That’s where I start when digging through these types of questions. That is where the FAA defines the type design of an aircraft, and in order to be airworthy, an aircraft must conform to its type design (or its properly altered configuration, i.e., STCs), and be in a condition for safe operation. The airworthiness of an aircraft begins at the type certificate data sheet (TCDS). The Aircraft Type Certificate Data Sheet issued by the FAA Below we will discuss the channels through which compliance with a service bulletin can be mandatory. By FAA design, the manufacturer does not have specific authority to mandate an action except through certain channels, all of which are regulatory and FAA governed. Not complying with a bulletin could have consequences from the manufacturer, but the fact that the manufacturer states that the bulletin is mandatory doesn’t mean that it is “required in order to maintain a valid FAA airworthiness certificate.” This is an important distinction.
If the manufacturer states that the bulletin is mandatory, they want you to comply with it and there might be some warranty issues attached to it. When the manufacturer says the bulletin is “mandatory,” the definition of mandatory gets cloudy. They can be labeled informational, recommended, mandatory, alert, etc. Most manufactures have more than one level of seriousness or urgency associated with their bulletins. Each manufacturer, whether it be an airframe, engine, propeller or appliance manufacturer, has some method of notifying the industry when conditions that need to be addressed exist. Most service bulletins are not mandatory in nature as defined above. For the purposes of this discussion, the term mandatory means “required in order to maintain a valid FAA airworthiness certificate.” This article aims to provide you with enough information to be able to answer the question yourself.įirstly, we need to define what “mandatory” means. Each bulletin can be different in that regard. It truly depends on the service bulletin itself and the rules to which it relates. I’ve been asked an age-old question several times recently: “Are service bulletins mandatory?” There are as many opinions about this question as there are FAA safety inspectors (but I encourage you to know the answer to this question without asking your FAA inspector).
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