Aviation is an industry where the various factions often have nothing in common beyond the air in which they travel. But there is something that operators of Cessna 152s, Learjets and Boeing 747s have in common–maintenance. When the FAA announced an update of Part 145 repair stations was in the offing, the industry turned out in full force, filing hundreds of comments about the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
The NPRM had a definite Part 121 flavor that sent a chill throughout general aviation. “There was a heavy union feel to it,” the manager of one repair station said. “The extensive training requirements before anyone can sign anything off were very airline oriented. They send their people to highly specialized schools. We could never afford that type of program. We’d go out of business.” In fact, the NPRM included several provisions that would have significantly increased the bureaucratic burden on smaller repair stations without yielding a significant safety benefit.
