Introduction

What is maintenance and why is it performed? Past and current maintenance practices in both
the private and Government sectors would imply that maintenance is the actions associated with
equipment repair after it is broken. The dictionary defines maintenance as follows: “the work of
keeping something in proper condition; upkeep.” This would imply that maintenance should be
actions taken to prevent a device or component from failing or to repair normal equipment
degradation experienced with the operation of the device to keep it in proper working order.
Unfortunately, data obtained in many studies over the past decade indicates that most private and
Government facilities do not expend the necessary resources to maintain equipment in proper
working order. Rather, they wait for equipment failure to occur and then take whatever actions
are necessary to repair or replace the equipment. Nothing lasts forever and all equipment has
associated with it some predefined life expectancy or operational life. For example, equipment
may be designed to operate at full design load for 5,000 hours and may be designed to go
through 15,000 start and stop cycles.
The design life of most equipment requires periodic maintenance. Belts need adjustment,
alignment needs to be maintained, proper lubrication on rotating equipment is required, and so
on. In some cases, certain components need replacement, e.g., a wheel bearing on a motor
vehicle, to ensure the main piece of equipment (in this case a car) last for its design life. Anytime
we fail to perform maintenance activities intended by the equipment’s designer, we shorten the
operating life of the equipment. But what options do we have? Over the last 30 years, different
approaches to how maintenance can be performed to ensure equipment reaches or exceeds its
design life have been developed in the United States. In addition to waiting for a piece of
equipment to fail (reactive maintenance), we can utilize preventive maintenance, predictive
maintenance, or reliability centered maintenance.

Reactive Maintenance
Reactive maintenance is basically the “run it till it breaks” maintenance mode. No actions or
efforts are taken to maintain the equipment as the designer originally intended to ensure design
life is reached. Studies as recent as the winter of 2000 indicate this is still the predominant mode
of maintenance in the United States. The referenced study breaks down the average maintenance
program
as follows:
• >55% Reactive
• 31% Preventive
• 12% Predictive
• 2% Other.
Note that more than 55% of maintenance resources and activities of an average facility are still
reactive.
Advantages to reactive maintenance can be viewed as a double-edged sword. If we are dealing
with new equipment, we can expect minimal incidents of failure. If our maintenance program is
purely reactive, we will not expend manpower dollars or incur capitol cost until something
breaks.
Since we do not see any associated maintenance cost, we could view this period as saving
money. The downside is reality. In reality, during the time we believe we are saving maintenance
and capitol cost, we are really spending more dollars than we would have under a different
maintenance approach. We are spending more dollars associated with capitol cost because, while
waiting for the equipment to break, we are shortening the life of the equipment resulting in more
frequent replacement. We may incur cost upon failure of the primary device associated with its
failure causing the failure of a secondary device. This is an increased cost we would not have
experienced if our maintenance program was more proactive. Our labor cost associated with
repair will probably be higher than normal because the failure will most likely require more
extensive repairs than would have been required if the piece of equipment had not been run to
failure. Chances are the piece of equipment will fail during off hours or close to the end of the
normal workday. If it is a critical piece of equipment that needs to be back on-line quickly, we
will have to pay maintenance overtime cost. Since we expect to run equipment
to failure, we will require a large material inventory of repair parts. This is a cost we could
minimize
under a different maintenance strategy.
Advantages
• Low cost.
• Less staff.
Disadvantages
• Increased cost due to unplanned downtime of equipment.
• Increased labor cost, especially if overtime is needed.
• Cost involved with repair or replacement of equipment.
• Possible secondary equipment or process damage from equipment failure.
• Inefficient use of staff resources.

Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance can be defined as follows: Actions performed on a time- or machine-
run-based schedule that detect, preclude, or mitigate degradation of a component or system with
the aim of sustaining or extending its useful life through controlling degradation to an acceptable
level.

The U.S. Navy pioneered preventive maintenance as a means to increase the reliability of their
vessels. By simply expending the necessary resources to conduct maintenance activities intended
by the equipment designer, equipment life is extended and its reliability is increased. In addition
to an increase in reliability, dollars are saved over that of a program just using reactive
maintenance. Studies
indicate that this savings can amount to as much as 12% to 18% on the average.

