Base maintenance & heavy checks
Heavy-check exit records review
A heavy-check exit records review reconciles the full records output of a base-maintenance check before the aircraft leaves the hangar. It is run by or for the operator or owner as a C or D check closes out. It covers the routine task cards, the non-routine cards raised during the check, the structural repairs and their substantiation, the modifications embodied, and the dent-and-buckle mapping that updates the structural record. You receive a check-closeout reconciliation, a non-routine and repair register, and the documentation gaps to close before the asset returns to the fleet.
When this review is needed
- A C or D check is closing out and the operator needs the records reconciled before the aircraft leaves the hangar.
- A heavy check generated many non-routines and the closeout paperwork has to be checked against the work.
- Repairs to the airframe were embodied during the check and their substantiation needs confirming for the record.
- An owner wants an independent read on a check's output before the asset returns to revenue service.
The problem
A heavy check produces a large volume of paperwork in a compressed window: thousands of routine cards, a wave of non-routines, repair dispositions, and modification embodiments, all signed off as the slot ends. Cards get closed faster than their supporting substantiation is filed, and a repair embodied under a disposition can leave the hangar before the approval data behind it is in the record. The check looks finished while its paper tail is still incomplete.
What gets reviewed
- Routine task cards from the check work package and their closure
- Non-routine cards raised during the check and their disposition
- Structural repairs embodied and the substantiation or approval data behind them
- Modifications embodied during the check and their effectivity and record update
- The dent-and-buckle chart and structural-record updates from the check
- Life-limited and hard-time component changes made during the check
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Each routine card in the package is closed with the required signoff
- Every non-routine raised has a recorded disposition and closure evidence
- Each structural repair carries the approved or acceptable data it was embodied under
- Modifications embodied are reflected in the configuration and effectivity record
- Dent-and-buckle entries from the check update the structural record consistently
- Component changes during the check carry their releases and updated life status
Evidence normally required
- The heavy-check work package and routine card set
- The non-routine cards raised during the check
- Repair dispositions and the substantiation or approval data behind them
- Modification embodiment records and effectivity data
- The dent-and-buckle chart and structural-record updates
Common discrepancies
- Non-routine cards closed without filed disposition or closure evidence
- Structural repairs embodied ahead of the approval data being in the record
- Modifications embodied but not reflected in the configuration record
- Component changes during the check missing their release certificates
- Dent-and-buckle entries that do not reconcile with the structural record
What is at stake
An aircraft that leaves the check with unsupported repairs or unfiled non-routines carries a documentation debt that surfaces at the next audit or the next transaction. Reconstructing a check's records after the hangar slot has closed is slow and expensive, and the structural record can stay wrong until someone catches it.
How the work runs
Pull the package
Assemble the routine cards, non-routines, repairs, and modification records from the check work package.
Reconcile closeout
Confirm each card is closed and each non-routine has a recorded disposition and closure evidence.
Check the structural tail
Verify repair substantiation, dent-and-buckle entries, and modification embodiment against the structural and configuration records.
Gap before release
List the documentation to close so the aircraft leaves the hangar with a complete check record.
What the buyer receives
- A check-closeout reconciliation against the full work package
- A non-routine and repair register with disposition status per item
- A documentation-gap list to close before the aircraft returns to the fleet
- A configuration-update note for the modifications embodied in the check
Who uses the output
- Operators confirming the check is documented before the aircraft leaves the hangar
- Owners verifying a check's output before the asset returns to service
- Records teams filing the check's repair and modification tail correctly
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The review runs at check closeout, while the work is fresh and the hangar can still produce missing paper, so the check's output is reconciled before the aircraft moves. It feeds the structural record and the configuration baseline the operator carries forward.
Start with a single asset
Start with a single tail and expand once the workflow is proven.
Aircraft-specific considerations
Heavy-check records scope is driven by the check content and the airframe. A widebody D check generates a far larger structural-repair and dent-and-buckle tail than a narrowbody C check, so the repair-substantiation reconciliation is sized to the actual check and the type's structural-record conventions.
Regulatory limits
The review reconciles the check's records and identifies gaps. It does not approve the repairs or modifications, sign the maintenance, or make an airworthiness determination on the completed check.
What this review does not cover
- Performing or approving the repairs and modifications themselves
- Physical re-inspection of the completed heavy-check work
- Issuance of any airworthiness approval for the check
Specific to this review
- A heavy check compresses the largest single batch of records an aircraft generates into one slot, so closeout reconciliation is a volume problem as much as a content one.
- Structural repairs and dent-and-buckle updates change the airframe's permanent record, so an unfiled repair from a check follows the aircraft for the rest of its life.
- Modification embodiment during a check is checked against the configuration record separately from the repair tail, because an embodied mod that never reaches the config record creates a hidden baseline error.
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. FAA guidance on making and keeping maintenance records and acceptable recordkeeping practices.
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). The legal basis for issuing and enforcing Airworthiness Directives on U.S.-registered products.
Frequently asked questions
How does this differ from the return-to-service review?
The return-to-service review checks the release entry itself. The heavy-check exit review reconciles the full body of routine, non-routine, repair, and modification records the check produced, which is a larger reconciliation than the release entry alone.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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