Export package preparation
Modification and STC status review for an export package
This review prepares an aircraft's modification and STC position so the export package presents a configuration the receiving side can accept. It is run for the exporting party as the package is assembled, before handover. It gathers the Service Bulletin records, STC files, and configuration lists, confirms the approval data behind each non-basic change, and checks that the recorded configuration matches the airframe the export describes. You receive a modification status report keyed to the export questions, a list of changes whose approval basis is missing or contested, and a document request set for the STC and approval evidence still owed.
When this review is needed
- An export package is being built and the modification status has to satisfy the receiving side.
- STCs on the aircraft carry approval files that have to be complete before export.
- Service Bulletin embodiment has to be shown with the correct revision and effectivity for the export.
- A prior export was questioned on a modification and the package is being rebuilt to close it.
The problem
The modification file is often the least maintained part of a record set, and an export exposes every gap in it. An STC embodied years ago may have lost its approval file, a Service Bulletin may be recorded against a revision that no longer matches the change as done, and the configuration list may assert equipment the airframe no longer carries. The receiving side reads the modification status against what it will accept, and any change the exporting party cannot evidence turns into a question that holds the package.
What gets reviewed
- Embodied STCs gathered with their certificates and approval files
- Service Bulletin embodiment presented at the revision and effectivity as accomplished
- The approval data and substantiation behind each non-basic modification
- Configuration lists reconciled to the airframe the export describes
- Modifications the receiving side is likely to question raised before handover
- A modification status report 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
- Each embodied STC has its certificate and approval file present in the package
- Service Bulletin embodiment carries the revision and effectivity applicable to the serial number
- The data supporting each modification is on file and suits the way the change was installed
- Configuration lists agree with the airframe and the export documentation
- Modifications flagged for the receiving side are supported by retrievable approval files
Evidence normally required
- The modification and STC status list with effectivity
- STC certificates together with the approval and substantiation data for each change
- Service Bulletin embodiment records showing the revision as accomplished
- Configuration lists for the serial number
- The receiving side's requirements for modification evidence
Common discrepancies
- An embodied STC whose approval file is missing from the record set
- A Service Bulletin recorded against a revision that no longer matches the change as done
- A configuration list asserting equipment the airframe no longer carries
- A modification with no substantiation behind the approval data it cites
What is at stake
A modification the receiving side will not accept can force the exporting party to reconstruct the approval basis, arrange a validation, or reverse the change before the package closes. Where the basis is lost, the aircraft may have to be returned to a known configuration, and that work lands against a shipping window with no slack in it.
How the work runs
Gather the file
Assemble the STC certificates, Service Bulletin records, and configuration lists for the serial number.
Confirm the basis
Verify the approval data behind each modification and the effectivity of each embodiment.
Reconcile to the airframe
Check the configuration lists against the airframe and the export documentation.
Sort and request
Flag modifications needing validation or recovery and request the missing files before handover.
What the buyer receives
- A modification status report keyed to the export package questions
- A list of modifications whose approval basis is missing or contested
- A document request set for the STC and approval evidence still owed
Who uses the output
- Continuing-airworthiness teams evidencing the modification basis the export asserts
- Records staff recovering approval files for older STCs and modifications
- Asset managers tracking whether modification gaps threaten the export date
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The review tests the modification file while the export package is open, so contested changes surface before the receiving side raises them. Its gap list drives the approval-file recovery, and the modification status report sits in the export package alongside the repair records and configuration evidence.
Start with a single asset
Confirm the status list matches the underlying evidence.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
STC recognition between FAA, EASA, and TCCA runs through bilateral agreements that cover some changes and exclude others, so an STC valid where it was embodied is not automatically acceptable to the receiving side. The review identifies which modifications sit inside a recognized route and which will need a validation before the export can proceed.
Regulatory limits
The review assembles and tests modification evidence for the receiving side to evaluate. It does not validate an STC, approve a modification, or make any airworthiness determination on the installed configuration.
What this review does not cover
- Preparing or lodging an STC validation application
- Authoring or approving new modification data for the change
- Any airworthiness call on the configuration the aircraft carries
Specific to this review
- The modification file is usually the least maintained part of the record set, so an export exposes gaps that day-to-day operation never surfaced.
- A Service Bulletin recorded against a superseded revision reads as a configuration the aircraft no longer has, which the receiving side treats as a discrepancy.
- Where an STC approval file is lost and no validation route exists, the change may have to be reversed to a known configuration before the export closes.
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). Export airworthiness approval requirements and special requirements of an importing authority.
Frequently asked questions
Will the receiving side accept the STCs already on the aircraft?
Only where a recognized validation or acceptance route exists between the two authorities. The review identifies which modifications fall inside that route and which need a validation or reversal before the export package closes.
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.