Sport Pilot Talk

Jack Tyler · Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 3:46 pm Post subject: FAA Auditing of LSA's Expanding

Most folks here will have seen the FAA's mid-2010 LSA Audit results, which focused on a small portion of all the LSA mfgrs. (and no foreign ones). The results were disappointing (to put it mildly) and, so far, the LSA industry as a whole has been moot on the subject - which puts an interesting light on the Light Sport 'self-regulation' concept. Now it seems the FAA is ready to strengthen its oversight, conduct a broader audit process across all LSA mfgrs. and place more control over the introduction of new LSA's (altho' the horse may well have left the barn now, for the most part).

Here's the AOPA update on it, which came out yesterday in their ePilot newsletter:

"The FAA plans an audit of all light sport manufacturers, including those overseas, and any new aircraft those companies might produce, said Dan Johnson, chairman and president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association. Johnson said the information of the planned audits was confirmed in a phone call from an FAA official. It was first announced in 2010.

"We are planning on auditing existing LSA manufacturers. Also, any new make or model aircraft being produced will be first inspected by an FAA team along with an assessment of their system prior to issuance of the first Special Light-Sport Airworthiness (SLSA) certificate. Post FAA approval, [FAA] designees may issue subsequent SLSA certificates," said a spokesman at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Professor of Aerospace Engineering Richard P. Anderson, a party to the same FAA phone call as Johnson, confirmed Johnson’s report.

The FAA’s concerns about quality assurance show FAA officials remain uncomfortable with self-certification of LSAs, even though the safety record for such aircraft is good. Those concerns were expressed in an FAA assessment report in May 2010.

The new audit, aimed to assure a company is complying with industry agreed-upon standards, and the new-model aircraft inspection would be conducted by FAA personnel, not designated inspectors. The inspections could start this summer, Johnson said.

At present, manufacturers simply declare that their LSA meets ASTM industry standards, and an FAA representative then examines the paperwork and aircraft. Usually the examination is done after the aircraft has reached a dealer, and there is no factory inspection required. For foreign manufacturers, the aircraft would not be permitted for sale in the United States until the inspections are complete. The inspections would be handled by FAA headquarters, not by field representatives.

“The FAA believes many companies could not demonstrate with all the required documentation that they were in full compliance. Therefore, it is in a manufacturer’s best interest to review compliance with ASTM standards. While FAA’s initial plan appears to be a review of any new SLSA, it is possible the FAA will also review existing SLSA,” Johnson said."

A summary of the May 2010 FAA LSA Audit results can be found at:
http://www.bydanjohnson.com/index.cfm?b=6&m=4&i=10
That summary has a link to the full audit results in .pdf format. Any LSA buyer, of new or used a/c, would be well served to read the report. It serves as a helpful guide for questions that can be asked of any LSA mfgr.

NCPilot · Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:02 pm Post subject:

I wonder what this is going to do to the cost of LSA's. Right now they're cheaper than the Pipers and Archers because they're regulated by the ASTM instead of the FAA. I wonder if this is going to increase the cost of the aircrafts.

zaitcev · Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 256 Location: Albuquerque, NM

Jack Tyler wrote: "The FAA’s concerns about quality assurance show FAA officials remain uncomfortable with self-certification of LSAs, even though the safety record for such aircraft is good. Those concerns were expressed in an FAA assessment report in May 2010."
These people need their budget cut. Now is the best time, too.

Jack Tyler · Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:37 pm Post subject:

If the LSA mfgrs. audited (all in the USA, not some E European country) were conforming to the agreed-to standards (which are about more than an a/c's performance #s), the FAA would have far less justification to audit further. It's easy to point the finger at a bureaucracy. As pilots, I've been surprised at how little we seem to expect from the builders of the planes we fly.

I'll bet all the pennies in my pockets, against all the pennies in anyone else's pockets, that some mfgrs are going to get a whole lot better, real soon, at doing what they agreed to do in the first place after hearing they will be audited.

NCPilot · Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:52 pm Post subject:

Jack Tyler wrote: If the LSA mfgrs. audited (all in the USA, not some E European country) were conforming to the agreed-to standards (which are about more than an a/c's performance #s), the FAA would have far less justification to audit further. It's easy to point the finger at a bureaucracy. As pilots, I've been surprised at how little we seem to expect from the builders of the planes we fly.

I'll bet all the pennies in my pockets, against all the pennies in anyone else's pockets, that some mfgrs are going to get a whole lot better, real soon, at doing what they agreed to do in the first place after hearing they will be audited.

Well I just hope it doesn't make the LSA go from $100k to $300k.

Jack Tyler · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:25 pm Post subject:

"Well I just hope it doesn't make the LSA go from $100k to $300k."

Well, to be sure...but let's think this through for a moment. The May, 2010 audits demonstrated that some LSA mfgrs have been complying with the record keeping, design reviews, notifications of owners of record, etc. so they already have those costs included in their pricing. The competent, standards-compliant mfgrs. won't need to increase their costs to be in compliance. Just another way in which the business cycle + a bit of accountability weeds out the inefficient and less capable among the competitors.