Unapproved Parts: Landing Gear

The FAA has issued a new Unapproved Parts Notice (UPN) concerning landing gear manufactured and/or distributed by Seaplanes North, LLC. The landing gear was intended for installation on Aviat Aircraft, Inc., models A-1 through A-1C-200 (type certificated products).

The FAA UPN claims that Seaplanes North, LLC, located in Anchorage, Alaska, produced and sold landing gear (identified as part numbers (P/Ns) 45017-501HD-3X and 45017-502HD-3X). They sold them to various aftermarket users, and the FAA claimed that his was accomplished without an FAA production approval.

Typically, any person who knows that a replacement or modification article is reasonably likely to be installed on a type-certificated product, the person may not produce that article unless it is produced under one of the FAA-published methods found in the regulations. This includes production under FAA production approval (14 C.F.R. § 21.9(a)(2)). There is a path for repair stations to produce parts for consumption during maintenance (14 C.F.R. § 21.9(a)(6)) but unapproved landing gear typically cannot be produced and sold directly to the aftermarket.

More details are available in the FAA UPN.