CFM56 task cards
CFM56 engine task-card evidence records review
This review confirms that the closed task cards behind a CFM56 engine's maintenance history are complete, signed off, and tied to the instructions they reference. It is run by or for an operator, lessor, or asset manager evaluating or transferring a specific engine serial number. It checks routine cards, sign-offs, inspection stamps, and the maintenance instructions each card cites. You receive a task-card completeness view, an exception list for open or unsupported cards, and a closure plan for the engine under review.
When this review is needed
- A shop visit generated a large task-card set and the closed cards have to be confirmed complete.
- A buyer requires each program task backed by a signed card before pricing the engine.
- Cards reference maintenance instructions and the revision cited has to match what was in force.
- An inspection stamp is required on certain cards and the presence of each stamp has to be checked.
The problem
A CFM56 shop visit closes out a thick set of task cards, and the maintenance only counts if each card is signed, stamped where required, and points to the instruction that governed it. A card left open, a missing inspection stamp, or a reference to a superseded revision hides inside a stack of hundreds, and it only turns up when a buyer's team samples the cards against the program status.
What gets reviewed
- Routine cards checked for completion and required sign-offs
- Inspection stamps confirmed on cards that require them
- Each card's referenced instruction matched to the revision in force
- Cards reconciled to the program tasks they are meant to close
- Open or deferred cards identified and tied to their disposition
- Non-routine cards raised from routine findings linked back to their parent
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Every task card is signed off by the required certifying staff
- Cards requiring an inspection stamp carry it
- The instruction revision each card references matches what was in force at accomplishment
- Closed cards reconcile to the program tasks they are meant to satisfy
- Any deferred card is tied to a disposition rather than left silently open
Evidence normally required
- The closed task-card set for the engine serial number
- The program task list the cards are meant to close
- The maintenance instructions referenced by the cards
- The inspection and certifying-staff stamps in use
- Records of any deferred or carried-forward cards
Common discrepancies
- A task card left open with no completion sign-off
- A card requiring an inspection stamp that does not carry one
- A card referencing a superseded revision of the maintenance instruction
- A closed card that does not reconcile to any program task
What is at stake
An open or unsigned card means the task it covers cannot be shown as complete, which reopens the program status the card was supposed to close. A missing inspection stamp on a required card, or a reference to the wrong instruction revision, undermines the sign-off and can force the task to be re-accomplished before the engine transfers.
Move from findings to resolution
Move from findings to a documented resolution path.
How the work runs
Pull the card set
Assemble the closed task cards for the engine and the program tasks they are meant to close.
Check each close
Confirm sign-offs, required inspection stamps, and the referenced instruction revision on each card.
Reconcile to the program
Match closed cards to the program tasks and flag any that do not correspond.
List the open cards
Identify open, unsigned, or unstamped cards and set what each needs to be settled.
What the buyer receives
- A task-card completeness view for the engine serial number
- An exception list for open, unsigned, or unstamped cards
- A closure plan naming what each open card needs to be settled
Who uses the output
- Records teams confirming the card set closes the program tasks it should
- Asset managers reading task-card completeness into the engine's records quality
- Continuing-airworthiness staff resolving open or deferred cards before transfer
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The task-card review runs after a shop visit and before the engine is marketed, so open or unsupported cards are found while the shop can still close them. Its exception list feeds the sign-off recovery and card completion the transfer depends on.
Aircraft-specific considerations
CFM56 task cards are produced in the format of whichever shop performed the visit, so card structure and stamp conventions vary across the engine's life and the large installed base. The review is scoped to the specific serial number's card sets, since the way one shop closed its cards says nothing about another.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
Certifying-staff and inspection-stamp conventions differ between FAA and EASA maintenance, so a card acceptable in one system may need a different sign-off for the other, and the review notes where a card set would require rework for the receiving register.
Regulatory limits
The review confirms that task cards are complete, signed, and correctly referenced. It does not accomplish a task, certify maintenance, or determine that the engine is airworthy.
What this review does not cover
- Re-accomplishing or signing off any task
- Issuing certifying-staff authority or inspection stamps
- Any airworthiness determination on the engine
Specific to this review
- A task is complete only when its card is closed, so an open or unsigned card reopens the program status the card was meant to settle.
- The instruction revision a card cites matters as much as the sign-off, because a card worked to a superseded revision may not satisfy the task as it now stands.
- Required inspection stamps are the field most often missing on a CFM56 card set, since the stamp is applied at a separate step from the mechanic's sign-off.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Maintenance recordkeeping content and approval-for-return-to-service requirements, including 43.9, 43.11, and Appendix B.
Federal Aviation Administration. FAA guidance on making and keeping maintenance records and acceptable recordkeeping practices.
European Union / EASA. Continuing airworthiness, maintenance records, CAMO responsibilities, and the airworthiness review process in the EASA system.
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 task cards if the program status already shows the tasks as complete?
The status shows the tasks as complete, but the closed card is the evidence behind that claim. A sample of open, unsigned, or wrongly referenced cards is exactly what a buyer's diligence finds, so the review confirms the cards support the status before someone else tests it.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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