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 What
is a MEL?
A Minimum Equipment List (MEL) identifies
equipment installed on the aircraft that may under certain conditions be
inoperative and still allow the aircraft to be airworthy.
Do I Need a MEL?
- If you operate the aircraft with anything inoperative you can
be violated and have fines that run up to $10,000 per trip unless you follow the
procedures of 14 CFR §91.213 and AC
91.67.
- When an operator elects to operate without an
MEL, any inoperative instrument or equipment must either be removed (14
CFR §91.213(d)(3)(i)) or deactivated (14 CFR §91.213(d)(3)(ii)), and then placarded.
Removal of any item of equipment that affects the airworthiness of an aircraft requires following an approved procedure.
 | A properly certificated maintenance person must record the removal in
accordance with 14 CFR §43.9. |
| A person authorized by FAR §43.7 must make the appropriate adjustments to the aircraft's weight and balance
information and the equipment list, fill out and submit FAA Form 337, and approve the aircraft for return to service. |
| The operator must evaluate any proposed deactivation to assure there
is no adverse effect that could render another system less than
fully capable of its intended function. |
We strongly recommend that all aircraft, especially turbojet
aircraft have a MEL.
What is a MMEL?
A Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL), is a document created
by the FAA that is the starting point for your own MEL. The MMEL may cover a
wide series of aircraft models and often have to have extensive editing to
modify it for your specific aircraft.
What are (O) and (M) Procedures?
- Maintenance (M) procedures refers
to specific maintenance actions or procedure that must be accomplished before beginning
operation with the listed item of equipment inoperative. Operations (O)
procedures indicates that a specific operations procedure must be accomplished before or during
operation with the listed item of equipment inoperative.
- When the FAA issues a Letter of
Authority for a Part 91 Operator, the LOA states that "operations and
maintenance (O and M) procedures for the accomplishment of rendering items
of equipment inoperative must be developed by the operator." Failure to
comply with the O and M procedures invalidates the LOA.
Since we do not specialize in MEL's, we use the services
of an affiliated company that does specialize in MEL's to provide these services
for our clients. |
