scope:

Purpose of This Order.

This order provides information and guidance to aviation safety inspectors (ASI) regarding the applicability and enforcement of Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM) data listed on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) type certificate data sheet (TCDS). Information and guidance is also provided regarding OEM maintenance manual material, Service Letters (SL) and Service Bulletins (SB), and other maintenance or flight operations information including any material that has been identified or labeled by an OEM as "Mandatory."

Applicability.

Section 43.13(a) states, in part, "Each person performing maintenance, alteration, or preventive maintenance on an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance shall use the methods, techniques, and practices prescribed in:

1) The current manufacturer's maintenance manual or;

2) Instructions for Continued Airworthiness prepared by its manufacturer, or;

3) Other methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to the Administrator."

The language of § 43.13(a) clearly provides a person with three permissible options when performing maintenance, alterations, or preventive maintenance on a product. Section 43.13(a) does not provide an order of precedence for these three options. Further, although § 43.13(a) does not specifically address SB's or SL's, an OEM may legitimately incorporate an SB or SL into one of its maintenance manuals by reference. If it does so, the data specified, and the method, technique, or practice contained therein, may be acceptable to the Administrator. However, unless any method, technique, or practice prescribed by an OEM in any of its documents is specifically mandated by a regulatory document, such as Airworthiness Directive (AD), or specific regulatory language such as that in § 43.15(b); those methods, techniques, or practices are not mandatory.