An Airworthiness Directive (commonly abbreviated as AD) is a notification to owners and operators of

certified aircraft A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

that a known

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected. If a certified aircraft has outstanding airworthiness directives that have not been complied with, the aircraft is not considered airworthy. Thus, it is mandatory for an aircraft operator to comply with an AD.

Purpose

ADs usually result from service difficulty reporting by operators or from the results of aircraft accident investigations. They are issued either by the national civil aviation authority of the country of aircraft manufacture or of aircraft registration. When ADs are issued by the country of registration they are almost always coordinated with the civil aviation authority of the country of manufacture to ensure that conflicting ADs are not issued. In detail, the purpose of an AD is to notify aircraft owners: * that the aircraft may have an unsafe condition, or * that the aircraft may not be in conformity with its basis of certification or of other conditions that affect the aircraft's airworthiness, or * that there are mandatory actions that must be carried out to ensure continued safe operation, or * that, in some urgent cases, the aircraft must not be flown until a corrective action plan is designed and carried out. ADs are mandatory in most jurisdictions and often contain dates or aircraft flying hours by which compliance must be completed. ADs may be divided into two categories: # Those of an emergency nature requiring immediate compliance prior to further flight, and # Those of a less urgent nature requiring compliance within a specified period of time.

Issuance

ADs are issued by most civil aviation regulatory authorities, including: *

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. CASA is responsib ...

(Australia) *

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (India) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is a statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India. It became a statutory body under the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020. The DGCA investigates aviation accidents ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(United States) *

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA; Māori: ''Te Mana Rererangi Tūmatanui o Aotearoa'') is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand. The CAA also monitors adherence ...

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

National procedures

United States

The FAA issues ADs by three different processes: * Standard AD process: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), followed by a Final Rule * Final Rule and Request for Comments * Emergency airworthiness directives - issued without time for comment. This is only used issued "when an unsafe condition exists that requires immediate action by an owner/operator...to rapidly correct an urgent safety of flight situation."

References

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External links