For certificated small aircraft that are not required to have a minimum equipment list. If you have an instrument break while on a cross country flight and it is not a legally required instrument for the type of flight. You are on the ground at a distant airfield and would like to return to your home-base mechanic rather than hiring an A&P in the middle of the trip.(or if the airport has no local services) Can the pilot legally label the instrument as inoperative for the duration of the trip without hiring an A&P to officially "deactivate" and placard the item?
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2$\begingroup$ In a practical sense you could simply take off and claim the instrument broke in flight. I just want to know what the "correct" answer is for the bureaucrats, officials, inspectors, oral exam, etc. 91.213 d 3(ii) mentions "if deactivation... involves maintenance, it must be... in accordance with part 43" but to me that is extremely vague, is breaking not deactivation? Does breakage not imply that it will eventually involve maintenance? $\endgroup$– Max PowerFeb 18, 2019 at 3:09
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$\begingroup$ Not sure if it's per regulation, but one training flight we noticed that one of the fuel gauges was stuck (it didn't move even though we were draining from both tanks, we confirmed that after landing). The instructor wrote it up in the aircraft log, notified the maintenance department, and the scheduling department to have it looked at before the next flight. The instrument wasn't fitted with a sticker (whether that's because he didn't have one with him or what I don't know). $\endgroup$– jwentingMar 13, 2019 at 5:17
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$\begingroup$ But you were in flight at the time the failure was noticed and landed at your base with the preferred maintenance department. Yes? This is basically the opposite of what my question is about. $\endgroup$– Max PowerMar 19, 2019 at 0:59
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$\begingroup$ Yes, we noticed in flight that one of the fuel gauges wasn't moving. It was written up, the aircraft continued operating that day, and the next time I went up a week later it'd been fixed. $\endgroup$– jwentingMar 19, 2019 at 17:26
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2 Answers
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The answer to your question is probably. The rule governing this is
§91.213 Inoperative instruments and equipment. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may take off an aircraft with inoperative instruments or equipment installed unless the following conditions are met:
and if you skip past the MEL section (which, as you noted, doesn’t apply to most small general aviation aircraft) you see the conditions that must be met.
(3) The inoperative instruments and equipment are—
(i) Removed from the aircraft, the cockpit control placarded, and the maintenance recorded in accordance with §43.9 of this chapter; or
(ii) Deactivated and placarded “Inoperative.” If deactivation of the inoperative instrument or equipment involves maintenance, it must be accomplished and recorded in accordance with part 43 of this chapter; and
(4) A determination is made by a pilot, who is certificated and appropriately rated under part 61 of this chapter, or by a person, who is certificated and appropriately rated to perform maintenance on the aircraft, that the inoperative instrument or equipment does not constitute a hazard to the aircraft.
Suppose your landing light burns out. A landing light is not required unless you are flying for hire, so you can put a piece of tape under the switch and label it Inoperative and you are good to go.
If your transponder fails, turn it off and mark it Inoperative. If you are going to fly in airspace that requires a transponder, you have to jump through some hoops per §91.215, but you are still good.
If there is something that requires removal or disabling—and it is not something you are allowed to do in Part 43—then you need an A&P to remove or disable it and make a logbook entry. I’m having a hard time thinking of something that would need disabled and yet you could still legally fly the airplane. The best I can come up with right now is a stuck push-to-talk button. That’s not listed in Part 43 as something that you can perform maintenance on, so an A&P would have to disable it and make a logbook entry.
By the way, you can fly forever with inoperative equipment. There is a LORAN in plane I fly that has been marked inop since they decommissioned LORAN. When I put a new radio in my plane 10 years ago, I kept the old one in case something happened to the new one, and marked the nav portion inop.
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$\begingroup$ Don't forget that some equipment listed in the AFM as "required" must be functional for flight, even if it's not listed in 91.215. I seem to remember the C172 "required" a pilot's seat cushion, for example. :-) Since all that stuff in the AFM is incorporated into the type certificate for the craft, it has to be functional. And of course, there's common sense and safety, regardless of whatever anyone else says. $\endgroup$ Mar 13, 2019 at 1:07
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$\begingroup$ @grumpy1arrival If you want to make a flight with inoperative required equipment, it is sometimes possible with a ferry permit. I don’t know exactly how that works though. $\endgroup$– JScarryMar 13, 2019 at 15:28
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$\begingroup$ Indeed. In the US, a ferry permit can be obtained by contacting the local FSDO. (Just noting this here in case someone stumbles upon this thread someday.) Described here: aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/814/… $\endgroup$ Mar 13, 2019 at 19:23
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1$\begingroup$ On further review and [informally] consulting with somebody from the FAA on the interpretation. The key answer is in "(4) A determination is made by a pilot, who is certificated and appropriately rated under part 61 of this chapter..." Basically this gives the pilot very broad authority regarding placarding and the whether their is a need to have an A&P disable the item. $\endgroup$ Apr 1, 2020 at 2:22
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For the US, 14 CFR Part 43.3(g) says:
“[T]he holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot which is not used under part 121, 129, or 135 of this chapter.”
Appendix A of Part 43 contains the specific list of things a pilot can do. In general, if it's not on that list, a private pilot without A&P certification cannot perform the task.
At the time of this posting, it reads:
(c) Preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is limited to the following work, provided it does not involve complex assembly operations:
(1) Removal, installation, and repair of landing gear tires.
(2) Replacing elastic shock absorber cords on landing gear.
(3) Servicing landing gear shock struts by adding oil, air, or both.
(4) Servicing landing gear wheel bearings, such as cleaning and greasing.
