Getting crazy with AD Compliance Record

[redbaron1982]

Hey guys,

I'm working on getting all the documentation about my airplane in better shape, now it's the turn for the AD compliance record list. I thought it was going to be easier, but is proving to be quite confusing.

So, first thing, I thought it was something that the shop doing the annual should generate, but I didn´t get any in my last annual, just a mention to two AD in the airframe logbook.

What I did is get the last list (from 2019), update it, and check in the logbooks to validate when each of the ADs was complied with or find the logbook entry that indicates that the P/N or S/N that I have in my aircraft is not affected by the AD.

As I following the "trust but verify" approach, I went to the FAA and downloaded all the ADs for:

• Airframe: Make Mooney / Model M20J
• Engine: Make all entries matching Lycoming / Model IO-360 A3B6D

Now the surprises:

1. I got from the FAA site ADs that didn´t show up in any of the AD Compliance records for my Mooney. They were all ADs that do not apply, except AD 2009-02-03 which I still need to verify.
2. In the AD compliance records, I had several ADs that didn´t show up in the search on FAA site. For instance 2006-10-21 or 2006-12-07. Looking for this specific AD on the FAA site they list several Lycoming IO 360 models but not specifically the IO-360 A3B6D.
3. Looking at different AD compliance records throughout the history of my Mooney, not always the same ADs were listed. Like each shop checked the ADs that they considered necessary but there is no agreement on which ADs to check.
4. One AD in particular that was recorded in most of the entries but didn´t come with the download from FAA was the 76-07-12 (Bendix ignition switches). Am I missing anything on how to check for the ADs that apply to my aircraft?

My objective is to have the records for my aircraft in the best possible shape, and having a consistent list of ADs seems quite relevant, not only for legal purposes but to improve safety.

My main doubt at this point is: how can I be sure that I have downloaded from FAA site all the ADs that apply to my Airframe/Engine/Prop?

[N201MKTurbo]

Most of the AD lists you get were generated by AD software that the maintenance facility subscribed to. That being said, finding all the ADs that apply to you is a never ending quest. You have to search for your airframe by every manufacturer who ever held the type certificate, you have to search the engine, the propeller and all the accessories on the engine. You need to search for all your avionics.

From a legal perspective, if you make a good faith effort, and miss one, they won’t ding you, they will just make sure you get in compliance. 

Your best bet is to just hang out on Mooneyspace. If a new AD pops up it will be discussed by somebody. 

[EricJ]

39 minutes ago, redbaron1982 said:

Hey guys,

I'm working on getting all the documentation about my airplane in better shape, now it's the turn for the AD compliance record list. I thought it was going to be easier, but is proving to be quite confusing.

So, first thing, I thought it was something that the shop doing the annual should generate, but I didn´t get any in my last annual, just a mention to two AD in the airframe logbook.

What I did is get the last list (from 2019), update it, and check in the logbooks to validate when each of the ADs was complied with or find the logbook entry that indicates that the P/N or S/N that I have in my aircraft is not affected by the AD.

As I following the "trust but verify" approach, I went to the FAA and downloaded all the ADs for:

• Airframe: Make Mooney / Model M20J
• Engine: Make all entries matching Lycoming / Model IO-360 A3B6D

Now the surprises:

1. I got from the FAA site ADs that didn´t show up in any of the AD Compliance records for my Mooney. They were all ADs that do not apply, except AD 2009-02-03 which I still need to verify.
2. In the AD compliance records, I had several ADs that didn´t show up in the search on FAA site. For instance 2006-10-21 or 2006-12-07. Looking for this specific AD on the FAA site they list several Lycoming IO 360 models but not specifically the IO-360 A3B6D.
3. Looking at different AD compliance records throughout the history of my Mooney, not always the same ADs were listed. Like each shop checked the ADs that they considered necessary but there is no agreement on which ADs to check.
4. One AD in particular that was recorded in most of the entries but didn´t come with the download from FAA was the 76-07-12 (Bendix ignition switches). Am I missing anything on how to check for the ADs that apply to my aircraft?

My objective is to have the records for my aircraft in the best possible shape, and having a consistent list of ADs seems quite relevant, not only for legal purposes but to improve safety.

My main doubt at this point is: how can I be sure that I have downloaded from FAA site all the ADs that apply to my Airframe/Engine/Prop?

