§ 44713 — Inspection And Maintenance

(a) An air carrier shall make, or cause to be made, any inspection, repair, or maintenance of equipment used in air transportation as required by this part or regulations prescribed or orders issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under this part. A person operating, inspecting, repairing, or maintaining the equipment shall comply with those requirements, regulations, and orders. (b) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall employ inspectors who shall— (1) inspect aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances designed for use in air transportation, during manufacture and when in use by an air carrier in air transportation, to enable the Administrator to decide whether the aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances are in safe condition and maintained properly; and (2) advise and cooperate with the air carrier during that inspection and maintenance. (c) When an inspector decides that an aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance is not in condition for safe operation, the inspector shall notify the air carrier in the form and way prescribed by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. For 5 days after the carrier is notified, the aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance may not be used in air transportation or in a way that endangers air transportation unless the Administrator or the inspector decides the aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance is in condition for safe operation. (1) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall make modifications in the system for processing forms for major repairs or alterations to fuel tanks and fuel systems of aircraft not used to provide air transportation that are necessary to make the system more effective in serving the needs of users of the system, including officials responsible for enforcing laws related to the regulation of controlled substances (as defined in section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802)). The modifications shall address at least each of the following deficiencies in, and abuses of, the existing system: (A) the lack of a special identification feature to allow the forms to be distinguished easily from other major repair and alteration forms. (B) the excessive period of time required to receive the forms at the Airmen and Aircraft Registry of the Administration. (C) the backlog of forms waiting for processing at the Registry. (D) the lack of ready access by law enforcement officials to information contained on the forms. (2) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall prescribe regulations to carry out paragraph (1) of this subsection and provide a written explanation of how the regulations address each of the deficiencies and abuses described in paragraph (1). In prescribing the regulations, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall consult with the Administrator of Drug Enforcement, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, other law enforcement officials of the United States Government, representatives of State and local law enforcement officials, representatives of the general aviation aircraft industry, representatives of users of general aviation aircraft, and other interested persons. (1) The Administrator shall give high priority to developing and deploying a fully enhanced safety performance analysis system that includes automated surveillance to assist the Administrator in prioritizing and targeting surveillance and inspection activities of the Federal Aviation Administration. (A) The initial phase of the operational deployment of the system developed under this subsection shall begin not later than December 31, 1997. (B) The final phase of field deployment of the system developed under this subsection shall begin not later than December 31, 1999. By that date, all principal operations and maintenance inspectors of the Administration, and appropriate supervisors and analysts of the Administration shall have been provided access to the necessary information and resources to carry out the system. (3) In developing the system under this section, the Administration shall consider the near-term integration of accident and incident data into the safety performance analysis system under this subsection.