Boeing 787 family export airworthiness records review

When this review is needed

• A 787 is being sold or re-leased onto a foreign register and needs an export certificate.
• The importing authority has published special conditions the package must satisfy before acceptance.
• A prior export attempt stalled on documentation and the seller wants the gaps identified first.
• The delivery window is fixed and the export application cannot afford a round of rejections.

The problem

Export failures rarely come from the aircraft; they come from the paperwork behind the export certificate. The importing authority's special requirements are specific, and a status summary that satisfies the exporting authority may leave an item the receiving side insists on unsupported. On a 787 the configuration and software claims add their own trail, and a package that looks complete can miss the exact evidence the importing side asks for.

What gets reviewed

• The basis for the export certificate of airworthiness and any recorded exceptions to it
• The importing authority's special requirements matched to supporting evidence
• AD and modification status summaries the export package relies on
• The configuration and software standard as declared for the export
• Records supporting each status claim traced back to source
• Open exceptions that would prevent the importing authority from accepting the package

What gets validated

• Each importing-authority special requirement maps to a specific supporting record
• The export certificate basis reflects the aircraft's actual status, not a portfolio template
• AD and SB status summaries in the package agree with the underlying accomplishment evidence
• The declared configuration and software standard match the records for the serial number
• Any exception noted on the export certificate is supported and disclosed, not silent

Evidence normally required

• The draft or prior export certificate application and supporting package
• The importing authority's special requirements or acceptance checklist
• Current AD, SB, and modification status reports for the tail
• The configuration and software configuration records as declared
• Status summaries the package cites and their source records

Common discrepancies

• A special requirement from the importing authority with no supporting record in the package
• An export status summary that disagrees with the underlying AD accomplishment evidence
• A configuration claim that does not match the software standard on the serial number
• An exception carried on the export certificate that is asserted but not substantiated

What is at stake

A rejected export application resets the clock and can slip a delivery past its window, with parking, insurance, and financing running against the delay. Special conditions discovered late may require work that was never scoped, and an aircraft caught between registers cannot be operated on either until the export is resolved.

How the work runs

What the buyer receives

• A readiness view of the package against the importing authority's requirements
• A gap list of the documentation that would stall the export application
• A source map tying each package claim to the record behind it

Who uses the output

• Asset managers confirming the tail can export within the delivery window
• Records teams assembling and defending the export package
• Transaction stakeholders whose closing depends on a clean export

How the work fits into the transaction or program

The export review sits between the sale or lease decision and the certificate application, taking the assembled status and testing it against what the importing side will actually require. Gaps it surfaces feed remediation while there is still time to close them before the application goes in.

Aircraft-specific considerations

A 787 export leans harder on configuration and systems evidence than an older widebody, because the importing authority commonly wants the software part numbers, electrical change history, and composite repair substantiation reconciled against the declared standard. Those items are where a 787 export package is most likely to be found short, so they are checked against source rather than accepted from the summary.

Jurisdiction-specific considerations

Between an FAA and an EASA register the export certificate basis and the importing acceptance route differ, and each importing authority may layer its own special conditions on top. The review reads the package against the specific importing requirements rather than a generic export standard, and flags where evidence acceptable to one authority will not satisfy the other.

Regulatory limits

The review assesses whether the export package is supported and complete against the stated importing requirements. It does not issue an export certificate of airworthiness, grant the importing authority's acceptance, or make an airworthiness determination on the aircraft.

What this review does not cover

• Applying for or issuing the export certificate of airworthiness
• Negotiating special conditions with the importing authority
• Physical inspection or acceptance survey of the aircraft

Specific to this review

• Most export delays are documentation, not aircraft condition: the importing authority's special requirements are the usual sticking point.
• A status summary that satisfies the exporting authority can still leave an importing-side requirement unsupported, so the package is read from the receiving end.
• 787 exports commonly require the software and configuration standard reconciled to source, which is where the package most often falls short.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Relevant glossary terms

Related pages

Where this fits