BREAKING NEWS! As of 5pm ET, October 15th 2024, the FAA has issued a legal Stay of the Moss Interpretation: “while the Agency reviews its policies and regulatory options. This stay does not represent a conclusion of the contents of that interpretation and will be effective until such time as the Agency issues, new or supplemental guidance.” Special thanks to my good friend and associate Mike Busch, Pete Bunce at GAMA, and so many others in the industry that I have worked together with in this effort. Stay tuned for more information!

BREAKING NEWS! As of 5pm ET, October 15th 2024, the FAA has issued a legal Stay of the Moss Interpretation: “while the Agency reviews its policies and regulatory options. This stay does not represent a conclusion of the contents of that interpretation and will be effective until such time as the Agency issues, new or supplemental guidance.” Special thanks to my good friend and associate Mike Busch, Pete Bunce at GAMA, and so many others in the industry that I have worked together with in this effort. Stay tuned for more information!

In my maintenance shop, we always have an A&P mentoring and working along side of the non-certificated apprentice mechanic. IMO, this has become a gripe by aircraft owners who want to do their own maintenance without an A&P/IA except just to sign it off. I’ve seen countless examples of illegal maintenance or inspections being performed by non A&P certificated aircraft owners. I never understood how an IA would risk their license by signing off these illegal inspections, but many do and we all know it. Personally, I support this interpretation and think it’s long over due. Maybe now, maintenance shops will get more of the business they should have had all the time.

I think the FAA just put Boeing out of business as you can not tell me every worker is an A&P or has a A&P looking over there shoulder at all times.

I bet it doesn’t take 26 months to respond to a letter from one of the major airlines.. no respect for GA from the FAA

GA is nothing but a thorn in the side of the FAA, from maintenance to airport to airspace and ATC system. They would be perfectly happy if they only had to deal with the airlines. It’s not the regulation that needs modified and re-organized, it’s the FAA that needs modified and re-organized . With people in charge that understand aviation, not lawyers, or political appointees. It’s simple we need a GA friendly & knowledgeable, POTUS .

Its really simple Jeff. If you want to change a law, go thru the process of changing the law.. Not changing the definition of the words in the law by un elected bureaucrats... In person means in person... Just like male means male and female means female...

There are no "new rules" about mechanics and supervision.. Just more pearl clutching click bait from aviation you tubers... The FAA sent a memo to one of the FISDO's clarifying what "in person" meant in regards to CFR 43.3(d).. It means that the A&P must be "in person" and "not in person" when there are non certified mechanics working in the hanger or shop, just like the regulation states, and just like shops have been doing for the 60 years this rule has been in effect. All the shops I know have always made it a point that there must be an A&P in the shop when non certified people were working on certified aircraft.... If they had sent the memo stating that "in person" means " not in person", then that would have been a change in the regulation... Education in this country certainly has gone downhill, replaced by conspiracy theories lurking in every corner... Sad..

This is nothing compared to the absolute destruction of part 23 certified aircraft that will come in the next decade from the implementation of MOSAIC. Be prepared for aviation to become off limits to anyone without millions of dollars. Ironically, Mosaic solves this A&P problem because the expiring fleet of part 23 certified aircraft will be sent to the bond yard, and you won’t need as many mechanics to maintain them. Circle of life.

At some point older aircraft will become too old and new aircraft will need to arrive on the scene in numbers or GA is going to implode. The other big threat is that small airports are large parcels of real estate which make property developers salivate.

What gets me is the arrogance of the FAA to think they can dictate who can perform maintenance on property that is owned by a private citizen. The FAA acts as if a privately owned plane is dually owned by the private citizen and the FAA. Technically, this is the case as most airports in the US are government owned; therefore, the government can dictate maintenance as almost all privately owned planes reside on government property. This is the trick used to control the owner population. If Class E/G airports were privately owned the government would loose control as they would not be able to inspect or dictate actions of people on private property. We the people gave the government the power to control us!

I showed the trainee how to use the paint gun. Do I have to grab the gun out of his hand if he starts to go too slow?

Apprenticeship in the US perhaps could be improved by adopting some of the European examples, where the program generally have more established and respected apprenticeship systems, with stronger ties to industry with a broader and more viable career path.

Exactly the right question, re the Richard McSpadden loss , for all us low hour pilots : could it happen to me? What were the risks? How would I have dealt with it….tough moment. Good comment by Pilot Debriefs Hoover : is it Dumb, Difficult or Dangerous?

Sounds to me someone at the FAA should have been properly supervised before making an interpretation change.

Chevron Deference has been revoked. FAA cannot change laws/regulations arbitrarily.

Several years ago Southwest would fly their AC to Central America for more extensive checks. I know the comment at the time was how many non A&Ps were being supervised and how often did the FAA inspect the facility.

