Fourteen organizations representing operators, maintainers, and other aviation industry segments are urging FAA Administrator Steve Dickson to address long-standing issues surrounding the availability of instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA). “The FAA’s enforcement of rules requiring aircraft manufacturers to provide, and maintainers to possess, maintenance information has been inconsistent for decades,” they told Dickson in a recent letter that asked him to have an Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) take up the matter.

Regulations require design approval holders (DAH) to prepare and make available ICA to persons who must comply with the instructions, including owners and maintainers. “The lack of clear guidance regarding DAH obligations has led to the proliferation of practices that are inconsistent with the language and intent of ICA requirements, including absolute refusals to provide data, onerous licensing policies, and economically impractical pricing,” the organizations said.

Maintenance organizations can be forced to either forego business opportunities or pay hefty prices for the information, while operators can face limited options for maintenance at increased prices. “Since some of the offenders are foreign DAHs, U.S. companies are disadvantaged internationally,” the letter stated.

The FAA has determined that access to and possession of ICA is important to safety, the organizations told Dickson. “However, FAA’s nebulous enforcement regime represents a weak link in the airworthiness chain,” the groups said.

Signing the letter were organizations such as the Aeronautical Repair Station Association and the Aircraft Electronics Association, along with airline groups such as Airlines for America, and business aviation, general aviation, and helicopter groups such as Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Air Transportation Association, Helicopter Association International, and NBAA.