The Unrecorded Maintenance Release
A four-seat light aircraft is due for its annual inspection. The maintenance organisation completes the inspection and signs the maintenance release in the aircraft log. Two weeks later, the aircraft is sold. The new owner finds that the release was signed by a licensed engineer whose authorisation had lapsed 10 days before the inspection, although the engineer had 20 years of experience and the work was done correctly. The aircraft has flown 12 hours since the inspection. The new owner wants to fly it on a 3-hour cross-country the next day. The previous owner says the aircraft is 'obviously fine'.
1. Is the aircraft airworthy in the regulatory sense, and can it be flown tomorrow?
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The aircraft is not in a valid airworthy condition for flight in the regulatory sense. Airworthiness is not only physical condition; it depends on a valid maintenance release signed by a person authorised to do so. If the signatory's authorisation had lapsed, the release is defective, and the aircraft has been operating without a valid release for 12 hours.
The fact that the work was done correctly and the engineer was experienced does not cure the defect. The authorisation is the legal basis for the signature. The previous owner's assurance is irrelevant.
The aircraft should not be flown on the cross-country until a properly authorised person reviews the inspection, confirms the work, and issues a valid release. That may be a straightforward re-certification, but it must happen first.
2. What are the responsibilities of the new owner, the maintenance organisation, and the engineer?
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The new owner is responsible for confirming the aircraft's records before flight. A pre-purchase or pre-flight records check should have caught the lapsed authorisation. The owner must ground the aircraft until a valid release is issued and should notify the maintenance organisation.
The maintenance organisation is responsible for ensuring that only currently authorised staff sign releases. It should investigate how a lapsed authorisation went unnoticed, review its authorisation register, and re-issue the release through an authorised signatory after verifying the inspection.
The engineer must not sign releases outside the scope or validity of the authorisation. Signing while lapsed is a regulatory breach even with good intentions. Depending on national rules, the engineer and organisation may need to report the matter to the authority. The owner should keep records of the corrective action.