The FAA is still a government organization. Soo at its core it is inherently anti independence. As we get closer and closer to cargo plans that need no pilots they will continue to strangle the GA world more and more. Because the spirit that influences government leaders would rather have a world where no one had that freedom or independence or be able to start a business.

I got my Cardinal back one time from annual with the cowl flaps not hooked up. and the seat out of the track.

The FAA is the worst thing to happen to aviation since the wood fired pizza oven was installed on the Hindenburg. 😵😁

This may turn out to be a test case for the recent SCOTUS decision on the power of governmental agencies enforcement of rule interpretations.

Re 50:50. I don't know how to service or repair an aircraft, so it's strictly hypothetical. If Brian asked me, "Hey, I am going to do a functional test flight on the flight controls, do you want to tag along?", well h... yes! My point is the, the ones that would decline are probably those that know what they are doing, where someone clueless like me would happily accept a ride-along. (yes, I know, Brian was referring to certificated folks, so the clueless wasn't in the mix to begin with).

Arbitrary and capricious sounds very familiar unfortunately. This “interpretation” by the FAA seems very similar to the actions that the ATF has taken that amount to complete reversals of the understanding of how laws and regulations are interpreted. Hopefully the FAA will take appropriate measures to correct this error without the need for lengthy litigation and expensive court battles that have been necessary with other government alphabet soup agencies. At least in this case, it feels more like an honest mistake rather than an attempt to change a regulation without due process. Maybe the FAA lawyers need a little better supervision themselves.

This kills apprenticeship shops. The whole idea is to allow shops to hire and train people. This is another example of "knee jerk" government reaction. This is more over control.

Mr. Busch, you are an asset to the GA community. Thank you for all you have done for us. If all IAs ran their facilities with the professionalism and pride you have exercised throughout your career, we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I personally have been PIC during multiple serious, as in aircraft- and life-threatening, mechanical failures that have been directly attributable to substandard maintenance work. My experience is not unique amongst pilot-owners. I have had so many bad experiences with A&Ps that I now have anticipatory anxiety on every flight out of maintenance. Since becoming more hands-on, the stuff I have identified fresh out of the shop has been egregious. Wires taped down with duct tape, loose oil drain plugs, missing safety wire, loose or incorrect-model spark plugs, missing air filters, pinched brake lines, low-gauge wire zip-tied to sharp sheet metal, missed evidence of arcing near starters and alternators, improperly-installed throttle and mixture cables, unsecured batteries, pinched tire tubes...the list goes on and on. The FAA is compelled to act. Easily preventable maintenance gaffes are killing too many people and bending too many airframes.

Will this create a new wave of fraudulent inspections?

We also have remote pilots, of very big airplanes, in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Thanks for your work on these complex rules...

If you can't derive the same answer from the regulation itself, you shouldn't be supervising anyone anyhow. They didn't rewrite the rule - it isn't a "NEW RULING." It's just confirming that the regulation means what it says. I don't think anyone can truthfully say they don't understand "IN PERSON."

Great information - we will cover it in our podcast this week as well.

I have 5 classes left for my A&P, and obviously the exams. I also have a private pilot certificate. I got my A&P because I got really tired of having to fly for maintenance since no mechanics are at my field and the fact that I couldn't do a lot of minor maintenance. I just don't see how you can do GA if you don't have an A&P or repairman's certificate or an LSRM. Mechanics and shops are really too busy with corporate customers...doesn't matter if you have the money to pay. A business is paying them millions to do maintenance for their own fleet...they don't have time for your cessna.

I’ll probably be dead before we get unleaded to Louisiana but this should have been approved over 20 years ago.

Mr Tweto al all the Family are well respected in Panama 🇵🇦 and also will miss Jim. Despite of what you said about Nicaragua and Costa Rica there is a lot of similarity on what we do with planes. The only difference is our climate. We were followers of the Tweto family for a long time since your early fly lessons in the c150

Sounds to me like the FAA attorney allowed their law clerk to write this opinion without in person supervision.

It is the intent to destroy GA so the Democrats can control everything!

The underlying regulation does not change. This is merely the FAAs argument should it ever be brought forward in an enforcement action. If a pilot/owner has a lawyer who can successfully argue that the FAA’s interpretation is wrong, then that becomes the precedent.

I'm the "Sugden" in the video, and your story isn't complete or all correct ... but close. Would be happy to discuss but don't want to release my contact info ... any way we can communicate securely? Not a clue why this came up 20 years after the fact??

Has there been any more news about this? Seems to have gone very quiet.

