§44726 Denial and revocation of certificate for counterfeit parts violations

Summary

The FAA can refuse to give, or can take away, an aviation certificate from anyone involved with fake or fraudulently labeled aircraft parts. That includes people convicted in U.S. court for crimes about making, fixing, installing, or selling counterfeit aviation parts, people whose certificates have already been revoked, and businesses controlled by such people. The FAA can still give a certificate if doing so helps law enforcement. If the FAA finds the certificate holder or a controlling person was convicted of those crimes, or knowingly did fraud tied to those crimes, the FAA must issue an order to revoke the certificate. Before revoking, the FAA must tell the holder why and let them speak in their defense. The FAA cannot re-decide whether the person broke the law when carrying out a revocation. Appeals follow the same FAA appeal rules used for similar revocations (with “person” used where “individual” appears). If the person is later found not guilty of all related charges, the FAA cannot revoke (and the NTSB cannot uphold a revocation) for certain fraud-based cases. The FAA may reissue a revoked certificate if the person meets certificate rules and is later acquitted or has the conviction reversed. The FAA can also waive revocation if a U.S. law enforcement official asks and the waiver will help law enforcement. Finally, the FAA will consider cases where a company’s controlling person committed a violation but the company itself meets the certificate requirements without that person.