Export package preparation
AD compliance status review for an export package
This review prepares an aircraft's AD compliance status so it withstands the receiving side's scrutiny in an export package. It is run for the exporting party as the package is assembled, before handover. It confirms applicability for the serial number, ties each AD to its accomplishment record, and checks that the method-of-compliance evidence supports the status the list asserts. You receive an AD status list keyed to the export questions, a list of AD positions lacking supporting evidence, and a document request set for the accomplishment records still owed.
When this review is needed
- An export package is being built and the AD status has to satisfy the receiving side.
- AD accomplishment was recorded years ago and the evidence behind it has to be located.
- The receiving authority applies its own AD set and applicability has to be confirmed for the export.
- A prior transaction surfaced AD positions taken on trust without accomplishment records.
The problem
An AD status list is a summary, and a summary is only as good as the accomplishment records beneath it. Positions carried forward for years may have detached from the work orders, task cards, or method-of-compliance evidence that once supported them, so the list reads as clean while the file behind it has holes. The receiving side reconstructs applicability against its own AD set, and any position the exporting party cannot evidence becomes a question that stalls the export.
What gets reviewed
- AD applicability confirmed for the serial number against the current AD set
- Each AD tied to the accomplishment record that closed it
- Method-of-compliance evidence checked against the status the list asserts
- Recurring ADs shown with their next-due position and interval basis
- AD positions the receiving side is likely to question raised before handover
- An AD status list indexed to the export package questions
Scope this review
Tell us the asset, the event, and the evidence in scope, and we will outline a focused first engagement.
Send a representative, redacted record set and we will scope the review.
What gets validated
- Applicability for each AD matches the serial number and its configuration
- Every AD marked complete is backed by a retrievable accomplishment record
- Method-of-compliance evidence supports the compliance the status claims
- Recurring ADs show a next-due position consistent with the accomplishment history
- AD positions flagged for the receiving side are supported by source documents on file
Evidence normally required
- The AD status list for the serial number
- Accomplishment records, work orders, and task cards behind each AD
- Method-of-compliance evidence for ADs closed by alternative means
- The current AD set the receiving side will apply
- Configuration and modification status affecting AD applicability
Common discrepancies
- An AD marked complete with no accomplishment record behind it in the file
- An applicability call that does not account for a modification embodied on the aircraft
- A recurring AD whose next-due position disagrees with the accomplishment history
- A method-of-compliance closure with no supporting evidence retained
What is at stake
An AD closed on the list but not supported in the file forces the receiving side to treat it as open, which can mean re-accomplishment before acceptance. Reconstructing accomplishment evidence for an old AD is slow, and where it cannot be recovered the aircraft may have to comply again, pulling forward work and cost the export did not assume.
How the work runs
Confirm applicability
Check each AD's applicability for the serial number against the receiving side's AD set.
Tie status to evidence
Match every closed AD to the accomplishment record and method-of-compliance evidence that supports it.
Check the recurrers
Verify next-due positions on recurring ADs against the accomplishment history.
List the gaps
Record AD positions without evidence and request the accomplishment records before handover.
What the buyer receives
- An AD status list keyed to the export package questions
- A list of AD positions lacking supporting accomplishment or compliance evidence
- A document request set for the accomplishment records still owed
Who uses the output
- Continuing-airworthiness teams evidencing the AD positions the export asserts
- Records staff locating accomplishment records for older ADs
- Asset managers tracking whether AD evidence gaps threaten the export date
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The review tests the AD position while the export package is still open, so unsupported positions surface before the receiving side reconstructs them. Its gap list drives the evidence recovery, and the finished AD status list sits in the export package alongside the release certificates and LLP trace.
Start with a single asset
Confirm the status list matches the underlying evidence.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
FAA, EASA, and TCCA each maintain their own AD sets and can adopt another authority's AD with variations, so applicability on the receiving register may differ from the departing one. The review confirms the AD status against the set the receiving side will apply rather than assuming the two lists match.
Regulatory limits
The review assembles and tests AD evidence so the receiving side can evaluate compliance. It does not determine compliance on an authority's behalf, grant an alternative method of compliance, or make any airworthiness determination.
What this review does not cover
- Accomplishing or re-accomplishing any AD
- Granting or approving an alternative method of compliance
- Any airworthiness determination on the aircraft
Specific to this review
- An AD status list can read as complete while the accomplishment records beneath it have detached, so each closed position is tested against its source.
- The receiving side reconstructs applicability against its own AD set, so a position clean on the departing register can reopen on the receiving one.
- A recurring AD is where next-due errors hide, because a single mis-recorded accomplishment shifts every interval that follows it.
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.
U.S. Government (eCFR). Export airworthiness approval requirements and special requirements of an importing authority.
European Union / EASA. EASA design and production certification, STCs, ETSO authorizations, and EASA Form 1 release.
Frequently asked questions
Our AD status list shows everything complete. Why check it again for export?
A status list summarizes positions that have to be supported by accomplishment records, and those records can detach over years. The review confirms each closed AD is evidenced and that applicability holds against the receiving side's AD set before the package ships.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
Talk to an engineer who has done this work
We will walk through your current state, the records or evidence involved, and a scoped first engagement.
Talk through the aircraft, records, evidence, deadline, and next useful step.