The Vague AD Entry and the Already-Sold Charter
You are the certifying technician at a CAAP-approved maintenance organization (AMO) at Clark. A Cessna 208B on a private, non-commercial operating certificate arrives for its annual inspection. The work order is straightforward; the records are not. The previous shop's last logbook entry reads: 'AD complied, c/w inspection, no defects found' - with no AD number, revision, method or date. The certificate of registration still shows the seller's name, and the new owner says the transfer is 'being processed.' The spar-related AD you look up is at revision 4, and the earlier entry may have been made against revision 2. The owner wants the aircraft back the same evening for a chartered cargo flight to Basco; the flight is already sold and paid for. Your shop inspector suggests you 'just sign it and sort the ADs out later' because the inspection tasks themselves are finished.
1. Before you sign the maintenance release, what must be verified about AD status, and why is the existing entry not acceptable evidence?
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The entry is not evidence of compliance. A defensible record identifies the AD by number and revision, the method of compliance (visual, eddy current, repetitive interval), the date, the total time and cycles at compliance, and the certifying signature and certificate number.
Before release you must:
- Build your own applicability list for airframe, engine, propeller and appliances from the CAAP AD portal plus the state-of-design ADs (FAA/EASA).
- Compare each AD against the logbook history. A revision-4 AD may have added a repetitive inspection that the previous shop, working to revision 2, never performed.
- Physically perform or independently verify any inspection that cannot be evidenced.
- Make a fresh entry citing AD number, revision, method and result.
'Complied' with no number is unverifiable now and indefensible in an investigation, so treat it as not done. Your signature carries your licence.
2. The aircraft is on a private certificate but the owner intends to fly a sold charter. How does that affect what you may release, and what do you tell the owner?
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Maintenance and operation are two separate questions, and both must be answered.
Maintenance side: the annual inspection, AD status and any deferred items must be resolved before any release, regardless of who owns the aircraft.
Operational side: carrying cargo for hire is commercial air transport. A private-category aircraft and operator cannot conduct it without the appropriate operating certificate, the aircraft listed on that operator's specifications, and an approved maintenance control system behind it. Signing a release you know will feed an unapproved commercial flight puts you in the chain of that violation, even though you are not the operator.
The correct response is to state in writing that your release covers airworthiness only, notify your accountable manager, and direct the owner to CAAP Flight Standards on the charter question. Do not let a sold ticket become your engineering standard.
3. The records cannot be completed tonight. What lawful options remain for getting the aircraft to its base, and who authorises them?
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You cannot 'defer' an AD or an overdue inspection, and a private aircraft has no MEL to lean on.
The realistic options are:
- Do not release. Ground the aircraft, placard and document the discrepancies, and record exactly what is outstanding in the logbook.
- Complete the work. If the AD can be verified by inspection tonight, do it - the AD inspection itself is often quicker than the argument about it.
- Special flight permit (ferry permit). If the aircraft can be flown safely for a specific purpose with limitations, the operator may apply to CAAP for a special flight permit. It is issued by the authority, not by you, and it carries conditions - day/VFR only, no passengers, specific routing, no cargo for hire.
What you may never do is sign a maintenance release to make a commercial flight happen. Document your refusal, keep a copy, and escalate to your accountable manager.