Depending on the facilities current maintenance practices, present equipment reliability, and
facility downtime, there is little doubt that many facilities purely reliant on reactive maintenance
could save much more than 18% by instituting a proper preventive maintenance program.
While preventive maintenance is not the optimum maintenance program, it does have several
advantages over that of a purely reactive program. By performing the preventive maintenance as
the equipment designer envisioned, we will extend the life of the equipment closer to design.
This translates into dollar savings. Preventive maintenance (lubrication, filter change, etc.) will
generally run
the equipment more efficiently resulting in dollar savings. While we will not prevent equipment
catastrophic failures, we will decrease the number of failures. Minimizing failures translate into
maintenance and capitol cost savings.

Advantages
• Cost effective in many capital intensive processes.
• Flexibility allows for the adjustment of maintenance
periodicity.
• Increased component life cycle.
• Energy savings.
• Reduced equipment or process failure.
• Estimated 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive
maintenance program.

Disadvantages
• Catastrophic failures still likely to occur.
• Labor intensive.
• Includes performance of unneeded maintenance.
• Potential for incidental damage to components in
conducting unneeded maintenance.

Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance can be defined as follows: Measurements that detect the onset of a
degradation
mechanism, thereby allowing causal stressors to be eliminated or controlled prior to any
significant
deterioration in the component physical state. Results indicate current and future functional
capability.

Basically, predictive maintenance differs from preventive maintenance by basing maintenance

need on the actual condition of the machine rather than on some preset schedule. You will recall
that
preventive maintenance is time-based. Activities such as changing lubricant are based on time,
like calendar time or equipment run time. For example, most people change the oil in their
vehicles
every 3,000 to 5,000 miles traveled. This is effectively basing the oil change needs
on equipment run time. No concern is given to the actual condition and performance
capability of the oil. It is changed because it is time. This methodology would be analogous to a
preventive maintenance task. If, on the other hand, the operator of the car discounted the vehicle
run time and had the oil analyzed at some periodicity to determine its actual condition
and lubrication properties, he/she may be able to extend the oil change until the vehicle had
traveled 10,000 miles. This is the fundamental difference between predictive maintenance and
preventive maintenance, whereby predictive maintenance is used to define needed maintenance
task based on quantified material/equipment condition.
The advantages of predictive maintenance are many. A well-orchestrated predictive maintenance
program will all but eliminate catastrophic equipment failures. We will be able to schedule
maintenance activities to minimize or delete overtime cost. We will be able to minimize
inventory and order parts, as required, well ahead of time to support the downstream
maintenance needs. We can optimize the operation of the equipment, saving energy cost and
increasing plant reliability. Past studies have estimated that a properly functioning predictive
maintenance program can provide a savings of 8% to 12% over a program utilizing preventive
maintenance alone. Depending on a facility’s reliance on reactive maintenance and material
condition, it could easily recognize savings opportunities exceeding 30% to 40%. In fact,
independent surveys indicate the following industrial average savings resultant from initiation of
a functional predictive maintenance program:
• Return on investment: 10 times
• Reduction in maintenance costs: 25% to 30%
• Elimination of breakdowns: 70% to 75%
• Reduction in downtime: 35% to 45%
• Increase in production: 20% to 25%.
On the down side, to initially start into the predictive maintenance world is not inexpensive.
Much of the equipment requires cost in excess of $50,000. Training of in-plant personnel to
effectively utilize predictive maintenance technologies will require considerable funding.
Program development will require an understanding of predictive maintenance and a firm
commitment to make the program work by all facility organizations and management.

Advantages
• Increased component operational life/availability.
• Allows for preemptive corrective actions.
• Decrease in equipment or process downtime.
• Decrease in costs for parts and labor.
• Better product quality.
• Improved worker and environmental safety.
• Improved worker moral.
• Energy savings.
• Estimated 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive
maintenance program.
Disadvantages
• Increased investment in diagnostic equipment.
• Increased investment in staff training.
• Savings potential not readily seen by management.

Reliability Centered Maintenance

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) magazine provides the following definition of RCM: “a
process used to determine the maintenance requirements of any physical asset in its operating
context.”
Basically, RCM methodology deals with some key issues not dealt with by other maintenance
programs.
It recognizes that all equipment in a facility is not of equal importance to either the process or
facility safety. It recognizes that equipment design and operation differs and that different
equipment will have a higher probability to undergo failures from different degradation
mechanisms than others. It also approaches the structuring of a maintenance program
recognizing that a facility does not have unlimited financial and personnel resources and that the
use of both need to be prioritized and optimized. In a nutshell, RCM is a systematic approach to
evaluate a facility’s equipment and resources to best mate the two and result in a high degree
of facility reliability and cost-effectiveness. RCM is highly reliant on predictive maintenance
but also recognizes that maintenance activities on equipment that is inexpensive and unimportant
to facility reliability may best be left to a reactive maintenance approach. The following
maintenance program breakdowns of continually top-performing facilities would echo the RCM
approach to utilize all available maintenance approaches with the predominant methodology
being predictive.
• <10% Reactive
• 25% to 35% Preventive
• 45% to 55% Predictive.
Because RCM is so heavily weighted in utilization of predictive maintenance technologies, its
program advantages and disadvantages mirror those of predictive maintenance. In addition to
these advantages, RCM will allow a facility to more closely match resources to needs while
improving reliability and decreasing cost.

