787 modification status
Boeing 787 family modification and STC status records review
This review examines the modification and STC status of a specific Boeing 787 family aircraft to confirm each embodied change is recorded against the right effectivity and carries its approval data. A records specialist runs it for the party pricing, transferring, or configuring the tail, usually before a deal or a heavy input. It checks service bulletin embodiment, STC files, the configuration list, and the approval basis behind each change, including the software part numbers the 787 configuration turns on. You receive an exception list of unsupported or mis-recorded changes, a source map from each modification to its approval, and a closure plan for the gaps.
When this review is needed
- A 787's modification history has built up across operators and no one has reconciled the STC files recently.
- A service bulletin shows as embodied but the records do not carry the approval or effectivity behind it.
- Software part numbers in the configuration list do not match the modification record that changed them.
- A buyer needs the STC and SB status confirmed before pricing the configuration.
The problem
On a 787 the modification record is not just structural and cabin changes; it reaches into electrical architecture and loadable software, and the configuration list has to hold all of it together. A service bulletin can be recorded as embodied against effectivity that does not apply to the serial number, an STC file can be missing the approval that makes it valid on this register, and a software part number can drift from the modification that was supposed to set it. Each mismatch leaves the configuration record claiming a state the approval data does not support.
What gets reviewed
- Service bulletin embodiment recorded against effectivity that applies to this serial number
- STC files with the approval data valid for the register the aircraft serves
- The configuration list reconciled to the embodied modifications and their approvals
- Software part numbers matched to the modification records that set them
- Electrical and systems changes checked for the approval path the change required
- Interactions between modifications where one change depends on or supersedes another
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Each embodied service bulletin carries effectivity that matches the serial number
- Every claimed STC has approval data valid for the aircraft's register
- Software part numbers in the configuration list trace to a recorded modification
- Electrical and systems changes carry the major- or minor-change approval they required
- The configuration list has no modification recorded without a supporting approval reference
Evidence normally required
- The modification and STC status list with effectivity for the tail
- STC files and the associated approval and installation data
- Service bulletin embodiment records and their revision references
- The current configuration list including software part numbers
- Approval data for electrical and systems modifications
Common discrepancies
- A service bulletin recorded as embodied against effectivity that does not apply to the serial number
- An STC in the status list with no approval data valid for the current register
- A software part number in the configuration that no modification record accounts for
- A systems change recorded as minor that required a major-change approval path
What is at stake
A modification without traceable approval can force removal or re-substantiation, and on this type a systems change dragged out of configuration can affect other functions that depend on it. A mis-recorded effectivity means the aircraft is credited with a change it may not carry, which unravels at the first audit or transaction, and an STC valid only on the outgoing register stalls induction onto the receiving one.
Move from findings to resolution
Move from findings to a documented resolution path.
How the work runs
Assemble the claimed status
Pull the modification, STC, and service bulletin status the records assert for the serial number.
Check effectivity and approval
Confirm each change applies to this aircraft and carries valid approval data for its register.
Reconcile the configuration
Match software part numbers and systems changes to the modifications that set them.
List the exceptions
Flag unsupported or mis-recorded changes and sequence the approvals to recover.
What the buyer receives
- An exception list of unsupported, mis-recorded, or mis-effective modifications
- A source map tying each modification and STC to its approval data and effectivity
- A closure plan for the approvals to recover and the configuration entries to correct
Who uses the output
- Records teams setting a modification baseline the configuration record rests on
- Engineering deciding how to treat a modification with no traceable approval
- Asset and acquisition teams pricing the configuration the approvals actually support
How the work fits into the transaction or program
Modification status feeds the configuration baseline that AD applicability, equipment status, and weight and balance all depend on, so this review confirms each change is real and approved before those reviews build on it. Its findings flow into the repair-approval and equipment-list work where a modification touched structure or fit, and its STC validation supports a register change at induction.
Aircraft-specific considerations
The 787 carries a large amount of loadable software and a more integrated electrical architecture than earlier widebodies, so a modification here often changes a software part number or a systems function rather than only physical hardware. That makes the configuration list, not just the modification log, the record that has to agree, because a software part number out of step with its modification is a real configuration defect. The review is scoped to the actual modification history on the serial number.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
An STC approved by the FAA is not automatically valid for an EASA operator, so the review flags each STC that will need validation or a parallel approval before the tail can be inducted onto the receiving register.
Regulatory limits
The review confirms the recorded modifications are supported by approval data and correct effectivity. It does not approve a modification, grant or validate an STC, or make an airworthiness determination on the configuration or the aircraft.
What this review does not cover
- A physical configuration survey of the aircraft
- Developing, approving, or validating modification or STC data
- Any airworthiness determination on the configuration or the aircraft
Specific to this review
- On a 787 a modification can change a software part number, so the configuration list has to be checked as closely as the modification log to catch drift.
- Effectivity is the most common failure point: a service bulletin can be real and still recorded against a serial number it does not apply to.
- An STC valid only on the outgoing register is a hidden induction blocker, because the change is genuine but not yet accepted where the aircraft is headed.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Maintenance recordkeeping content and approval-for-return-to-service requirements, including 43.9, 43.11, and Appendix B.
U.S. Government (eCFR). Type certificates, STCs (Subpart E), TSO authorizations (Subpart O), PMA (Subpart K), and export airworthiness approvals (Subpart L).
Federal Aviation Administration. STC application process, certification basis, and continued airworthiness obligations of an STC holder.
European Union / EASA. EASA design and production certification, STCs, ETSO authorizations, and EASA Form 1 release.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Why check software part numbers as part of a modification review on the 787?
The 787 relies on loadable software across its systems, and a modification can change a software part number the same way it changes hardware. If the configuration list shows a software part number that no modification record accounts for, the aircraft is in a configuration the approval data does not support, which is exactly the kind of gap a register change or an audit surfaces.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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