September 22, 2014 

Original delivered by Certified Mail 

Return Receipt Requested 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

West Building Ground Floor 

Room W12-140 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590-0001 

Receipt No: 7012 3460 0002 9858 2397 

RE: Petition for Rulemaking on 14 CFR section 145.221 

Direct Final Rule to Correct Error 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Pursuant to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)1 part 11,2 the undersigned 

respectfully petition for an amendment to 14 CFR part 145 in the form of a direct final 

rule. 

Proposed Action and Purpose3 

Specifically, the signatories petition the agency to include the word "serious" in § 

145.221; the word was erroneously removed during a recent rulemaking. 4 

The undersigned organizations represent a large cross-section of the civil aviation 

repair station industry. Our members will be directly and significantly impacted by the 

erroneously amended language. 

Proposed Language for Amended Rule5 

Restore§ 145.221 to: 

(a) A certificated repair station must report to the FAA within 96 

hours after it discovers any serious failure, malfunction, or 

defect of an article. The report must be in a format acceptable to 

the FAA. 

1 All regulatory references are to 14 CFR unless otherwise indicated. 

2 See§§ 11.61(a), 11.63(a)(2), and 11.71. 

3 See§ 11.71(a){2). 4 79 FR 46971, (August 12, 2014). 5 See§ 11.71(a)(3). 

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September 22, 2014 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

Page 2 of 4 

RE: Petition for Rulemaking on 14 CFR section 145.221 

Direct Final Rule to Correct Error 

Information, Arguments, Facts and Circumstances6 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) erred in removing the word "serious" from § 

145.221. The agency apparently removed the word based upon an incomplete history of 

the rulemaking activities surrounding the section. The FAA's statement that "[t]he word 

'serious' was removed through notice and comment rulemaking in the 2001 final 

rule7 

... [and] ... was inadvertently inserted by a separate final rule" is incorrect. 8 Rather, 

the word "serious" was deliberately and correctly reinserted as a direct consequence of 

public comments in the Dec. 30, 2003 final rule. 9 Specifically, the preamble to the 2003 

amendment specifically notes: 

Also, FAA agrees with the repair station industry concerning the 

word 'serious'. It was not the agency's intent to require repair 

stations to report 'any' failure, malfunction, or defect. When FAA 

combined §§ 145.63 and 145.79 to create § 145.221, FAA 

standardized language in that section to match language in parts 

121, 125, and 135, which do not include the word 'serious.' In doing 

so, FAA removed the word 'serious' to describe the type of failures, 

malfunctions, and defects repair stations must report. Again, it was 

not FAA's intent to require repair stations to report all failures, 

malfunctions, and defects. Repair stations are required to report 

only serious failures, malfunctions, and defects. Therefore, FAA is 

reinserting the word 'serious' before the word 'failure' in § 

145.211(a). 10 (Emphasis added.) 

It is therefore clear that the addition of the word "serious" was a deliberate act 

emanating from appropriate public comment, and therefore "serious" should not have 

been removed in the final rule issued Aug. 12, 2014, which becomes effective Nov. 10, 

2014. 11 

Furthermore, the burden of reporting "any failure, malfunction or defect" is as costly 

today as when the original removal of the word was contemplated. Articles come to 

repair stations because of those stated conditions; without the word "serious" all items 

received for work would have to be reported under the rule. The cost to the agency and 

6 See§ 11.71(a)(5)-(6). 

7 66 FR 41088, (August 6, 2001). 8 65 FR 56192, (September 15, 2000). 

9 68 FR 75380, (December 30, 2003). 10 68 FR 75381. (December 30, 2003) 11 79 FR 46971, (August 12, 2014). 
September 22, 2014 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

Page 3 of 4 

RE: Petition for Rulemaking on 14 CFR section 145.221 

Direct Final Rule to Correct Error 

the industry is incalculable. More importantly, it would not yield information to help the 

industry and the agency determine pre-cursors to safety events; rather, it would merely 

inundate the agency's database. 

Why the Proposed Action is in the Public lnterest12 

It is in the public interest for the agency to honor its previous rulemaking activity by 

correcting the record on its recent final rule. To do otherwise creates confusion and 

misunderstanding regarding the laws and directives governing the rulemaking process. 

The Administrative Procedures Act (APA)13 mandates agencies review public comment 

and if appropriate make changes to notices of proposed rulemaking to accommodate 

the input. The FAA did so appropriately in 2003 and inadvertently misrepresented those 

activities in 2014. 

Due to the urgency of ensuring a proper rulemaking and to avoid unnecessary cost or 

confusion to the agency and industry, it is imperative that the FAA reinsert the word 

"serious" through a direct final rulemaking under the APA's good cause exception. The 

agency certainly can find that notice and comment procedures are "impracticable, 

unnecessary, [and] contrary to the public interest."14 In this instance, it is in the public 

interest to implement a correction that was fully vetted during a previous comment 

period relating to the exact same section and issue. 

We strongly urge FAA to accept our petition and issue a direct final rule correcting § 

145.221. 

Thank you for your time and consideration on this important matter. 

Sincerely, 

Sarah Macleod 

Executive Director 

Aeronautical Repair Station Association 

121 North Henry Street 

Alexandria, VA 22314-2905 

(703) 739-9543 

Sarah.Macleod@arsa.org 

12 See§ 11.71(a)(4). 

13 5 U.S.C. 553. 

14 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). 

Ali Bahrami 

Vice President, Civil Aviation 

Aerospace Industries Association 

1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1700 

Arlington, VA 22209-3928 

(703) 358-1080 

Ali.Bahrami@aia-aerospace.org 
I " 

I 

September 22, 2014 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations 

Page 4 of 4 

RE: Petition for Rulemaking on 14 CFR section 145.221 

Direct Final Rule to Correct Error 

Ric Peri 

Vice President 

Government & Industry Affairs 

Aircraft Electronics Association 

601 Pennsylvania Ave 

Suite 900, South Bldg. 

Washington, DC 20004-3647 

(202) 589-1144 

ricp@aea.net 

Yvette Rose 

Sr. Vice President 

Cargo Airline Association 

1620 L St, NW 

Suite 610 

Washington, DC 20036 

(202) 293-1 030 

yrose@cargoair.org 

George Paul 

Director of Technical Services 

National Air Carrier Association 

1000 Wilson Boulevard 

Suite 1700 

Arlington, VA 22209-3928 

(703) 358-8063 

gpaul@naca.cc 

Robert L. Ireland 

Managing Director, Engineering & 

Maintenance 

Airlines for America 

1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 

Suite 1100 

Washington, DC 20004-1738 

(202) 626-4228 

Rlreland@airlines.org 

Walter Desrosier 

Vice President, Engineering & 

Maintenance 

General Aviation Manufacturers 

Association 

1400 K Street NW, Suite 801 

Washington, DC 20005-2402 

(202) 393-1500 

wdesrosier@gama.aero 

John McGraw 

Director of Regulatory Affairs 

National Air Transportation Association 

4226 King Street 

Alexandria, VA 22302-1507 

(703) 757-2049 

jmcgraw@nata.aero 

cc: Peggy Gilligan, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, 

peggy.gilligan@faa.gov 

Steve Douglas, Manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division, 

steven.w.douglas@faa.gov