Government shutdown update: pre-owned fine but problems with new aircraft deliveries
The
US Federal Aviation Administration has resolved a technical issue
stopping new title searches.
The Registry Modernization System (RMS) in Kansas City stopped working on
Friday evening but was restored within a few hours.
This is great news and means that pre-owned aircraft transactions can be
completed again.
However, there are big issues getting Certificates of Airworthiness (CofA) for
new aircraft. Right now, the Designated Airworthiness Representatives (DARs)
have blanket authority to act independently, which resolved the issue on used
aircraft CofAs
But the Aircraft Certification Offices are still closed, so no new aircraft can
be certified, which is required before the DAR can issue the CofA.
Part of the issue is that the FAA systems themselves are very old and prone to
frequently breaking. IT staff at the Kansas City facility where the FAA
mainframe is located, have also been furloughed.
No reasons were given for the RMS outage. NAFA, the National Aircraft Finance
Association, said in a release that inclement weather in Kansas City could have
played a role in the outage.
One lawyer suggested that the FAA might not even know themselves how the issue
was fixed “They probably sent somebody back in the back and they slapped it a
couple times.” He said.
The FAA said: “Due to the lapse in government funding, we are unable to respond
to media questions at this time.”