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Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-110

§44717 Aging Aircraft

Title 49 › SUBTITLE VII — AVIATION PROGRAMS › PART A — AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY › subpart iii — safety › CHAPTER 447 — SAFETY REGULATION › § 44717

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Requires the FAA Administrator to make rules that keep older airplanes safe. The rules must let the FAA inspect and check maintenance records for any airplane an airline uses for air transportation when the FAA thinks it is needed. Airlines must show their work on age‑sensitive parts has been done on time and well. Airlines must give the FAA access to the airplane and its records. The rules must include clear steps for how inspections are done and say inspections must happen during each heavy maintenance check after the airplane’s 14th year in service and follow the procedures in section 44701(a)(2)(B) and (C). The FAA must also run programs to verify airlines follow approved maintenance plans, train and involve inspectors and engineers to check for corrosion and metal fatigue, and make sure airlines prove they have the skill and commitment to keep planes airworthy. The FAA must push foreign governments and international groups to create similar standards for foreign airlines flying to and from the United States and report to Congress on this work by September 30, 1994.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §44717

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Inspections and Reviews.—
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall prescribe regulations that ensure the continuing airworthiness of aging aircraft. The regulations prescribed under subsection (a) of this section— (1)
(2)at least shall require an air carrier to demonstrate to the Administrator, as part of the inspection, that maintenance of the aircraft’s age-sensitive parts and components has been adequate and timely enough to ensure the highest degree of safety;
(3)shall require the air carrier to make available to the Administrator the aircraft and any records about the aircraft that the Administrator requires to carry out a review; and
(4)shall establish procedures to be followed in carrying out an inspection.
(b)When and How Inspections and Reviews Shall Be Carried Out.—
(1)Inspections and reviews required under subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be carried out as part of each heavy maintenance check of the aircraft conducted after the 14th year in which the aircraft has been in service.
(2)Inspections under subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be carried out as provided under section 44701(a)(2)(B) and (C) of this title.
(c)Aircraft Maintenance Safety Programs.—
The Administrator shall establish—
(1)a program to verify that air carriers are maintaining their aircraft according to maintenance programs approved by the Administrator;
(2)a program—
(A)to provide inspectors and engineers of the Administration with training necessary to conduct auditing inspections of aircraft operated by air carriers for corrosion and metal fatigue; and
(B)to enhance participation of those inspectors and engineers in those inspections; and
(3)a program to ensure that air carriers demonstrate to the Administrator their commitment and technical competence to ensure the airworthiness of aircraft that the carriers operate.
(d)Foreign Air Transportation.—
(1)The Administrator shall take all possible steps to encourage governments of foreign countries and relevant international organizations to develop standards and requirements for inspections and reviews that—
(A)will ensure the continuing airworthiness of aging aircraft used by foreign air carriers to provide foreign air transportation to and from the United States; and
(B)will provide passengers of those foreign air carriers with the same level of safety that will be provided passengers of air carriers by carrying out this section.
(2)Not later than September 30, 1994, the Administrator shall report to Congress on carrying out this subsection.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 44717(a)49 App.:1421 (note).Oct. 28, 1991, Pub. L. 102–143, §§ 402(a), (b)(1), (c)–(e), 405, 105 Stat. 951, 952. 44717(b)49 App.:1421 (note).Oct. 28, 1991, Pub. L. 102–143, § 402(b)(2), (3), 105 Stat. 951. 44717(c)49 App.:1421 (note).Oct. 28, 1991, Pub. L. 102–143, § 403, 105 Stat. 952. 44717(d)49 App.:1421 (note).Oct. 28, 1991, Pub. L. 102–143, § 404, 105 Stat. 952. In subsections (a) and (c), before clause (1), the words “Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this title” are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (a), before clause (1), the text of section 405 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992 (Public Law 102–143, 105 Stat. 952) is omitted as surplus because the complete name of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration is used the first time the term appears in a section. The word “

Regulations

” is substituted for “rule” because the terms are synonymous. In clauses (2)–(4), the words “required by the rule” are omitted as surplus. In clause (2), the words “structure, skin, and other” are omitted as surplus. In clause (3), the words “inspection, maintenance, and other” are omitted as surplus. In subsection (c)(1), the word “Administrator” is substituted for “Federal Aviation Administration” for consistency in the revised title. In subsection (d)(1), before clause (A), the words “governments of foreign countries” are substituted for “foreign governments” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 44717

Title 49, Transportation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110