Some up dates:

This is too long for one post so ill break it up in parts... Its the newest headline on Jetnet.

ADs, ECOs and AA's M&E Procedures

As teams of maintenance, quality assurance and engineering employees work to get the MD-80 fleet back in service, flight and ground crews, airport agents and reservations reps are doing everything possible to take care of AA customers. The decision to ground MD-80s for further detailed technical inspections was to ensure full and complete detailed compliance with an Engineering Change Order addressing an Airworthiness Directive on the auxiliary hyadraulic pump wiring.

Airworthiness Directives (or ADs) are issued by the FAA as a part of its Federal Aviation Regulations Part 39, which applies to aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers and appliances. They are published when the FAA determines there is or could be a safety issue now or in the future without taking the prescribed corrective action specified in the directive.

The number of ADs released each year can vary. For example, in 2001 there were 16 ADs issued that affected AA's MD-80 fleet. In 2006 there were eight.



Engineering Change Order calls for proper spacing on ties
Since the rulemaking process for ADs historically can take anywhere from 30 days to seven years, the FAA typically puts out earlier notifications. While these do not carry with them the mandatory compliance of ADs, they serve as warnings to air carriers that there may be a possible safety problem that needs to be addressed.

AA's Maintenance & Engineering department is hard at work before an AD is even issued. As soon as the FAA reports that there may be any sort of a safety concern, American takes action. Even though U.S. airlines are not required to respond to Alert Service Bulletins, Mandatory Bulletins, Foreign Airworthiness Directives and Notices of Proposed Rulemakings, AA treats these notices just as seriously as if they carried the gravity of mandatory Airworthiness Directives.