How to Initiate Reliability Centered Maintenance

The road from a purely reactive program to a RCM program is not an easy one. The following is
a list of some basic steps that will help to get moving down this path.
1. Develop a Master equipment list identifying the equipment in your facility.
2. Prioritize the listed components based on importance to process.
3. Assign components into logical groupings.
4. Determine the type and number of maintenance activities required and periodicity using:
a. Manufacturer technical manuals
b. Machinery history
c. Root cause analysis findings - Why did it fail?
d. Good engineering judgment
5. Assess the size of maintenance staff.
6. Identify tasks that may be performed by operations maintenance personnel.
7. Analyze equipment failure modes and effects.
8. Identify effective maintenance tasks or mitigation strategies.
The references and resources provided below are by no means all-inclusive. The listed
organizations are not endorsed by the authors of this guide and are provided for your information
only. To locate additional resources, the authors of this guide recommend contacting relevant
trade groups, databases, and the world-wide web.

Aircraft maintenance checks : are periodic checks that have to be done on all aircraft after a
certain amount of time or usage. Airlines casually refer to these checks as one of the following:
A check, B check, C check, or D check. A and B checks are lighter checks, while C and D are
considered
A Check

This is performed approximately every month or 500 Flight Hours (FH). This check is usually
done overnight at an airport gate. The actual occurrence of this check varies by aircraft type, the
cycle count (takeoff and landing is considered an aircraft "cycle"), or the number of hours flown
since the last check. The occurrence can be delayed by the airline if certain predetermined
conditions are met.

B Check

This is performed approximately every 3 months. This check is also usually done overnight at an
airport gate. A similar occurrence schedule applies to the B check as to the A check.

C Check

This is performed approximately every 12–18 months or a specific amount of actual Flight
Hours(FH) as defined by the manufacturer. This maintenance check puts the aircraft out of
service and requires plenty of space - usually at a hangar at a maintenance base. The schedule of
occurrence has many factors and components as has been described, and thus varies by aircraft
category and type.

D Check

This is the heaviest check for the airplane, also known as a Heavy Maintenance visit (HMV).
This check occurs approximately every 4–5 years. This is the check that, more or less, takes the
entire airplane apart for inspection. This requires even more space and time than all other checks,
and must be performed at a maintenance base. Often, older aircraft being phased out of a
particular airlines' fleet are stored or scrapped upon reaching their next check.

Modern transport category airplanes with MSG-3 derived maintenance programs employ usage
parameters for each maintenance requirement such as flight hours, calendar time, or flight cycles.
Maintenance intervals based on usage parameters allow more flexibility in scheduling the
maintenance program to optimize aircraft utilization and minimize aircraft downtime.

AIRCRAFT INTEGRATED MAINTENANCE

Repair & Overhaul Shops undertakes to carry out maintenance and repair work on the
Customer's aircraft or its components and to procure spare parts and equipment required for the
execution of maintenance and repair orders.

 Engine maintenance
 Aircraft maintenance (base and line)
 Components maintenance
 Engineering and planning services
 Material services
 Quality services
 AIRCRAFT ENGINE MAINTENANCE : Maintenance & Engineering's Engine shop is a
fully established MRO centre, will have accumulated experience in commercial aircraft engine
maintenance. The company will integrates high-quality engineers and technicians with an
excellent operational, troubleshooting and repair / overhaul background in several types of
engines.

The MRO services vary from test cell runs, borescope inspections, end-of-lease inspections,
performance restoration and refurbishment to full overhaul of complete engines as well as single
modules. In addition, It provides a broad range of maintenance-related services covering
customised workscoping, Engine Condition Monitoring (ECM), engine leasing (e.pool services)
and Total Engine Care (TEC) including engine fleet management. Further Maintenance Shops
offer many high-tech piece part, component and accessory repairs

For Example : TAP M&E provides repair and overhaul for CFM56-3, CFM56-5A, CFM56-5B,
CFM56-5C, CFM56-7B, JT3D, JT8D (standard), RB211-524B4 and RB211-524D4 engines. We
also offer engineering services, fleet management service, engine lease support, field team
services, technical training, logistic assistance, and engine removal and installation services.

