The FAA today issued Notice of Proposed Rule Making 2004-17683 to address constraints that currently impede negotiating Maintenance Implementation Procedures (MIP) under the current Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA). Without the existing constraints, the FAA could then negotiate an agreement with Canada that would expand the allowable maintenance capabilities in the U.S. and Canada.
Most of the proposed language changes are minor: changes to clarify definitions and make the “language flow more smoothly” and substituting certain compliance standards from FAR 43.13, 43.15 and 43.16 to referencing an “agreement between the U.S. and Canada” etc. One substantive change would eliminate the existing requirement that products for use in maintaining or altering U.S.-registered aircraft be transported from the U.S. to Canada and allow parts to be shipped directly to Canada from any location.
Overall, these changes are supposed to allow work in Canada to “be more in line with the maintenance allowed by other FAA-certificated domestic and foreign repair stations.”
