Export readiness
Aircraft export records review
An aircraft export records review confirms the records support an export airworthiness approval before one is sought from the exporting authority. It is run by or for the seller, owner, or lessor preparing to export an asset. It checks AD status and configuration against the export basis, addresses the importing state's special requirements that the exporting side has to satisfy, and verifies that component release evidence is in order. You receive an export-readiness gap list, the items the importing state has flagged, and the evidence each open point needs before the approval is requested.
When this review is needed
- An export airworthiness approval is about to be sought and the records have to support it.
- The importing state has stated special requirements the exporting side must satisfy first.
- Configuration or repair history needs confirming against the export basis.
- A sale is conditioned on export and the records position decides the timeline.
The problem
An export airworthiness approval rests on the records, and the exporting authority will look for AD status, configuration, and release evidence that hold together before issuing it. The importing state usually adds special requirements that the exporting side has to address as part of the approval. If the records are taken to the authority before they are reconciled, the request returns with findings, the approval slips, and the export date that the sale depends on moves with it.
What gets reviewed
- Airworthiness Directive status against the export basis and the importing state's requirements
- Configuration and approval basis for modifications and major repairs
- Authorized release certificates for installed and replaced components
- The importing state's special requirements the exporting side must satisfy
- The airworthiness review or equivalent currency relevant to export
- Maintenance-program records supporting the export request
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
- AD status is complete and supported against the basis the export approval will state
- Each modification and major repair carries its approval and substantiation
- Component releases are present and valid for the installed configuration
- The importing state's special requirements are mapped to records evidence
- Airworthiness review or equivalent currency supports the export timing
- Status carried from tracking is reconciled to source records before the request
Evidence normally required
- Current AD and modification status reports
- The importing state's stated special requirements where available
- Release certificates for installed and replaced components
- Major repair and alteration documentation with approval references
- The most recent airworthiness review or equivalent documentation
Common discrepancies
- AD accomplishment evidence missing for a directive the export basis covers
- A major repair recorded without the approval or substantiation behind it
- Component releases absent for parts installed late in the operating life
- Importing-state special requirements not yet reflected in the records
- Insufficient airworthiness review currency to carry through the export
- Tracking status that does not reconcile to the source documents
What is at stake
An export approval delayed by records findings holds the sale and the delivery. Each iteration with the exporting authority adds time, and gaps that could have been closed quietly before the request become formal findings on the approval once it is in process.
How the work runs
Set the export basis
Establish the basis the export approval will state and the importing state's stated special requirements.
Confirm AD and configuration
Verify AD status and the approval and substantiation behind modifications and major repairs against that basis.
Address importing requirements
Map the importing state's special requirements to records evidence and flag what is still open.
Close before the request
Produce the closure list so findings are resolved while the asset is still under the exporting authority.
What the buyer receives
- An export-readiness gap list keyed to the export basis and importing requirements
- A list of the importing state's special requirements with their evidence status
- A closure list with the evidence each open item needs before the approval is sought
Who uses the output
- Sellers and owners preparing the export approval request
- Continuing-airworthiness teams assembling the export package
- Transaction stakeholders timing the export to the sale
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The review runs before the export approval request so findings are closed while the asset is still under the exporting authority's oversight. It feeds the export package and hands the importing side a record set that already addresses its stated requirements.
Start with a single asset
Start with a single tail and expand once the workflow is proven.
Aircraft-specific considerations
Major repairs and alterations carry the most export risk. An aircraft with a history of structural repair or non-standard modification needs its approval and substantiation data confirmed against the export basis, since these are the items the exporting authority examines most closely.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
An export airworthiness approval addresses the importing state's special requirements as part of issuance. The exporting authority states the basis and any exceptions, and the review aligns the records to that basis before the request rather than after.
Regulatory limits
The review reports readiness for an export approval request. It does not issue an export airworthiness approval, a certificate of airworthiness, or any other approval, and it does not make an airworthiness determination. Issuance remains with the exporting authority.
What this review does not cover
- Requesting or issuing the export airworthiness approval
- Issuance of a certificate of airworthiness
- Physical inspection or return-to-service tasks
Specific to this review
- An export airworthiness approval addresses the importing state's special requirements as part of issuance, so those requirements are checked into the records before the request.
- Major repairs and alterations are the items the exporting authority examines most closely, because their approval and substantiation carry to the importing side.
- Closing findings before the request keeps them out of the formal approval process, where each iteration with the authority costs schedule.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Export airworthiness approval requirements and special requirements of an importing authority.
U.S. Government (eCFR). Type certificates, STCs (Subpart E), TSO authorizations (Subpart O), PMA (Subpart K), and export airworthiness approvals (Subpart L).
U.S. Government (eCFR). The legal basis for issuing and enforcing Airworthiness Directives on U.S.-registered products.
U.S. Government (eCFR). Maintenance recordkeeping content and approval-for-return-to-service requirements, including 43.9, 43.11, and Appendix B.
European Union / EASA. EASA design and production certification, STCs, ETSO authorizations, and EASA Form 1 release.
Frequently asked questions
Do you issue the export airworthiness approval?
No. Issuance is the exporting authority's act. The review confirms the records support the request and addresses the importing state's requirements first, so the approval process meets fewer findings.
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.
Walk through your situation with an engineer who has done this work.