AIRCRAFT BASE MAINTENANCE

Base maintenance in vast span of services including A, B, C, and D checks; modifications;

structural repairs; ageing programmes; cabin refurbishment; and stripping and painting. Three
fully equipped hangars allow us to simultaneously accommodate up to eight narrow-body
aircraft, or four wide-body and four narrow-body aircraft.

AIRCRAFT LINE MAINTENANCE

Our aircraft line maintenance department operates in international airports as well as in some
other foreign locations. It offers a vast span of services such as pre-flight, transit and daily
checks, troubleshooting and malfunction corrections, engine trend monitoring, and pool
agreements.

AIRCRAFT COMPONENT MAINTENANCE

Landing Gears Overhaul Shops

Mechanical shops
 Air and Conditioning System
 Repairs of the mechanical aircraft parts, repairs of the containers, trolleys, passenger and crew
seats
 A/C fire extinguisher shop
 Emergency equipment shop
 Machinery shops (production of small parts & tools)

Composite material shop

 Repair of all kinds of composite (one or multidirectional, hybrid method RT and HT)
 Repairs of sandwich materials (composite - sandwich - composite or metal - sandwich - metal
and their combination)
 Repairs of the honeycomb materials (paper, glass, metal incl. aluminium and nomex)
 Repairs and production of floor panels and interior parts
Special shops
 Upholstery shop (seats, carpets, etc.)
 Oxygen shop and oxygen filling station
 Welding shop (CAA approval)
 Chemical plating (chrome, cadmium, etc.)
 Parts painting shop
Brakes & wheels
Change of the tires, non-destructive testing of the wheel discs, repair of brakes B737, ATR-
42/72, etc.

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING AND PLANNING SERVICES

Over haul shops also offer engineering services including engineering support during selection,
specification and evaluation of used and new aircraft; technical support during pre-delivery
preparation and documentation verification and acceptance for the issuance of a certificate of
airworthiness; condition assessment of the airframe, landing gear and engines; analysis of
airworthiness requirements and technical and documental support for ADs and SBs and other
documentation.

Other services include:

 Maintenance programme development and approval support (based on MRB and

manufacturers' MPD)
 Reliability analysis and development of reports according to the operator’s aircraft and
systems configuration
 Design and approval of changes and minor repairs in avionics, structures, hydro-
mechanical systems, electrical systems, cabin interiors, power plant, non-critical engine
parts, thrust reversers and nacelles
 Maintenance programme control
 Inspection planning and control
 Work package preparation

MATERIAL SUPPORT

TAP M&E can provide material support in fields such as initial procurement advice;
procurement and purchasing of material; access to a stock of consumables comprising more than
200,000 part numbers; material pooling; sale of certified material; and AOG desk service.

Other services include:

 Creation and management of consignment stocks at customers' locations

 Exchange or loan of LRUs
  Rotable control, including tracking
 Maintenance programme management
 Modification status control

QUALITY SERVICES

Quality services include: quality audits; calibration of standards, equipments and tools in
electrical, electronic and mechanical units; non-destructive testing; physical and chemical
laboratory analysis and environmental control.

EASA, FAA AND ISO 9001:2000 CERTIFICATIONS

Maintenance & Engineering Should hold the certifications to perform the repairs:

Test Flight and Run-Up

The Customer herewith authorizes Maintenance and Overhaul Shops to perform test flights and
run-ups if they are necessary for the performance or testing of the maintenance and/or repair
work without the prior approval by the Customer.
Maintenance and Overhaul Shops will perform such test flights and run-ups only by qualified
and licensed personnel in accordance with the aircraft maintenance documents.

Aircraft System:

An aircraft is a complex system. In the design stage and in the flight and maintenance manuals
(used by pilot and maintenance technicians) it is broken down into simpler systems that carry out
homogeneous functions. Some examples include but are not limited to:

 Electrical
 Hydraulics
 Oxygen
 Fuel
 Propulsion
 Navigation
 Flight controls
 Ice protection (antiicing and deicing)
 Bird avoidance

Controls and displays in the cockpit panels are usually grouped by system.

Maintenance Scheduling:
Aircraft maintenance Scheduling consists of deciding the journey of each aircraft. In this journey
an aircraft should periodically visit maintenance stations in order to undertake maintenance as
dictated by regulations. The objective of maintenance sheduling is to minimize the costs of
maintenance, while maximizing the revenue from through flights.

