Advisory Circular (AC) No. 571-026

Subject: Parts Removed from an Aircraft No Longer in Service and Disposal of Scrapped Parts

Issuing Office: Civil Aviation, Standards
Document No.: AC 571-026
File Classification No.: Z 5000-34
Issue No.: 01
RDIMS No.: 20934217-V8
Effective Date: 2025-07-09

Table of contents

1.0 Introduction

  • (1) This Advisory Circular (AC) is provided for information and guidance purposes. It describes an example of an acceptable means, but not the only means, of demonstrating compliance with regulations and standards. This AC on its own does not change, create, amend or permit deviations from regulatory requirements, nor does it establish minimum standards.

1.1 Purpose

  • (1) The purpose of this document is to provide information and guidance on aeronautical parts removed from a type certified aircraft (known hereafter simply as “aircraft”) no longer in service, parts removed from an aircraft involved in an accident, and the disposal of scrapped parts.

1.2 Applicability

  • (1) This document applies to owners, operators, maintainers, Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMOs), distributors and to Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) personnel.

1.3 Description of changes

  • (1) Not applicable.

2.0 References and requirements

2.1 Reference documents

2.2 Cancelled documents

  • (1) Not applicable.

2.3 Definitions and abbreviations

  • (1) The following definitions are used in this document:

    • (a) Aeronautical Part: means an aircraft engine or propeller, or a subassembly, appliance, component or sub-component to be installed thereon or to be installed on an aircraft. Known hereafter as “part”.

    • (b) Aeronautical Product: means an aircraft, aircraft engine, aircraft propeller or aircraft appliance or part, or a component part of any of those things.

    • (c) Aircraft no longer in service: means an aircraft that has been either:

      • (i) withdrawn from service where the Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) may or may not be in effect and the Certificate of Registration is not cancelled; or

      • (ii) permanently withdrawn from service/use where both the Certificate of Airworthiness and Certificate of Registration are cancelled.

    • (d) Airworthy: in respect to an aeronautical product, means in a fit and safe state for flight and in conformity to its type design.

    • (e) Appropriately rated AMO: an organization which holds an AMO certificate issued pursuant to CAR 573 with the appropriate category, rating and limitations for the work performed on an aeronautical product.

    • (f) Authorized Release Certificate: an airworthiness certification document, such as a TCCA Form One, whose purpose is to detail an aeronautical part which has been maintained by an AMO, the data to which it was maintained to, and which organization performed the maintenance on it.

    • (g) Eligible for installation: a part specified in the approved type design of the aeronautical product or is an approved alternative part and meets all the requirements in the CARs for installation.

    • (h) Life-limited part: means a part that, as a condition of the type certificate, may not exceed a specified time, or number of operating cycles, in service;

    • (i) Maintenance: means the overhaul, repair, required inspection or modification of an aeronautical product, or the removal of a component from or its installation on an aeronautical product, but does not include:

      • (i) elementary work;

      • (ii) servicing; or

      • (iii) work performed on an aircraft by the manufacturer prior to the issuance of whichever of the following documents is issued first:

        • (A) a certificate of airworthiness;

        • (B) a special certificate of airworthiness; or

        • (C) an export airworthiness certificate.

    • (j) Maintenance release: means a certification made following the maintenance of an aeronautical product, indicating that the maintenance was performed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the CARs and the standards of airworthiness.

    • (k) Serviceable: in respect of an aircraft or aircraft part, means fit and safe for flight.

    • (l) Standard of airworthiness: in respect of the design, manufacture or maintenance of an aeronautical product, means the description, in terms of a minimum standard, of the properties and attributes of the configuration, material and performance or physical characteristics of that aeronautical product, and includes the procedures to ascertain compliance with or to maintain that minimum standard, as specified in Part V of the CARs.

    • (m) Traceability: means the ability to trace a part to its manufacturer who certified the part, or to the part’s last known airworthy installation or maintenance action.

  • (2) The following abbreviations are used in this document:

    • (a) AC: Advisory Circular

    • (b) AMO: Approved Maintenance Organization

    • (c) ARC: Authorized Release Certificate

    • (d) CAR: Canadian Aviation Regulations

    • (e) CMM: Component Maintenance Manual

    • (f) CofA: Certificate of Airworthiness

    • (g) ICA: Instructions for Continued Airworthiness

    • (h) MPM: Maintenance Policy Manual

    • (i) STD: Standard

    • (j) TCCA: Transport Canada Civil Aviation

3.0 Background

  • (1) Parts removed from aircraft no longer in service or involved in an accident present different possibilities regarding a part’s traceability, airworthiness, and eligibility for installation on an aeronautical product under CAR 571.
  • (2) An appropriate assessment of these part needs to be made to determine the appropriate level of maintenance that will be required so that a maintenance release can be signed as part of the issuance of an Authorized Release Certificate (ARC) such as a TCCA Form One.
  • (3) At times, a part needs to be disposed of in a controlled manner when it has reached its life limit or in instances where a part is beyond repair.
  • (4) This AC provides information and guidance on the assessment of parts removed from an aircraft no longer in service or involved in an accident, and disposal of parts removed from an aircraft.