(5) Replacing defective safety wiring or cotter keys.
(6) Lubrication not requiring disassembly other than removal of nonstructural items such as cover plates, cowlings, and fairings.
(7) Making simple fabric patches not requiring rib stitching or the removal of structural parts or control surfaces. In the case of balloons, the making of small fabric repairs to envelopes (as defined in, and in accordance with, the balloon manufacturers' instructions) not requiring load tape repair or replacement.
(8) Replenishing hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic reservoir.
(9) Refinishing decorative coating of fuselage, balloon baskets, wings tail group surfaces (excluding balanced control surfaces), fairings, cowlings, landing gear, cabin, or cockpit interior when removal or disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is not required.
(10) Applying preservative or protective material to components where no disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is involved and where such coating is not prohibited or is not contrary to good practices.
(11) Repairing upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit, or balloon basket interior when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary structure of the aircraft.
(12) Making small simple repairs to fairings, nonstructural cover plates, cowlings, and small patches and reinforcements not changing the contour so as to interfere with proper air flow.
(13) Replacing side windows where that work does not interfere with the structure or any operating system such as controls, electrical equipment, etc.
(14) Replacing safety belts.
(15) Replacing seats or seat parts with replacement parts approved for the aircraft, not involving disassembly of any primary structure or operating system.
(16) Trouble shooting and repairing broken circuits in landing light wiring circuits.
(17) Replacing bulbs, reflectors, and lenses of position and landing lights.
(18) Replacing wheels and skis where no weight and balance computation is involved.
(19) Replacing any cowling not requiring removal of the propeller or disconnection of flight controls.
(20) Replacing or cleaning spark plugs and setting of spark plug gap clearance.
(21) Replacing any hose connection except hydraulic connections.
(22) Replacing prefabricated fuel lines.
(23) Cleaning or replacing fuel and oil strainers or filter elements.
(24) Replacing and servicing batteries.
(25) Cleaning of balloon burner pilot and main nozzles in accordance with the balloon manufacturer's instructions.
(26) Replacement or adjustment of nonstructural standard fasteners incidental to operations.
(27) The interchange of balloon baskets and burners on envelopes when the basket or burner is designated as interchangeable in the balloon type certificate data and the baskets and burners are specifically designed for quick removal and installation.
(28) The installations of anti-misfueling devices to reduce the diameter of fuel tank filler openings provided the specific device has been made a part of the aircraft type certificiate data by the aircraft manufacturer, the aircraft manufacturer has provided FAA-approved instructions for installation of the specific device, and installation does not involve the disassembly of the existing tank filler opening.
(29) Removing, checking, and replacing magnetic chip detectors.
(30) The inspection and maintenance tasks prescribed and specifically identified as preventive maintenance in a primary category aircraft type certificate or supplemental type certificate holder's approved special inspection and preventive maintenance program when accomplished on a primary category aircraft provided:
(i) They are performed by the holder of at least a private pilot certificate issued under part 61 who is the registered owner (including co-owners) of the affected aircraft and who holds a certificate of competency for the affected aircraft (1) issued by a school approved under §147.21(e) of this chapter; (2) issued by the holder of the production certificate for that primary category aircraft that has a special training program approved under §21.24 of this subchapter; or (3) issued by another entity that has a course approved by the Administrator; and
(ii) The inspections and maintenance tasks are performed in accordance with instructions contained by the special inspection and preventive maintenance program approved as part of the aircraft's type design or supplemental type design.
(31) Removing and replacing self-contained, front instrument panel-mounted navigation and communication devices that employ tray-mounted connectors that connect the unit when the unit is installed into the instrument panel, (excluding automatic flight control systems, transponders, and microwave frequency distance measuring equipment (DME)). The approved unit must be designed to be readily and repeatedly removed and replaced, and pertinent instructions must be provided. Prior to the unit's intended use, and operational check must be performed in accordance with the applicable sections of part 91 of this chapter.
Don't forget also, of course, that "required" equipment involves not only the Part 91 required items for the type of flight, but also what is written in the AFM, STC documents and any placards that might apply to the intended flight conditions.
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5$\begingroup$ This would be an excellent answer to whether a PPL could repair the broken instrument, but I don't see how it addresses merely adding an "INOP" sticker to said instrument without actually repairing it. Does that even qualify as "maintenance"? $\endgroup$– StephenSMar 12, 2019 at 20:31
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1$\begingroup$ Right, but we already know that we can't just placard it... per the FAR, it has to be both marked INOP and "deactivated" (the definition of which is supposedly intentionally vague). So if that is the question, it's definitely "No". $\endgroup$ Mar 13, 2019 at 1:03
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3$\begingroup$ If the instrument is non-functional, then it deactivated itself and no maintenance is required--just the INOP sticker. If it is malfunctioning, then in some cases you could pull it's breaker to deactivate it, which is also not maintenance. What non-required equipment truly requires "maintenance" to deactivate? For safety reasons, a pilot should be able to shut off anything non-essential in flight, e.g. to reduce battery load if the alternator fails. $\endgroup$– StephenSMar 13, 2019 at 1:25
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$\begingroup$ I suppose this touches my question; changing fuses is maintenance, even vacuuming the interior and washing the windows is maintenance. Where I come from disabling an item is not maintenance. (because the state of the widget is not maintained) $\endgroup$ Mar 19, 2019 at 0:51
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$\begingroup$ Keeping in mind my question is completely academic. The practical answer would be formed based on the needs of a specific situation and all the fine details of real life. $\endgroup$ Mar 19, 2019 at 0:53