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Airworthy

Writer's picture: Jeffery HowardJeffery Howard
Airworthiness Certificate
Airworthiness Certificate

In 1978 I started my journey in aviation.  I attended college with the hopes of working in the aviation industry, which had been calling me early in life.  My earliest memories are looking up at the sound and watching some lonesome airplane traverse the sky.  It seemed so long ago yet the sound still calls to me as I stop and look skyward to find the winged beast calling to me.


Like many, in youth I built and flew models.  The flying was a byproduct of the building.  I quickly found I enjoyed the building and repairing the models far more than flying.  While I could and can fly today, I still prefer the maintenance of an aircraft far more than flying.

As I started my aviation career, I learned many new terms and phrases.  Some I can’t repeat here, but many are in the air today.  They reflect the dynamics of the aviation industry.  Some are new terms and some are old.


I want to talk about one term which has been used almost since the beginning of aviation.  I can’t recall the first time I heard it, but I know it came to have more strength and power the more I heard it.


The term is “Airworthy”.

The term was used to describe a repair, “Is that an airworthy repair?”.  It was used to describe a part, “Is that an airworthy part?”.  “Is that aircraft airworthy?”.  “How did you determine it is airworthy?”.  As you can see it can be used in many ways and about many different things.


As I matured in my new career, I wanted to understand the terms I was using.  I started asking, “Where can I find the definition for the term airworthy.”  Everyone pointed me toward 14 CFR part1, “That’s where the definitions are, look there.”. 


You must understand, this was back in the dark ages before Al Gore invented the internet.  The only sources were these things called books.  Hard copies of what you have on your phone today.  They cost money and are not always readily available.


When I did have the opportunity to look at the appointed place, the term airworthy was not there.  Shocked, Stunned, A total loss.  How can such an important term not be in the all-knowing federal regulations?  What is a young mechanic to do?


I continued to probe and search.  The following is very similar to the response I got before.  It comes from the current AI, the all-knowing and all-seeing source of information today.


  • "Airworthy" refers to an aircraft's condition of being safe and fit for flight. This means the aircraft meets all the necessary safety standards and regulations set by aviation authorities, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. An airworthy aircraft is properly maintained, has no defects that could affect its safe operation, and is equipped with all required instruments and equipment. Essentially, it's ready to take to the skies without posing any risk to passengers, crew, or others.

Before I got this version I got it from fellow mechanics, pilots, even the all-knowing management.  I even went so far as to ask the FAA inspectors.  Everyone did the ole soft shoe and navel gazing as they gave a “I think it means” answer.


Now that the internet has been invented and you can access more information than the law should allow, I found what I was searching for.  I tracked it back to the Federal Registry.  The oldest reference to “airworthy or airworthiness” where a concise meaning is applied was in 1938.


That’s right, the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 has a paragraph setting the conditions for an airworthiness certification to be issued to an aircraft.

Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 Aircraft Certificates Sec 603(c)
Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 Aircraft Certificates Sec 603(c)

Airworthiness Certificate

  • Section 603. (c) ……. If the Authority finds that the aircraft conforms to the type certificate therefor, and, after inspection, that the aircraft is in condition for safe operation, it shall issue an airworthiness certificate.


Just a few years ago the FAA added 14 CFR part 3 which includes, under the heading Definitions.

Airworthy means the aircraft conforms to its type design and is in a condition for safe operation.

There are a few other locations in the code where a similar statement is made but this is the best and easiest to understand.


It’s not exactly the same words as the 1938 version, but the intent counts.  I think I will need to dive into what ‘type design’ and ‘safe operation’ means in a later blog post.


Now I know what the term “Airworthy” means, or at least what conditions must be met for something to be “airworthy”.


Until next time,

Stay Safe, Stay Strong and Stay Professional

Jeffery Howard

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