Lombardo covers business aviation maintenance-related issues. He is also a writer and on-air reporter for AINtv. He has over 3000 articles published and is the author of several books on aircraft systems for pilots and on the topic of flight simulation.
He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in education from the University of Illinois, has taught aviation for over 35 years in industry and as a university professor and academic dean at three different universities. He is also a frequent seminar and after-dinner motivational speaker.&nbsp;
Lombardo holds an A&amp;P Certificate, ATP, CFI and Ground Instructor ratings. He was a corporate pilot and was a research pilot and flight instructor at the University of Illinois. An FAA Safety Counselor for over 25 years, he was one of the original 13 Counselors appointed to the FAA’s Airworthiness Safety Program for maintenance technicians.&nbsp;

Contributor

David A. Lombardo

A coalition of aviation trade associations asked the FAA to fix a seven-letter mistake in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that would create major headaches for the aviation maintenance industry. At issue is the removal of the word “serious” from a <a href="http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=885f8a2106017fc4975a24aed7a2d910&amp;node=se14.3.145_1221&amp;rgn=div8">paragraph</a> in the new <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/08/12/2014-18938/repair-stations">repair station rule</a> requiring repair stations to report a failure, malfunction or defect of an article to the agency within 96 hours. The rule takes effect November 10. The group includes the <a href="http://arsa.org/">Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA)</a>, NATA, AIA, GAMA, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CB4QFjAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aea.net%2F&amp;ei=viogVLnPF9CcyASyy4CoDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCBCNGm5ehEpGpoP5jCmXp36EZUA&amp;sig2=O7x0aDy4MzUfIdSuio69aQ&amp;bvm=bv.75775273,d.aWw">Airlines for America</a>, the <a href="http://www.cargoair.org/">Cargo Airline Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CB4QFjAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aea.net%2F&amp;ei=viogVLnPF9CcyASyy4CoDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCBCNGm5ehEpGpoP5jCmXp36EZUA&amp;sig2=O7x0aDy4MzUfIdSuio69aQ&amp;bvm=bv.75775273,d.aWw">National Air Carrier Association</a>.Crystal Maguire, ARSA vice president of operations, told AIN, “As is often the case, industry is left with the challenge of ensuring compliance with vague regulations. ARSA encourages its members to define the term ‘serious’ in repair station manuals and ensure internal processes and procedures are consistent with that definition. In that way, this is a great example of the CFR actually providing flexibility for businesses to meet regulatory mandates in a manner that makes sense for their operations.”


According to ARSA, complying with the section was already difficult. Removal of the word “serious” makes it even more challenging, as aviation repair stations are effectively required to report everything that comes through the door, an expectation they believe is unrealistic and inefficient. The change would impose incalculable cost on both the agency and industry and was made without warning; it was not considered in the NPRM to which industry members submitted <a href="http://arsa.org/arsa-cautions-faa-on-proposed-145-changes/">comments</a> in 2012.

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

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