AD status
Boeing 777 family airworthiness directive status records review
This review confirms the true AD compliance position of a Boeing 777 airframe and its engines, item by item, against source evidence. It is run for the owner, buyer, or manager of the asset, typically before a trade or a program move when the AD position has to be trusted. The work tests applicability for this serial number, ties each accomplished AD to its evidence, and confirms the method of compliance was actually met, including recurring actions. You receive an exception list, a map from each AD to its supporting record, and a plan to close the open items.
When this review is needed
- A buyer needs the 777 AD position confirmed against evidence before pricing or signing.
- The AD status list marks items complete that lack an accomplishment record behind them.
- Recurring ADs have inspection intervals whose next-due status has drifted from the program.
- Method of compliance was taken by an alternative means whose approval is not on file.
The problem
An AD status list is a summary, and on a 777 that has flown high-cycle and high-time it summarizes hundreds of directives against a service life full of terminating actions, recurring intervals, and alternative means of compliance. Items get marked complete on the strength of the list itself, terminating actions get assumed where only an interim step was done, and recurring intervals slip out of sync with the program. Proving the position means going directive by directive to the accomplishment evidence.
What gets reviewed
- AD applicability confirmed for this serial number, its engines, and their build standard
- Each accomplished AD tied to a dated accomplishment record
- Method of compliance confirmed, including alternative means and their approvals
- Recurring AD intervals checked for next-due status against the program
- Terminating actions distinguished from interim steps in the record
- Engine and appliance ADs traced through their own serialized history
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Every AD marked complete has a dated accomplishment record behind it rather than a bare list entry
- Applicability for each AD matches this serial number and its engine build standard
- Alternative means of compliance carry the approval that authorized them
- Recurring AD intervals are in step with the maintenance program's next-due dates
- Terminating actions are supported as terminating, not as an interim measure
Evidence normally required
- The current AD status list for the airframe, engines, and appliances
- Accomplishment records and the task cards that closed each AD
- Approvals for any alternative means of compliance used
- The maintenance program tasks tracking recurring AD intervals
- Engine and appliance serialized histories where ADs apply to them
Common discrepancies
- ADs marked complete on the list with no accomplishment record behind them
- An alternative means of compliance used without its approval on file
- Recurring AD intervals out of step with the program's next-due dates
- An interim step recorded as if it were the terminating action
What is at stake
An AD taken as complete without evidence can ground the aircraft the day the gap surfaces, and a recurring interval that has slipped puts the aircraft outside its own compliance basis. An alternative means used without its approval on file forces re-substantiation, and a buyer who cannot trust the AD list will either discount the asset heavily or hold the transaction until the position is proven.
Move from findings to resolution
Move from findings to a documented resolution path.
How the work runs
Confirm applicability
Establish which ADs apply to this serial number, its engines, and their build standard.
Tie each AD to evidence
Match every accomplished AD to a dated record and confirm the method of compliance.
Reconcile recurrence
Check recurring intervals against the program and separate terminating actions from interim steps.
List and sequence closure
Record unsupported and open ADs as exceptions and sequence the evidence needed to close them.
What the buyer receives
- An exception list of ADs lacking evidence, approval, or a current recurring status
- A source map from each AD to its accomplishment record
- A closure plan sequencing the open and unsupported items
Who uses the output
- Asset managers pricing the aircraft against a proven AD position
- Continuing-airworthiness staff resetting recurring intervals in the program
- Records teams handing a supported AD status to the receiving operator
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The AD review anchors the continued-airworthiness picture that the export, redelivery, and airworthiness-review evidence all draw on. Proving the AD position first gives those later packages a status they can cite with confidence and gives the buyer the single most scrutinized record set in a widebody transaction.
Aircraft-specific considerations
The 777 carries a heavy AD load across the airframe, the engines, and ETOPS-related systems, and high-cycle and high-time operation pushes many recurring inspections and terminating actions into play. Because engine ADs follow the module and its serialized history rather than the airframe, the review traces those separately and reconciles them at the aircraft level for a serial number that may have swapped engines over its life.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
An FAA AD and an EASA AD may address the same unsafe condition with different terms, and a receiving registry applies its own directives on entry. The review confirms compliance against the directives applicable on the current registry and flags where the target registry will add or differ, but it does not determine compliance for the new registry.
Regulatory limits
The review reports on the state of the AD compliance records as of the review date. It does not accomplish any AD, approve an alternative means of compliance, or make an airworthiness determination about the aircraft.
What this review does not cover
- Physically accomplishing any airworthiness directive
- Approving an alternative means of compliance
- Determining AD compliance for a registry the aircraft has not yet joined
Specific to this review
- A terminating action and an interim step look alike on a status list but mean very different things for future recurrence.
- Engine ADs travel with the module and its serial history, so an engine swap can detach the airframe list from the real position.
- A recurring AD interval out of sync with the program is an operating-limit problem rather than a records one.
- An alternative means of compliance without its approval on file is a common 777 surprise on high-utilization airframes.
- ETOPS-related directives raise the stakes on a 777 because a gap there touches dispatch eligibility, not only the paperwork.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). The legal basis for issuing and enforcing Airworthiness Directives on U.S.-registered products.
U.S. Government (eCFR). Records an owner or operator must keep, including total time in service, current status of life-limited parts, and AD compliance.
European Union / EASA. Continuing airworthiness, maintenance records, CAMO responsibilities, and the airworthiness review process in the EASA system.
Frequently asked questions
How are engine ADs handled when the aircraft has changed engines?
Engine ADs follow the module and its serialized history, not the airframe, so the review traces each installed engine's AD position through its own records and then reconciles it back to the airframe list. That catches the case where the airframe status list still reflects a previously installed engine.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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We will walk through your current state, the records or evidence involved, and a scoped first engagement.
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