4.0 Parts removed from an aircraft no longer in service

  • (1) Aircraft that are no longer in service are often used as a source of parts. These parts, which may have been serviceable at the time the aircraft was removed from service or were placed in storage in accordance with the aircraft manufacturer’s Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICAs), could be affected adversely by storage conditions, environmental factors, or by the length of storage.

  • (2) When aircraft were not stored or if no aircraft technical record entries indicate that the aircraft was stored in accordance with the applicable ICAs, the aircraft manufacturer or Type Certificate holder should be consulted. Additional maintenance may be required for parts removed from an aircraft that was not properly stored or went beyond its recommended storage period.

  • (3) It is important that the part removal process be planned and controlled in a manner equivalent to that adopted for routine aircraft maintenance, and in accordance with applicable standards of airworthiness required by CAR 571.

  • (4) The following should be considered as part of the removal process:

    • (a) The removal should be completed in accordance with the most recent maintenance manual or ICA, using the tooling specified therein;

    • (b) Adequate access equipment should be used;

    • (c) Removal of parts should be conducted inside a hangar or shop environment, protected from the elements;

    • (d) All open connections should be covered and or protected;

    • (e) The work performed should be carried out, or supervised, by an appropriately qualified maintenance personnel;

    • (f) When the work is performed by an appropriately rated AMO, it is expected that the Maintenance Policy Manual (MPM) describe the procedures for incoming inspection and storage of parts, and that the AMO has an area to segregate serviceable and unserviceable parts (e.g., quarantine storage area for parts that are considered unserviceable or where the airworthiness status of the part is unknown).

  • (5) Before a removed part can be considered eligible for installation, an assessment for condition should be conducted to establish the following:

    • (a) Traceability: The part should be traced back to the manufacturer who certified the part, or to the part’s last known airworthy installation or last known maintenance action.

      Note: Documentation stating that the part was removed from a particular aircraft (registration, make, model, serial number) together with airtime and cycles, when applicable, would be appropriate to confirm the traceability of the part.

    • (b) History: Review of the part’s technical history in the aircraft, engine, propeller or component technical records (whichever applies) including such things as recorded defects, maintenance actions and life limits to determine possible effects on the airworthiness of the part and whether the aircraft was involved in accident, incident, or was exposed to any abnormal occurrences while installed on the aircraft e.g., heavy landings or lightning strikes.

    • (c) Condition: The part should be inspected to determine that it conforms to its type design and meets the applicable standards of airworthiness including any applicable Airworthiness Limitations (including life limited parts) and Airworthiness Directives. If the part has been repaired or modified, the work was performed in accordance with the relevant data under CAR 571.06.

    • (d) Maintenance: Any required maintenance should be performed in accordance with the applicable standards of airworthiness and comply with all applicable Airworthiness Limitations and Airworthiness Directives, to ensure the part conforms to its type design and is safe and fit for flight.

      Note 1: The scope of the required maintenance may range from an external visual inspection to complete disassembly, overhaul and testing. Additional types of work may also be required as described and listed in Standard (STD) 571.10(4) – Types of Work table.

      Note 2: The aircraft, engine or propeller ICA may be the appropriate and applicable standard of airworthiness to be used when performing maintenance on a part. In some cases, the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions for the part, such as a component maintenance manual (CMM), may be the appropriate and applicable standard of airworthiness to use in the performance of maintenance in order to sign a maintenance release under CAR 571.10. Persons performing maintenance should determine what is the applicable standard of airworthiness to use, which could be the part’s CMM.

      Note 3: Where the manufacturer has not made specific recommendations, standard industry practices may be used. These practices include, but are not limited to, methods published by TCCA, a foreign Civil Aviation Authority, the manufacturer of a similar product, or other practices that may not be published provided they are generally accepted by the Canadian aviation industry.

    • (e) Certification: When a determination has been made that the part is in an airworthy condition and the appropriate level of maintenance has been completed in accordance with the applicable standards of airworthiness and Standard 571, an ARC can be completed and signed with a maintenance release in accordance with STD 571 Appendix J.

      Note: When completing an ARC, the term “Removed Serviceable” is not recognized under the CARs and should not be used as part of the description of the work performed on an ARC in Block 12.

  • (6) The requirements of CAR 571 and 573 associated with the recording of work performed, and signing a maintenance release, are to be followed to ensure the required information is transcribed into the applicable technical record and onto the ARC. Reference to the applicable standard of airworthiness used in the performance of the work, such as the ICA or standard industry practice including its revision status, should be recorded in Block 12 of the ARC. Refer to STD 571 Appendix J for the completion of an ARC.

  • (7) Where specialized maintenance is required under CAR 571 Schedule II, this work is accomplished and certified by an appropriately rated AMO in accordance with CAR 571.04.

