or “incident” during a noted time scale of operation and is issued by a CAMO (Continued Airworthiness Management Organisation) typically.

The letter will state typically the period of operation that it covers along then with the operator details or owner details making the statement.

The specifics for the item covered should also be noted. This will differ a little depending on what the statement is for; for example, an aircraft NIAS would note the Aircraft Registration, MSN (Manufacturers Serial Number), Total Airframe Hours & Cycles at the time of the statement along then with the PN (Part Number) or SN (Serial Number) for major components like the engines.

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External Fuselage Damage

On a transition, existing damage to the aircraft will be a common encounter as damage will occur throughout an aircraft’s life.

If we consider fuselage damage, what we need to know and consider is important and will commonly include, but not limited to the following:

Where is the area that the damage is – how we can pinpoint it; to usually illustrate FRame’s and  STRinger’s will be used. The Frame is a longitudinal measurement and the stringer a circumferential one.

The damage type itself should be included– this might be a dent, scratch, gouge, lightning strike or crack for example.

The damage dimensions should be recorded; for example, a dent would have a length, width and depth measurement.

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Location of Passenger Accommodations

LOPA stands for ‘Location of Passenger Accommodations”, which is a specification drawing of the interior design and layout of the cabin interior.

The LOPA is a diagram displaying the locations of the flight deck, attendant and passenger seats, lavatories, galleys, emergency equipment, windbreakers and other monuments. The Emergency Equipment Listing (EEL) is included as part of the LOPA and lists the part numbers of all emergency equipment.

If an airline wants to change the interior configuration of the cabin in a major way, they must do so through a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC).
The STC will generally cover the following changes:
·       Seating Layout (LOPA)
·       PSU Layout
·       Emergency Equipment Layout
·       Floor path marking system installation
·       Carpet installation
·       Curtin installations
·       Monument installation and removal

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Landing Gear Reviews – Lease Returns – Lease Delivery

When reviewing the Technical Records associated with a Landing Gear on a Lease Return it is common for a consultant to treat THE LANDING GEAR itself as a Hard Time Component (HT) and THE PARTS that make up the Landing gear in many cases are the Life Limited Parts (LLPs).

The maintenance requirements include overhauls in which the landing gear must be removed from the aircraft and sent to shop for them to be overhauled. This process alone is very expensive and time consuming.

The cost of a landing gear itself as a component is vast and so a review of the complete landing gear records is of paramount importance and depending on the age of an aircraft and the duration of a lease the landing gear may or may not be the original installed. You should have the certification for the landing gear installed; a EASA Form 1 and / or an FAA 8130-3.

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Engine Shop Visit

An engine shop visit (SV) is typically when an engine is sent to an overhaul shop for a form of maintenance.

During a shop visit there will be a scope of work carried out, the engine is usually sent to the shop for different reasons including reasons such as LLP (life limited part) thresholds being reached, or the engine may have worn beyond limits (borescope inspection finding) or have suffered damage (i.e., bird strike).

During a routine shop visit the engine is typically overhauled with regard to components & parts close to life limits or worn replaced / repaired as required. Repairs can be accomplished during the shop visits also dependant on the damage and AD/SB’s can be incorporated often also.

When considering a SV it is important to know the scope of the visit.
After the work is completed, we will have a work pack that is a detail for all the work carried out and also the engine current status which might include such documents as the following:

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