Need for Integrated Optimization

The need for Optimization Integration comes from the fact that the aircraft types to fly
each flight are already decided in the fleet assignment stage. As a result fleet assignment
decisions influence the costs of maintenance routing.

SchedulAir™, however, takes into account simultaneously both fleet assignment and
maintenance routing when optimizing (it also takes into account crew scheduling).

Aircraft Inspections

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Define the types of Aircraft Inspections required for proper
maintenance and safety of naval aircraft.

Aircraft are subject to a variety of stresses, strains, vibrations, and detrimental environments.
If not inspected regularly, the aircraft would soon become inoperable. Maintenance is
performed in conjunction with inspections. This enables the aircraft to be flown safely until
the next inspection. The types of inspections that are performed by activities
responsible for the maintenance of naval aircraft are defined in the following paragraphs.

Acceptance inspection. This inspection is performed at the time a reporting custodian

accepts a newly assigned aircraft, and upon receipt of or return of an aircraft from standard depot
level maintenance (SDLM) or other major depot level work. It includes an inventory of all
equipment listed in the Aircraft Inventory Record (AIR), a configuration verification, hydraulic
fluid sampling, and a full systems functional check flight (FCF). It also includes an inspection of
emergency systems and egress equipment. This should include functionally checking such items
as fuel, oil. hydraulic shutoff valves, and prop feathering, as well as the verification of
cartridge-actuated devices (CADS) and aircrew escape propulsion systems (AEPSs). In
addition, a daily inspection, as required by the applicable Planned Maintenance System (PMS)
publication, should also be done. Activities may elect to increase the depth of inspection if the
equipment condition indicates such action is warranted.

Transfer inspection. This inspection is performed at the time a reporting custodian transfers an
aircraft, including transfers to SDLM. It includes an inventory of all equipment listed in the AIR,
verification of CADS and AEPS, a configuration verification, hydraulic fluid sampling, and a
daily inspection as required by the applicable PMS publication. Activities may elect to increase
the depth of inspection if the equipment condition indicates such action is warranted.

Daily inspection. Daily inspections are accomplished between the last flight of the day and
the next scheduled flight. The daily inspection is valid for a period of 72 hours, provided no
flight occurs during this period and no maintenance other than servicing has been performed. If
more than 72 hours elapse between the inspection and the next flight, the inspection must
be repeated. This inspection is performed to check equipment that requires a daily
verification of satisfactory functioning. It also involves the search for and correction of
relatively minor problems to prevent their progressing to a state that would require major
work to remedy the problems.

Other items that require inspection at intervals more frequent than prescribed for calendar
inspections are also included on the daily inspection, and thus are done along with the daily
inspection on the day they become due.

Conditional inspection. Conditional maintenance requirements are unscheduled events required

as the result of a specific overlimit condition, or as a result of circumstances or events that
create an administrative requirement for an inspection. A logbook entry is required for a
conditional maintenance requirement that prescribes inspections to determine equipment
condition; for example, airframe hard landing, precarrier/predeployment, aircraft
ferry, acceptance/transfer, or engine overspeed/overtemp inspections. Those conditional
requirements that specify servicing or fluid sampling need not be logged.

Preflight inspection. The preflight inspection consists of checking the aircraft for flight
readiness by performing visual examinations and operational tests to discover defects and
maladjustments that, if not corrected, would cause accidents or aborted missions. This inspection
is conducted before each flight to ensure the integrity of the aircraft for flight and to verify
proper servicing. It is valid for a period of 24 hours, provided no flight and no maintenance
other than servicing occurs during this period. When all preflight requirements are contained
within the daily card set, accomplishment of the daily requirements before the first flight of
the day satisfies the preflight inspection requirements. When all preflight requirements are not
included in the daily card set, the preflight inspection must be performed before flight. The
application statement contained on the applicable model weapons system MRC introduction card
states specific requirements.

Postflight inspection. The postflight inspection is accomplished after each flight or ground
operation of the aircraft. The postflight inspection is mainly a check for obvious defects
(hydraulic, fuel, and oil leakage or structural damage) and the installation of the
necessary safety locks and pins.
Turnaround inspection. Turnaround inspections are conducted between flights to ensure the
integrity of the aircraft for flight, verify proper servicing, and to detect degradation that may
have occurred during the previous flight. The turnaround inspection is valid for a period of 24
hours, provided that no flight and no maintenance other than servicing occur during this
period. The accomplishment of the daily inspection does not satisfy the turnaround
requirements. On aircraft that are furnished turnaround inspection requirements, the
preflight and postflight requirements do not apply.