  • (8) Where parts were removed from an aircraft registered in another country, or previously registered in another country but has not been issued a TCCA CofA, additional maintenance may be required as part of the assessment for condition depending on such factors as the technical history of the part and the applicable standards of airworthiness that were used to perform maintenance. This may include the review of data used to perform major repairs and modifications to determine whether the work was done to approved or specified data under CAR 571.06, or to data that is acceptable under the applicable international agreement or technical arrangement. The assessment should include a verification of compliance to all applicable Airworthiness Limitations and Airworthiness Directives.

  • (9) When there is a lack of technical history, the part may need to be disassembled and inspected to determine if the part conforms to its type design and the type of additional maintenance that may need to be performed, in order to sign a maintenance release and issue an ARC.

  • (10) If a part has been found to be irreparable and unserviceable, an ARC cannot be issued and the part will need to be quarantined and/or scrapped.

5.0 Parts removed from an aircraft involved in an accident

  • (1) When an aircraft has been involved in an accident and the aircraft has been declared destroyed, or beyond economical repair, some parts may be affected by the accident while other parts may be unaffected. It is essential to obtain clear evidence that the part was not affected by the accident during the performance of the airworthiness assessment in order to determine the appropriate level of maintenance to be performed.

  • (2) Even if the part may not have been damaged or altered by the accident, an airworthiness assessment and inspection of the part may be required to be performed by qualified maintenance personnel. Along with the requirements in CAR 571, the airworthiness assessment includes:

    • (a) Utilizing the instructions in section 4.0 of this AC;

    • (b) Review of the technical history;

    • (c) The circumstances of the accident;

    • (d) Subsequent storage of the aircraft;

    • (e) Transport conditions of the aircraft;

    • (f) Evidence of previous operational history obtained from the technical records of the aircraft and part.

  • (3) Parts may have sustained stress and loads above its proof strength and changed material characteristics as compared to its approved type design. The degree of distortion of a part may be difficult to assess if the precise original dimensions and characteristics are not known.

  • (4) If it is not possible to establish and document that the part has not been damaged or altered by the accident, the part should be scrapped.

  • (5) If a part is suspected to have been subjected to extreme stresses, temperatures or immersion, or has been subject to an abnormal occurrence, an ARC should not be issued, and the part should be quarantined and/or scrapped.

  • (6) Airworthiness assessment and inspection results, along with the technical history of the part, should form part of the maintenance record for the part, which would establish eligibility for installation in accordance with CAR 571.13.

6.0 Disposal of scrapped parts

  • (1) Those responsible for the disposal of scrapped parts should consider the possibility of such parts being misrepresented and sold as airworthy. Caution should be exercised to ensure that the following types of parts are permanently disposed of in a controlled manner that does not allow them to be misrepresented and reintroduced into the aviation industry:

    • (a) Parts with non-repairable defects, especially those with defects that are not visually detectable;

    • (b) Life-limited parts that have reached or exceeded their life limits, or have missing or incomplete records;

    • (c) Parts that are not within the specifications set forth by the approved design, and cannot be brought into conformity with the applicable specifications;

    • (d) Parts for which further processing, or rework cannot make them eligible for certification;

    • (e) Parts that are subject to unacceptable modifications or rework that is irreversible;

    • (f) Parts that cannot be returned to an airworthy condition due to exposure to extreme forces or heat; and

    • (g) Primary structural elements removed from a high cycle aircraft for which conformity cannot be accomplished.

  • (2) Scrapped parts should always be segregated from airworthy parts and before being disposed of should be rendered unusable by such means as mutilated, completely destroyed or permanently marked as not airworthy. Mutilation may be accomplished in such a manner that the parts become unusable for their original intended use and cannot be reworked or camouflaged to provide the appearance of being airworthy.

  • (3) When scrapped parts are to be used for legitimate non-flight use, such as training and education aids, research and development, or for non-aviation applications, mutilation is often not appropriate. In such cases, the parts should be permanently marked indicating that they are not airworthy; alternatively, the original part number or identification plate information can be removed, or record kept of the disposition of parts. Generally, these types of parts are marked as “for training purposes only”.

7.0 Information management

  • (1) Not applicable.

8.0 Document history

  • (1) Not applicable.

9.0 Contact us

For more information, please contact:

Jeffrey Phipps
Chief, Operational Airworthiness
Standards Branch (AARTM)
E-mail: jeff.phipps@tc.gc.ca

We invite suggestions for amendment to this document. Submit your comments to:
Standards Branch Documentation Services
E-mail: AARTDocServices-ServicesdocAART@tc.gc.ca

Original signed by
Jamie MacDermid for

Linda Kovacic
Director, Standards Branch
Civil Aviation

AC 571-026 - Parts Removed from an Aircraft No Longer in Service and Disposal of Scrapped Parts (PDF, 215 KB)

 
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