Research Paper Example: Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and Advisory Circulars (ACs)

The aviation industry is one of the fields that has gained a lot of attention due to its fragility. Several developments regarding technology have been implemented to ensure the safety of people and the products. Also, several regulations, laws, and precautions have also been formulated to prevent and protect the lives of individuals whenever they are flying. Some of the critical rules that have been put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and Advisory Circulars (ACs) which mainly aim at identifying a problem and ensuring that such issues are solved before they cause any damage.

Airworthiness Directives (ADs) are lawfully enforceable regulations that are issued by Federal Aviation Administration in line with the 14 CFR to identify and correct unsafe conditions in a product. According to FAA, product, in this case, is airframe, aircraft engines, propeller, or appliances. In the realization that there is a malfunctioning part of a product which is likely to jeopardize normal operation, Airworthiness Directives (ADs) are used to notify owners and operators of unsafe conditions that require particular alterations, inspections or repairs to correct the situation. In that regard, the principal purpose of Airworthiness Directives (Ads) is to inform aircraft owners of an unsafe condition which should be fixed.

ADs are obligatory in all jurisdictions and always contain dates or flying hours of airplanes by which acquiescence must be accomplished. ADs can be divided into two major categories: those of emergency situations requiring instant acquiescence erstwhile to further flight and those of less urgent that need compliance within a stated period. Airworthiness Directives (ADs) are essential to the operating manager since through such publications he/she can notice any malfunction of the aircraft and calls for its repair hence saving lives of people and the products.

Advisory Circular (AC) are publications that are offered by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to give guidance for the compliance with the pilot, airworthiness training standards, operational standards and any other rules of the 14 CRF aeronautics and space. These publications define the means but are not the only ways of accomplishing or demonstrating compliance with the airworthiness regulations. Notably, Advisory Circulars are not binding neither they are regulatory. One the primary purposes of the Advisory Circular (AC) is to provide standardization; they offer specific guidelines for the aviation industry when requirements or regulations are vague.

There are individual differences between Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and Advisory Circulars (ACs). One of the significant and noticeable difference is that Advisory Circulars are envisioned to be informative and not regulatory; however, in most cases, they define actions or offer pieces of advice that the FAA believes should be followed or implemented. In that regard, they are not mandatory since they are just supplements of specific regulations. On the other hand, Airworthiness Directives (ADs) publications are obligatory with a defined set of rules that must be followed and implemented in every company.

In conclusion, Airworthiness Directives (ADs) are used to notify owners and operators of unsafe conditions that require unique alterations inspections or repairs to correct the situation. Advisory Circulars (ACs) are publications to give guidance for the compliance with the pilot, airworthiness training standards, and operational standards. While both of them are important in aviation industry Airworthiness Directives (ADs) are mandatory.