The FAA AD search website was overhauled recently and now has a reputation for making comprehensive searches much more difficult.   It used to be pretty good, but is a bit more difficult now.   That said, it's still the go-to search site if you don't want to pay out for one of the subscription services.   I still use the FAA site, but it does take a bit more effort than it used to.  I'd suggest searching all potential sources of ADs for your situation.   e.g., Mooney is listed several times as a manufacturer with different legal names that it has had over the years, so checking all may be useful. Likewise searching beyond just the -A3B6D model of engine and also search -A1B6D, since they're the same engine with the prop clocked differently.   ADs under each will likely be relevant to your engine.    Yes, this is a pain in the butt to do, but it's kind of what you have to do to be very thorough.   After a while you get sort of an idea of what matters and what doesn't, but the new FAA AD website is still fairly new and I'm not sure anybody has it fully figured out yet. 

Your records should have one or more copies of an AD compliance list created at some time during the past or cobbled together from multiple previous annual inspections.   Sometimes a new list won't be created every annual, and just any new ADs (if they exist) may be referenced instead.  It's a great idea for an owner to take charge of the list and make sure it stays maintained in a coherent fashion.   It is, after all, the owner's legal responsibility to keep the records in order, not the maintainer or inspector, so time you spend on this can be very worthwhile.

 

[redbaron1982]

26 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Most of the AD lists you get were generated by AD software that the maintenance facility subscribed to. That being said, finding all the ADs that apply to you is a never ending quest. You have to search for your airframe by every manufacturer who ever held the type certificate, you have to search the engine, the propeller and all the accessories on the engine. You need to search for all your avionics.

From a legal perspective, if you make a good faith effort, and miss one, they won’t ding you, they will just make sure you get in compliance. 

Your best bet is to just hang out on Mooneyspace. If a new AD pops up it will be discussed by somebody. 

So the fact that I have some avionics AD (for instance for the G430 or the GI 275) listed up when I look for Mooney M20J is pure coincidence? Should I look specifically for all the avionics as well?

At some point, I thought that when you look for "MOONEY M20J" you would get all the AD that applies to the appliances that you can have that are listed in either the original type certificate or any supplemental type certificate. That would be neat as it would cover everything and then only searching for Airframe, Engine and Prop would be enough.

[redbaron1982]

5 minutes ago, EricJ said:

It's a great idea for an owner to take charge of the list and make sure it stays maintained in a coherent fashion.   It is, after all, the owner's legal responsibility to keep the records in order, not the maintainer or inspector, so time you spend on this can be very worthwhile.

Yes, that's the main reason I'm doing this. I want to be the person in charge and not let this up to the interpretation of a shop. Also, I have OCD (not really, but just to say that I'm quite intense) with order and being organized, so this is kind of rewarding for me.

[N201MKTurbo]

10 minutes ago, redbaron1982 said:

Yes, that's the main reason I'm doing this. I want to be the person in charge and not let this up to the interpretation of a shop. Also, I have OCD (not really, but just to say that I'm quite intense) with order and being organized, so this is kind of rewarding for me.

You will be fine….

[OR75]

to get a comprehensive list of all potential ADs that apply to an aircraft is to search for the AD for:

- the aircraft (like Mooney M20J)

- all the appliances / mods that were installed and required a form 337 (the shop doing the annual could do an search with the FAA or look at the logs )

[kortopates]

I really recommend ADLog, they do the AD research for your aircraft including all accessories after you fill out questionnaire. After the first year it’s only about $37 a year and they also provide a log book system and printouts of all the AD. They are quite popular for a reason.
see https://adlog.com/


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[redbaron1982]

11 hours ago, M20Doc said:

In Canada we have an actual log book to track and record AD’s, S/B’s etc.  Available at Spruce in Canada, it might be helpful.

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/pages/ps/logbooks_canada/atplogsec2.php

That's exactly what I'm trying to put together, a log book to keep track of ADs, SB, keep record of all the STC, etc.

[redbaron1982]

6 hours ago, kortopates said:

I really recommend ADLog, they do the AD research for your aircraft including all accessories after you fill out questionnaire. After the first year it’s only about $37 a year and they also provide a log book system and printouts of all the AD. They are quite popular for a reason.
see https://adlog.com/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'll take a look at it, thanks!

[jetdriven]

It's quite shocking how about half of the planes we get in for the first time have no AD list. The owner says "what is that".  The previous statement from the last year's annual saying "All AD's complied with" is a cop-out. They're no showing of work.  And you often find AD's that are not complied with a dozen years after it came out.