ASA Responds to FAA Draft “Destroyed Aircraft” Guidance

ASA filed comments today in an effort to protect the industry from arbitrary and capricious behavior that could devalue aircraft assets.

As we reported previously, the FAA has proposed a new advisory circular that would give FAA employees the power to (1) declare that an aircraft cannot be repaired, and (2) force de-registration of the aircraft after the declaration. The guidance explicitly allows FAA employees to use a subjective analysis for considering repair-ability. This created a situation in which aircraft that belong to our members could be prematurely declared “destroyed” and removed from the US registry against the wishes of the owner.

This is contrary to the US aircraft registration statute, which allows any aircraft owned by a US person to be registered. FAA opinions about repair-ability are not an element of this statutory analysis.

Today, ASA joined with AFRA to file comments in response to the FAA’s draft AC 21-DAC. The comments pointed out some of the flaws in the proposed guidance and suggested ways to improve it.

The comment period on this document closes tomorrow so there is still time to file your own comments!