I spent two years in the late seventies at Spartan in Tulsa. It was a great A&P school and good place to pick up an Associates Degree, which is transferable to a four year college. Their curriculum was very structured and a students knowledge was tested just about every Friday. Spartan developed their own study guides that a student would use daily as he or she moved through the individual subjects. These guides were genius. I don’t know if they’re still used….I kept mine for years until I managed to loose them. I went on from Spartan to obtain a four yr degree in maintenance. I later obtained my IA so I could sign off the AgCat I owned at time. Back then you answered many of questions on the IA tests with essay answers, no multiple guess. You had to bring your own microfiche reader to a pre arranged testing site where you meet up with a special designated examiner who would review your written answers. Following college I worked as a mechanic for a short time and then I moved on to fly professionally. I had been a licensed pilot since HS and finished my ratings while flying cropdusters. But, the most valuable time I ever spent in school was at Spartan. As a light aircraft owner builder today I won’t let anyone work on my aircraft and I’ve been assembling my own engines for years. Why can’t new mechanics attend a structured school whose curriculum is closely monitored by the FAA. Airlines or large general aviation shops could be encouraged to assist in paying tuition via sponsorships.

DEI IS EVERYWHERE IN GOVERNMENT. THE INCENTIVE TO FAIL TO MOVE UP IS GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDLESS OF THE AGENCY. NEVER GONA KILL 6.5 BILLION BY ACCIDENT. FAA IS NO DIFFERENT. NOTE THE RECENT ESCALATION OF GA "ACCIDENTS".

We bumped into Robert at a beach bar in Hawaii. What a guy. Charming, funny and all the patience in the world for fans. Legend.

The FAA's failure to regulate the large shops all the way up to Boeing is going to crush the small shops with regulatory overreach in an effort to cover up the FAA's own deficiencies. This scenario rhymes with the Colgan air disaster. The FAA made the 1,500 hour rule to cover up fatigue and lack of situational awareness by 2 pilots with more than 1500 hours each. Now we get 141 flight instructors with 10 hours of solo time. I wish Mike luck.

As the old saying goes, those who ‘can’t’ teach, and in corollary it seems that bureaucrats who ‘can’t’ legislate. What else is new?

I am shocked and saddened that Mr. Mike Busch would think the general counsel's interpretation of the rule be anything different than what they have clarified. The only way for safety standards to be maintained is for the supervising A&P to be present at all times. It take years for a mechanic to gain solid competency in all areas required to maintain general aviation aircraft. I fix too many aircraft incorrectly maintained by those who are less than capable but licensed none the less at least on paper. A&P/IA

This is a perfect example of government bureaucrats bureaucratting. It happens daily across every industry in the country. Our legislators need to address this sort of overreach.

I suspect that for owners of certificated planes who know how to, and do most all of their own maintenance above and beyond the allowed owner items, this interpretation will mean little. They will continue to do things the same way. If an A&P or IA will no longer sign off the work, because he/she was not present 100% of the time, then much of the work will simply be done anyway by the owner, nothing will said to anyone, and no logbook entry will be made.

Am not clear why this means owner-assisted annuals are ruled out. Can't the owner and the certificated mech *both* be working on the same aircraft but doing separate tasks? A&P would be physically available for consultation 100% of the time while performing separate tasks from the ones being done by the owner. Is this such a big problem? (Edit:) @ 56:09 Great point! A textbook case of "do as we say, not as we do!". What is too often missed is that sliding into a "Big-Brother" posture and permitting a "top-down" authoritarian setup to grow in federal regulation-making conveniently forgets the founding principle that in our nation's charter the "government" is in fact "We the People" and is a government not only "...By the People" but one which governs "at the consent of the governed". Never should it be seen as the other way around. It is an easy trap to fall into, and one to stay vigilant we don't.

Hey Jeff! Quick tip we use on road race cars where we deal with a lot of heat and lateral G's. Put a strip of aluminum high temp hvac tape over your weights once installed. They will never fall off.

Sixty years ago - well I was on the verge of soloing but less than ten years later I was working under the exact same system the regulation describes... as a U.S. Navy ADR 3, aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class- changing parts on recip engines, performing line turns, etc. with my own work periodically being checked by ADR 1 or an AD- CPO, making corrections any time one was needed. Back THEN it was a fail-safe way of getting planes "up" safely. After all, we had to crew them as well!

So honestly how much does this matter if you trust that you sign off on the matter. And put your head under the bucket so to speak... Who cares other then the lawyers the will come for you if something is wrong.... Right so nothing changes .... I'm just saying kind of redundant and unnecessary for mechanics to be worked up about this ... Unless the FAA requires a consten video feed of work being performed... By the way there should be 8 k cameras on all mechanics from the rear end to the front at all times so the AI can start identifying faulty practices by mechanic. After the fact of course... So video stays with air craft and is only opened after incident... How about this for improving the mechanics way of life... I'm just saying... It's probably what will happen soon...