Aircraft Airworthiness and Maintenance Control
Continuing airworthiness
Airworthiness is not a one-time event. The operator must maintain the aircraft in accordance with its type certificate, the manufacturer's instructions for continued airworthiness, and the applicable RBAC (RBAC 43 for maintenance, RBAC 91 Subpart E, and RBAC 135 Subpart G). Key concepts: the Certificado de Aeronavegabilidade (CA) and its validity conditions, the maintenance programme approved by ANAC, airworthiness directives (Diretrizes de Aeronavegabilidade) which are mandatory, and the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) which allows dispatch with specified items inoperative under defined conditions.
Traps in questions
- Confusing an airworthiness directive with a service bulletin: SBs are generally manufacturer recommendations unless made mandatory by AD.
- Believing the MEL authorises any inoperative item; only items listed, with the stated rectification interval.
- Forgetting that the MEL cannot override an AD or a type-certificate limitation.
- Mixing the 100-hour/annual inspection concept with the approved progressive maintenance programme.
- Treating a deferred item as permanently acceptable; each has a category (A, B, C, D) with a maximum deferral period.
Records and release
Maintenance must be recorded and the aircraft released to service by authorised personnel. The certification of release (retorno ao serviço) is a legal act, not a formality. Pre-flight inspections and daily checks are the crew's responsibility to verify, not to perform as maintenance.
Rule of thumb
Dispatch legality = aircraft airworthy + MEL permits the defect + ADs complied with + maintenance release valid. If any of the four fails, the flight does not go.