Configuration evidence
Equipment list and configuration records for an FAA to EASA transfer
An EASA import review compares what is installed on the aircraft with what the records say was approved and released. This review prepares for that comparison: it checks the aircraft equipment list against installation records, authorized release certificates, and modification approvals so the configuration story is coherent before the package is handed over. It is performed during transition preparation by a records specialist working the equipment file line by line. The result is an evidence map for the equipment list, a gap list, and document requests pointed at the installations the EASA side will question.
When this review is needed
- The receiving CAMO has asked for the equipment list with supporting release documents rather than the list alone.
- Avionics and cabin equipment were swapped across prior operators and the list was maintained loosely.
- TSO articles are installed where the EASA reviewer will look for ETSO equivalence or acceptance evidence.
- A pre-delivery inspection is planned and the paper configuration must match what the inspector will physically find.
The problem
Equipment lists drift. Line stations swap units, loaners stay installed, and part-number rolls happen through SBs nobody mapped back to the list. Under a single authority this drift stays invisible for years. At a registry change it all surfaces at once, because the importing reviewer reads the equipment list, the release certificates, and the modification file as one document and flags every place they disagree. Reconciling that under delivery pressure means chasing release paperwork for units installed a decade ago.
What gets reviewed
- Aircraft equipment list reconciled line by line against installation and removal records
- Authorized release certificates matched to installed part and serial numbers
- Installations traced to the modification, SB, or type-design provision that authorizes them
- TSO and ETSO article status for equipment categories the EASA review examines closely
- Loaner, rental, and exchange units identified and their documentation status resolved
- Consistency between the equipment list, weight-and-balance records, and flight-manual supplements
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What gets validated
- Sampled list entries match a release certificate whose part and serial numbers agree with the installation record
- Each installed unit has an authorization trail: type design, SB, STC, or other approved change
- Removal and installation history for swapped units is continuous, with no unexplained appearance of a serial number
- Equipment affecting mass or limitations is reflected in weight-and-balance and flight-manual documentation
- List revision history is coherent, with no entries edited after the fact without a source record
Evidence normally required
- Current aircraft equipment list with revision history
- Installation and removal records, work orders, and line-maintenance entries for equipment changes
- Authorized release certificates for installed units, FAA Form 8130-3 or EASA Form 1
- Modification and SB records that added, moved, or superseded equipment
- Weight-and-balance records and flight-manual supplements tied to installed equipment
Common discrepancies
- Installed units with no release certificate on file, traceable only through a logbook line
- Equipment list entries superseded by an SB part-number roll that the list never recorded
- Loaner units installed under time pressure years ago and never exchanged or papered
- Weight-and-balance data that does not reflect equipment the list says is installed
What is at stake
Unsupported list entries turn into physical verification tasks: open the panel, read the dataplate, then find or recreate the release paperwork. Each one extends the pre-delivery inspection, and equipment that cannot be shown as approved for the configuration can have to be removed or replaced before the airworthiness review completes. Configuration doubt also undermines adjacent files, since reviewers who find equipment discrepancies read the modification and repair records more skeptically.
How the work runs
Baseline the list
Take the current equipment list and its revision history as the claimed configuration.
Trace installations
Match sampled and high-risk entries to installation records, release certificates, and authorizing changes.
Resolve the drift
Isolate unpapered, superseded, and loaner units and determine the cure for each.
Package for import
Deliver the evidence map, gap list, requests, and the inspection briefing note.
What the buyer receives
- An equipment evidence map linking each list entry to release and authorization documents
- A gap list ordered by the likelihood each entry draws an import finding
- A document request set for shops and prior operators holding missing release paperwork
- A pre-inspection briefing note aligning the paper configuration with what the survey should find
Who uses the output
- The receiving CAMO validating configuration during its import and airworthiness review
- Records teams finalizing the delivery binder for the transition
- Pre-delivery inspection teams who will verify installed equipment against the list
How the work fits into the transaction or program
Equipment evidence connects the physical aircraft to the records package, so this review is usually timed just before the pre-delivery inspection: paper gaps found here shape the inspection worklist, and inspection findings loop back into the gap list. Its output also feeds the modification review, since unauthorized-looking equipment is often an undocumented change rather than a missing certificate.
Start with a single asset
Confirm the status list matches the underlying evidence.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
Both authorities require installed equipment to be approved and released, but the acceptable paper differs at the margins: the FAA file leans on 8130-3 releases and maintenance records under 14 CFR Part 43, while the EASA reviewer works from EU 1321/2014 and EU 748/2012 and looks for EASA Form 1 or acceptable equivalents under the bilateral. Release documents from repair stations holding only single-authority approval are a recurring acceptance question the review flags in advance.
Regulatory limits
The review addresses documentation only. It does not physically inspect or functionally test equipment, does not approve any installation, does not determine whether a unit may remain installed, and does not substitute for the importing authority's configuration findings. It tells the owner where the paper will not hold and who can fix it.
What this review does not cover
- Physical equipment inventory or panel-open verification
- Procurement of replacement units or exchange paperwork
- Avionics functional testing or software configuration checks
Specific to this review
- Serial numbers that appear in the records without an arrival trail are the classic sign of an unpapered loaner; reviewers search for exactly this pattern.
- SB-driven part-number rolls break list reconciliation silently, because the physical unit changed identity while the list entry stayed frozen.
- A single-authority repair-station release that was acceptable when the unit was installed can still raise questions at import; the acceptance rules apply as the receiving reviewer reads them today.
- Equipment findings multiply late in a transition because the pre-delivery inspection generates them physically; resolving the paper first keeps the inspection to verification instead of discovery.
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. Completion and use of FAA Form 8130-3, Authorized Release Certificate, for new and used parts.
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
Is a full physical inventory required, or can the records be reconciled on paper?
Paper reconciliation comes first and resolves most of the list. The residue, entries with no continuous documentation trail, gets confirmed physically during the pre-delivery inspection. Running the paper review before the inspection keeps the physical work short and targeted.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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