Phase inspection. The phase maintenance concept divides the total scheduled maintenance
requirements into small packages or phases of approximately the same work content. These are
done sequentially at specified intervals. Completion of all required phases at their specified
intervals completes the phase inspection cycle. The cycle is repetitive for the service life of the
aircraft and is not interrupted during SDLM. Phase inspections are not included in the SDLM
specifications, and are not done during the SDLM process. Aircraft returning from
SDLM/special rework have the next phase due upon expiration of the authorized interval from
the last phase inspection completed.

Special inspection. A special inspection is a scheduled inspection with a prescribed

interval other than daily or phase. These intervals are specified in the applicable PMS
publication and are based on elapsed calendartime, flight hours, operating hours, or number of
cycles/events; for example, 7, 28 days; 50, 100, 200 hours; 10, 100 arrestments; or 5,000 rounds
fired. Zonal inspection. A zonal inspection is a general inspection of a specific area of an aircraft.
These inspections are for obvious defects, such as leaks, frayed cables, cracks, corrosion, or
physical damage.

Zonal inspections are normally performed in conjunction with other scheduled

maintenance tasks by the rating assigned, such as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT)
rating assigned to perform an inspection on a radar antenna may also be assigned a zonal
inspection of the compartment for obvious defects.

Questions. What type inspection is performed at the time a reporting custodian accepts a newly
assigned aircraft? Questions. What type inspection is performed to check equipment that
requires a daily verification of satisfactory functioning.

Questions. What type inspection is required as the result of a specific overlimit condition? A
preflight inspection is valid for a period of how many hours?

Questions. What type inspection consists of checking the aircraft for fright readiness by
performing visual examinations and operational tests to discover defects and maladjustments
that, if not corrected, would cause accidents or aborted missions?

Questions. What type inspections are normally performed in conjunction with other scheduled
maintenance tasks by the rating assigned?
Question

For aircraft maintenance, please explain the difference between service checks and a
maintenance check?

The Maintenance Check flight hour or calendar time intervals are set by the manufacturer and
the FAA when the airplane is certified. An airplane operator may petition the FAA for a change
in these intervals when it achieves an acceptable level of experience flying the airplane.
Accordingly, the maintenance checks for Airline A may not be the same as for Airline B flying
the same aircraft type.

The Service Check is written by the manufacturer, and administered by the operator (airline). In
our case, it's completed at 72 clock hour intervals (3 days). During a Service Check, the
technicians check all the fluid levels, tire pressures, landing gear strut inflation, interior and
external lights, and confirm the status of all inoperative (deferred maintenance) items.

Reconditioning: is when the Aircraft is brought back too its

original/newest condition.

Airworthiness is a term used to dictate whether an aircraft is worthy of safe flight. It is

illegal in most countries to fly an aircraft without first obtaining an airworthiness certificate from
the responsible government agency. The airworthiness usually must be maintained by a program
of inspections by an authorized Aircraft Maintenance Technician, typically performed annually,
or after a fixed elapsed flight time, such as every 100 hours.

One notable example of an aircraft that was not legally airworthy is Larry Walters' "Lawn chair
flight." on July 2, 1982 in a homemade "aircraft" he called Inspiration I.

In the U.S., Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Subchapter F, Part 91.7 states: "a) No person
may operate an aircraft unless it is in an airworthy condition. b) The pilot in command of a civil
aircraft is responsible for determining whether that aircraft is in condition for safe flight. The
pilot in command shall discontinue the flight when unairworthy mechanical, electrical, or
structural conditions occur."

A more generic and non-process orientated definition is required. Airworthiness is defined as:

The ability of an aircraft or other airborne equipment or system to operate without

significant hazard to aircrew, ground crew, passengers (where relevant) or to the general
public over which such airborne systems are flown

This definition applies equally to civil and military aircraft.

An example of a method used to delineate "significant hazard" is a risk reduction technique used
by the military and used widely throughout engineering known as ALARP (As Low As
Reasonably Practicable). This is defined as:

‘The principal, used in the application of the Health and Safety at Work Act, that safety should
be improved beyond the baseline criteria so far as is reasonably practicable. A risk is ALARP
when it has been demonstrated that the cost of any further Risk reduction, where cost includes
the loss of capability as well as financial or other resource costs, is grossly disproportionate to
the benefit obtained from that Risk reduction