Registry change
AD status review for an aircraft registry change
A registry-change AD status transition review tests whether the AD compliance record will withstand the receiving authority's scrutiny once the aircraft moves to a new register. It is run for the party preparing the transition package, ahead of the formal handover, usually the exiting operator or the incoming owner's technical team. The review works through applicability against the serial number, the accomplishment evidence behind each closed directive, and the method of compliance recorded against it. You receive an evidence map tied to the AD status list, a gap list ranked by transition risk, and a document request set aimed at the items most likely to stall acceptance.
When this review is needed
- An aircraft is moving from one national register to another and the receiving authority will re-examine AD compliance from scratch.
- The exiting register and the receiving register recognize different AD sources, so applicability has to be re-mapped.
- The AD status list was maintained under the outgoing operator's tracking and has never been tested against another authority.
- A closing date is fixed and the team needs to know which AD lines carry evidence risk before the package is handed over.
The problem
An AD status list that read cleanly under the outgoing register can unravel the moment a different authority applies its own applicability logic. Directives that were dispositioned as not applicable, complied with by a superseded method, or closed on an operator's word rather than a task-card signature all become questions the receiving side is entitled to ask. The team assembling the transition rarely knows which lines will hold until someone reads them the way the new authority will.
What gets reviewed
- Applicability of each directive re-derived against the serial number, engine, and installed configuration rather than inherited from the old list
- Accomplishment evidence located for every AD shown as complied with, down to the task card or logbook entry
- Method of compliance checked against the directive revision the receiving authority will apply
- Directives dispositioned as not applicable tested against the reason recorded for the disposition
- Recurring and open AD next-due data reconciled to current time and cycle status
- Receiving-authority questions anticipated for AD sources the new register recognizes differently
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Every AD marked complied with points to a dated accomplishment record, not just a line on the status list
- The method of compliance recorded matches an approved option in the applicable directive revision
- Not-applicable dispositions state a reason that traces to configuration or serial-number effectivity
- Recurring AD intervals reconcile to the aircraft's current hours and cycles without an overrun
- Superseded directives are shown closed by the superseding AD, not left dangling on the list
Evidence normally required
- The current AD status list as maintained under the outgoing register
- Accomplishment records, task cards, and logbook entries behind the closed directives
- Configuration and modification status that drives AD applicability for the serial number
- Current total time and cycles for recurring-directive next-due calculation
- Any receiving-authority guidance on AD sources and acceptance for the new register
Common discrepancies
- An AD dispositioned as not applicable whose stated reason no longer matches the installed configuration
- A directive closed on the status list with no accomplishment record retrievable behind it
- A method of compliance recorded against a superseded directive revision
- A recurring AD whose next-due data was never reconciled to current cycles
What is at stake
If weak AD lines are discovered during acceptance rather than before, the register change stalls while accomplishment evidence is chased from shops and prior operators that have moved on. Each unproven directive can hold the whole aircraft off the new register, and the party that owns the deadline absorbs the delay and the reconstruction cost.
How the work runs
Re-derive applicability
Rebuild the applicable-AD set from the serial number and configuration instead of inheriting the outgoing list.
Trace each closure to evidence
Locate the accomplishment record behind every directive shown complied with and confirm the method against the applicable revision.
Reconcile the open items
Check recurring and open AD next-due data against current time and cycles for overruns.
Map gaps to requests
Rank unsupported lines by transition risk and turn each into a specific document request.
What the buyer receives
Who uses the output
- Continuing-airworthiness leads who must present a defensible AD position to the receiving authority
- Asset managers tracking which directives could delay the register change
- Records teams assembling the transition package and chasing the missing evidence
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The AD status review is one strand of the wider registry-change package, running alongside the LLP trace, repair approval, and configuration reviews. It fixes the AD position the receiving authority tests first, so the gap list it produces sets the pace for the evidence recovery the rest of the transition depends on.
Start with a single asset
Confirm the status list matches the underlying evidence.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
FAA, EASA, and TCCA recognize AD sources and mandate cross-adoption differently, so a directive closed under one register may need a corresponding source directive proven for another. The review notes where the receiving authority will apply a different applicability or acceptance basis than the file was built on.
Regulatory limits
The review reads the AD record and maps its evidence against what the receiving authority is likely to require. It does not determine airworthiness, close a directive, grant or transfer any approval, or bind the receiving authority to accept the aircraft onto its register.
What this review does not cover
- Performing or signing off any outstanding AD accomplishment
- Issuing an airworthiness determination or export airworthiness approval
- Corresponding with the receiving authority on the operator's behalf
Specific to this review
- A registry change resets AD applicability logic, so directives dispositioned as not applicable under the old register are the lines most often reopened by the new one.
- Cross-adoption between authorities means a single aircraft can carry AD obligations from more than one source, and the mapping between them is where transition packages break.
- Recurring-directive next-due data drifts silently between compliance events, so it is checked against current cycles rather than trusted from the last list revision.
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
Why re-check AD applicability if the outgoing register already accepted the status list?
Acceptance under the outgoing register does not carry over. The receiving authority applies its own applicability logic and recognized AD sources, so directives that were closed or dispositioned as not applicable can reopen. The review tests the list the way the new authority will, before it costs the deadline.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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