14 C.F.R. Subpart O—Technical Standard Order Authorizations
Title 14 - Aeronautics and Space
Source: Docket No. 19589, 45 FR 38346, June 9, 1980, unless otherwise noted.
(a) This subpart prescribes— (1) Procedural requirements for the issue of Technical Standard Order authorizations; (2) Rules governing the holders of Technical Standard Order authorizations; and (3) Procedural requirements for the issuance of a letter of Technical Standard Order design approval. (b) For the purpose of this subpart— (1) A Technical Standard Order (referred to in this subpart as “TSO”) is issued by the Administrator and is a minimum performance standard for specified articles (for the purpose of this subpart, articles means materials, parts, processes, or appliances) used on civil aircraft. (2) A TSO authorization is an FAA design and production approval issued to the manufacturer of an article which has been found to meet a specific TSO. (3) A letter of TSO design approval is an FAA design approval for a foreign-manufactured article which has been found to meet a specific TSO in accordance with the procedures of §21.617. (4) An article manufactured under a TSO authorization, an FAA letter of acceptance as described in §21.603(b), or an appliance manufactured under a letter of TSO design approval described in §21.617 is an approved article or appliance for the purpose of meeting the regulations of this chapter that require the article to be approved. (5) An article manufacturer is the person who controls the design and quality of the article produced (or to be produced, in the case of an application), including the parts of them and any processes or services related to them that are procured from an outside source. (c) The Administrator does not issue a TSO authorization if the manufacturing facilities for the product are located outside of the United States, unless the Administrator finds that the location of the manufacturer's facilities places no undue burden on the FAA in administering applicable airworthiness requirements. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section and §21.617(c), no person may identify an article with a TSO marking unless that person holds a TSO authorization and the article meets applicable TSO performance standards. (b) The holder of an FAA letter of acceptance of a statement of conformance issued for an article before July 1, 1962, or any TSO authorization issued after July 1, 1962, may continue to manufacture that article without obtaining a new TSO authorization but shall comply with the requirements of §§21.3, 21.607 through 21.615, 21.619, and 21.621. (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, after August 6, 1976, no person may identify or mark an article with any of the following TSO numbers: (1) TSO-C18, -C18a, -C18b, -C18c. (2) TSO-C24. (3) TSO-C33. (4) TSO-C61 or -C61a. (a) The manufacturer (or an authorized agent) shall submit an application for a TSO authorization, together with the following documents, to the Manager of the Aircraft Certification Office for the geographic area in which the applicant is located: (1) A statement of conformance certifying that the applicant has met the requirements of this subpart and that the article concerned meets the applicable TSO that is effective on the date of application for that article. (2) One copy of the technical data required in the applicable TSO. (3) A description of its quality control system in the detail specified in §21.143. In complying with this section, the applicant may refer to current quality control data filed with the FAA as part of a previous TSO authorization application. (b) When a series of minor changes in accordance with §21.611 is anticipated, the applicant may set forth in its application the basic model number of the article and the part number of the components with open brackets after it to denote that suffix change letters or numbers (or combinations of them) will be added from time to time. (c) After receiving the application and other documents required by paragraph (a) of this section to substantiate compliance with this part, and after a determination has been made of its ability to produce duplicate articles under this part, the Administrator issues a TSO authorization (including all TSO deviations granted to the applicant) to the applicant to identify the article with the applicable TSO marking. (d) If the application is deficient, the applicant must, when requested by the Administrator, submit any additional information necessary to show compliance with this part. If the applicant fails to submit the additional information within 30 days after the Administrator's request, the application is denied and the applicant is so notified. (e) The Administrator issues or denies the application within 30 days after its receipt or, if additional information has been requested, within 30 days after receiving that information. [Doc. No. 19589, 45 FR 38346, June 9, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 21–67, 54 FR 39291, Sept. 25, 1989] Each manufacturer of an article for which a TSO authorization has been issued under this part shall— (a) Manufacture the article in accordance with this part and the applicable TSO; (b) Conduct all required tests and inspections and establish and maintain a quality control system adequate to ensure that the article meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section and is in condition for safe operation; (c) Prepare and maintain, for each model of each article for which a TSO authorization has been issued, a current file of complete technical data and records in accordance with §21.613; and (d) Permanently and legibly mark each article to which this section applies with the following information: (1) The name and address of the