Narrative:

The maintenance contractor a government agency has been directed by the that government agency maintenance officer to not comply with far 91 pt 411/far 91.413/part 43 appendix east in connection with maintenance performed on altitude reporting system installed on government helicopters. These helicopters are united states army-owned bailed aircraft operated by the united states customs service on law enforcement missions. They do not bear FAA civil aircraft registration numbers nor do they have FAA airworthiness certificates, however, they routinely operate in FAA ATC airspace. The aviation maintenance officer has directed that maintenance on altitude reporting system (encoding altimeters, ATC xponders and associated equipment) be done solely in accordance with military technical manuals, ostensibly to save any additional time expended in complying with FARS. The military technical manuals are deficient in at least one regard when compared to respective FARS, they do not require that ATC transponder correspondence checks be performed when maintenance is accomplished that could affect the integrity of the transponder data. Far 91.401 is cited as exempting military aircraft from compliance with FARS 91.411/413 but this appears to be a misinterp. This situation poses a threat to the safety of all aircraft transiting ATC airspace in that the integrity of altitude reporting equipment may be compromised, greatly increasing the potential for a midair collision. This is especially critical in the wake of sep/tue/01 due to the increased activity of military aircraft in civil airspace. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter has not received further interagency coordination about his concerns.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MAINT CONTRACTOR DIRECTED TO COMPLY WITH MIL SPECS VERSUS FARS IN CARRYING OUT MAINT ON GOVERNMENT HELICOPTERS.

Narrative: THE MAINT CONTRACTOR A GOVERNMENT AGENCY HAS BEEN DIRECTED BY THE THAT GOVERNMENT AGENCY MAINT OFFICER TO NOT COMPLY WITH FAR 91 PT 411/FAR 91.413/PART 43 APPENDIX E IN CONNECTION WITH MAINT PERFORMED ON ALT RPTING SYS INSTALLED ON GOV HELIS. THESE HELIS ARE UNITED STATES ARMY-OWNED BAILED ACFT OPERATED BY THE UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SVC ON LAW ENFORCEMENT MISSIONS. THEY DO NOT BEAR FAA CIVIL ACFT REGISTRATION NUMBERS NOR DO THEY HAVE FAA AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATES, HOWEVER, THEY ROUTINELY OPERATE IN FAA ATC AIRSPACE. THE AVIATION MAINT OFFICER HAS DIRECTED THAT MAINT ON ALT RPTING SYS (ENCODING ALTIMETERS, ATC XPONDERS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIP) BE DONE SOLELY IN ACCORDANCE WITH MIL TECHNICAL MANUALS, OSTENSIBLY TO SAVE ANY ADDITIONAL TIME EXPENDED IN COMPLYING WITH FARS. THE MIL TECHNICAL MANUALS ARE DEFICIENT IN AT LEAST ONE REGARD WHEN COMPARED TO RESPECTIVE FARS, THEY DO NOT REQUIRE THAT ATC XPONDER CORRESPONDENCE CHKS BE PERFORMED WHEN MAINT IS ACCOMPLISHED THAT COULD AFFECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE XPONDER DATA. FAR 91.401 IS CITED AS EXEMPTING MIL ACFT FROM COMPLIANCE WITH FARS 91.411/413 BUT THIS APPEARS TO BE A MISINTERP. THIS SIT POSES A THREAT TO THE SAFETY OF ALL ACFT TRANSITING ATC AIRSPACE IN THAT THE INTEGRITY OF ALT RPTING EQUIP MAY BE COMPROMISED, GREATLY INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR A MIDAIR COLLISION. THIS IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL IN THE WAKE OF SEP/TUE/01 DUE TO THE INCREASED ACTIVITY OF MIL ACFT IN CIVIL AIRSPACE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR HAS NOT RECEIVED FURTHER INTERAGENCY COORD ABOUT HIS CONCERNS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.