When a company known as an “OEM” violates the FAA production approval rules, it is important for the industry to take notice. The industry is filled with PMA companies that strive for compliance perfection on a daily basis. A recent FAA unapproved parts notice (“UPN”) issued against Safran Cabin highlights the importance of obtaining PMAs (or other production approval) for all of your replacement and modification parts.
The FAA UPN affects these Safran Cabin parts (descriptions pulled from the UPN):
- “Galley refresh modification kits manufactured and sold by Safran for installation on FAA type-certificated Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER series airplanes from May 2023 to July 2024.”
- “Lavatory flush switch assemblies manufactured and sold by Safran for installation on FAA type-certificated Airbus A320 and A321 series airplanes from August 2021 to June 2024.”
The UPN states that the parts were produced and sold “without Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) production approval.” The UPN also states that the parts may have been marked FAA-PMA and been accompanied by 8130-3 tags. This is particularly disturbing, because the UPN statements suggest that the markings and documentation were misleadingly incorrect. The industry relies on the accuracy of these statements and documents to help assure airworthiness.
This is an important lesson that having a well-known name like “Safran” is no guarantee of compliance. I know a number of people at Safran and have tremendous respect for the Safran employees that I know, so this is particularly disappointing.
Safran Cabin holds a significant number of PMAs. Actual PMAs appear to be unaffected.
If you are wondering whether a part with a PMA marking is actually FAA-approved, then you can verify the PMA online at the FAA’s Dynamic Regulatory System.