Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Fourteen aviation groups are appealing to the FAA to take a less prescriptive approach as it updates standards for aviation maintenance technician schools (AMTS) under Part 147. Instead, the groups pushed for an outcomes-based approach in their jointly submitted comments <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2015-3901-0095">to a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) </a>that was released in April.

 


The agency originally issued a proposed rulemaking in 2015, saying current regulations and requirements are outdated and do not meet industry needs.&nbsp;After reviewing the initial comments, the FAA followed with the SNPRM to incorporate two changes requested by industry: to provide the option of competency-based training and satellite training locations.

 


But in the joint comments, industry groups are asking the agency to go further, including reconsidering prescriptive terms in the SNPRM. They further encouraged simplification of dual-enrollment programs and deference to the Department of Education requirements on issues involving quality of education.

 


“Fixing 147 is an industry imperative. Handicapping our schools burdens both graduates and employers,” they said. “Give us the flexible and dynamic rule needed to ensure we can educate the future workforce by the best means necessary.”

 


<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FAA-2015-3901-0132">The joint comments</a>—signed by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Air Transportation Association, and National Business Aviation Association, among others—endorsed <a href="https://www.atec-amt.org/uploads/1/0/7/5/10756256/atec-147snprm-faa-2015-3901-comments-20180612.pdf">comments previously filed by the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC)</a>, which represents AMTS.

 


“The education community is in dire need of an outcomes-based regulatory approach, whereby schools have the flexibility to develop individualized programs that meet local employer needs,” ATEC told the agency. “Given the agency controls the standard, the mechanic test, and associated guidance material, it need not micromanage how an AMTS will ensure students are properly prepared to meet the standard.”

 


ATEC further stressed the need to adhere to the Department of Education standards. “Higher institutions of learning are overseen by accreditors that ensure educational outcomes are achieved through annual audits and regular oversight,” ATEC said. “The agency’s proposals duplicate—and often contradict—these accreditation requirements. ATEC asks that the agency focus its oversight on elements specific to a certificated aviation maintenance program that are not otherwise driven by DOE requirements.”

 


ATEC added it appreciates the agency addressing concerns regarding competency-based programs and satellite locations. But at the same time, the association expressed concerns that the SNPRM “layers in a complicated web of duplicative requirements and approvals for competency-based programs and satellite locations. The added elements would create more bureaucracy and disincentivize schools looking to expand reach to high schools and provide competency-based programs.”

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

Aviation Orgs Urge FAA To Revamp Mx School Proposal

In joint comments, 14 groups asked the FAA to take a less prescriptive approach and adhere to Department of Education practices in Mx school standards.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

Panel participants included Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, and West Star Aviation

Summit Highlights St. Louis Aero MRO and Manufacturing

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

What began 22 years ago as a Caravan project is now a busy multimillion-dollar business

Building Interiors at Yingling Aviation

MRO services for E1000 turboprops available at company’s Denver location

Stevens Aerospace Joins Epic Aircraft Service Network

Executives share their experience with system

Duncan Adds Gogo 5G to Company Citation Excel

Charles Alcock

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Maintenance and Modifications

Summit Highlights St. Louis Aero MRO and Manufacturing

Panel participants included Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, and West Star Aviation

Building Interiors at Yingling Aviation

What began 22 years ago as a Caravan project is now a busy multimillion-dollar business

Stevens Aerospace Joins Epic Aircraft Service Network

MRO services for E1000 turboprops available at company’s Denver location

Duncan Adds Gogo 5G to Company Citation Excel

Executives share their experience with system

Australian Regulator Approves Textron Service Centers

Textron operates service centers in Melbourne, Perth, and Gold Coast

C&L Aerospace Tapped for Challenger Flutter Damper Mx

The company was selected by OEM Héroux-Devtek

Avcon Delivers Aerial Weapon in Florida Mosquito Fight

The Kansas-based company specializes in modifying airframes

Duncan Aviation Authorized for Honeywell APU Repairs

MRO’s Lincoln facility expects to bring work online in early 2027

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN