14 CFR Part 43
Maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alteration
Who may perform and approve maintenance, and what the records must say. The 6 sections below are the ones owners, schools and pilots look up most, each explained in plain English beside the official text.
- 43.3Who may perform maintenanceMaintenance may be done by certificated mechanics and repairmen, repair stations, air carriers and manufacturers, and by people working under a mechanic's direct supervision. A pilot may do preventive maintenance on an aircraft they own or operate, as long as it is not used under Parts 121, 129 or 135.
- 43.7Who may approve a return to serviceOnly certain people may sign an aircraft back into service after maintenance: mechanics and Inspection Authorization holders within Part 65, repair stations, manufacturers for their own work, air carriers, and a private pilot or higher after preventive maintenance they did themselves.
- 43.9What a maintenance logbook entry must sayWhoever does maintenance, preventive maintenance or an alteration makes a logbook entry with a description of the work, the date it was completed, the name of who did it, and the signature, certificate number and kind of certificate of whoever approved it. Major repairs and alterations also need a Form 337.
- 43.11What an inspection logbook entry must sayAfter an annual, 100-hour or other required inspection, the inspector logs the type and extent of the inspection, the date and total time, their signature and certificate, and a statement that the aircraft is airworthy or that a list of discrepancies was given to the owner.
- Part 43 App. AMajor repairs, major alterations and preventive maintenanceAppendix A defines three lists: major alterations, major repairs, and preventive maintenance. The preventive maintenance list in paragraph (c) is the work a pilot may do on an aircraft they own or operate, such as tire changes, spark plugs, oil and fuel filters, batteries and simple fabric patches.
- Part 43 App. DWhat an annual and 100-hour inspection must coverAppendix D lists the minimum an annual or 100-hour inspection must cover. The inspector opens and cleans the aircraft, then checks each group, from fuselage, cabin, engine and landing gear to wings, tail, propeller and radios, for the defects the appendix names.
The rest of Part 43 is on the eCFR.