Maintenance Records, Inspection and Certification of Avionics Work
What this domain tests
This domain examines the paperwork and inspection discipline that turns a maintenance task into a legally completed job: work orders, task cards, inspection, certification of release to service and records retention.
Core rules and concepts
- Every task should be traceable: work order, task card, technician identification, date, part number and serial number, and the reference to approved data.
- A certificate of release to service (CRS) or maintenance release is signed only after all required work and inspections are complete and the aircraft or component is airworthy.
- Required inspection items and duplicate or independent inspections apply to specified tasks. The second inspector must be independent of the first and must actually inspect the work.
- Test equipment used for calibration-sensitive avionics tasks must be within calibration and traceable.
- Records must be legible, permanent and retained for the period required by the regulation and the operator's programme. Avionics records typically include removal/installation records, test results, software part numbers and configuration status.
Worked example
A pitot-static component is replaced. The task is not finished at installation: the system needs a leak check, pitot-static correlation checks where required, and a check that primary and standby instruments agree. Only then is the CRS signed, with part number, serial number, test reference and the certifying person's licence or authorisation entered. Returning the aircraft to service without the leak check makes the record false even if the component works on the ramp.
Traps that cost marks
- Signing a CRS before inspections and functional tests are complete.
- Recording "serviceable" without the approved data reference.
- Missing software or configuration records after an avionics update.
- Using out-of-calibration test equipment.
- Treating a duplicate inspection as a paperwork exercise.