ASTM International
Section 01: Organizations & Authorities
Definition
An international standards development organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. In aviation, ASTM's Committee F44 on General Aviation Aircraft and Committee F39 on Aircraft Systems play a central role in developing the consensus standards that support the restructured Part 23 and CS-23 performance-based regulations. ASTM aviation standards provide the detailed technical criteria that the high-level regulatory requirements reference.
Where This Shows Up
The restructured Part 23 (Amendment 23-64) and CS-23 (Amendment 5) deliberately moved detailed prescriptive requirements out of the regulation and into industry consensus standards, with ASTM standards being the primary referenced standards. This allows technical criteria to be updated through the consensus process without requiring rulemaking.
Primary Sources
The ASTM committee responsible for developing consensus standards for normal-category aircraft.
The ASTM committee developing standards for aircraft systems applicable to Part 23 aircraft.
Related Terms
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