manufacturer. (2) The name, type, part number, or model designation of the article. (3) The serial number or the date of manufacture of the article or both. (4) The applicable TSO number. (a) Each manufacturer who requests approval to deviate from any performance standard of a TSO shall show that the standards from which a deviation is requested are compensated for by factors or design features providing an equivalent level of safety. (b) The request for approval to deviate, together with all pertinent data, must be submitted to the Manager of the Aircraft Certification Office for the geographic area in which the manufacturer is located. If the article is manufactured in another country, the request for approval to deviate, together with all pertinent data, must be submitted through the civil aviation authority in that country to the FAA. [Doc. No. 19589, 45 FR 38346, June 9, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 21–67, 54 FR 39291, Sept. 25, 1989] (a) Minor changes by the manufacturer holding a TSO authorization. The manufacturer of an article under an authorization issued under this part may make minor design changes (any change other than a major change) without further approval by the Administrator. In this case, the changed article keeps the original model number (part numbers may be used to identify minor changes) and the manufacturer shall forward to the appropriate Aircraft Certification Office for the geographic area, any revised data that are necessary for compliance with §21.605(b). (b) Major changes by manufacturer holding a TSO authorization. Any design change by the manufacturer that is extensive enough to require a substantially complete investigation to determine compliance with a TSO is a major change. Before making such a change, the manufacturer shall assign a new type or model designation to the article and apply for an authorization under §21.605. (c) Changes by person other than manufacturer. No design change by any person (other than the manufacturer who submitted the statement of conformance for the article) is eligible for approval under this part unless the person seeking the approval is a manufacturer and applies under §21.605(a) for a separate TSO authorization. Persons other than a manufacturer may obtain approval for design changes under Part 43 or under the applicable airworthiness regulations. [Doc. No. 19589, 45 FR 38346, June 9, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 21–67, 54 FR 39291, Sept. 25, 1989] (a) Keeping the records. Each manufacturer holding a TSO authorization under this part shall, for each article manufactured under that authorization, keep the following records at its factory: (1) A complete and current technical data file for each type or model article, including design drawings and specifications. (2) Complete and current inspection records showing that all inspections and tests required to ensure compliance with this part have been properly completed and documented. (b) Retention of records. The manufacturer shall retain the records described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section until it no longer manufactures the article. At that time, copies of these records shall be sent to the Administrator. The manufacturer shall retain the records described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section for a period of at least 2 years. Upon the request of the Administrator, each manufacturer of an article under a TSO authorization shall allow the Administrator to— (a) Inspect any article manufactured under that authorization; (b) Inspect the manufacturer's quality control system; (c) Witness any tests; (d) Inspect the manufacturing facilities; and (e) Inspect the technical data files on that article. (a) A letter of TSO design approval may be issued for an appliance that is manufactured in a foreign country with which the United States has an agreement for the acceptance of these appliances for export and import and that is to be imported into the United States if— (1) The country in which the appliance was manufactured certifies that the appliance has been examined, tested, and found to meet the applicable TSO designated in §21.305(b) or the applicable performance standards of the country in which the appliance was manufactured and any other performance standards the Administrator may prescribe to provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the TSO designated in §21.305(b); and (2) The manufacturer has submitted one copy of the technical data required in the applicable performance standard through its civil aviation authority. (b) The letter of TSO design approval will be issued by the Administrator and must list any deviation granted to the manufacturer under §21.609. (c) After the Administrator has issued a letter of TSO design approval and the country of manufacture issues a Certificate of Airworthiness for Export as specified in §21.502(a), the manufacturer shall be authorized to identify the appliance with the TSO marking requirements described in §21.607(d) and in the applicable TSO. Each appliance must be accompanied by a Certificate of Airworthiness for Export as specified in §21.502(a) issued by the country of manufacture. The Administrator may, upon notice, withdraw the TSO authorization or letter of TSO design approval of any manufacturer who identifies with a TSO marking an article not meeting the performance standards of the applicable TSO. A TSO authorization or letter of TSO design approval issued under this part is not transferable and is effective until surrendered, withdrawn, or otherwise terminated by the Administrator.
Title 14: Aeronautics and Space
PART 21—CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCTS AND PARTS
Subpart O—Technical Standard Order Authorizations
§ 21.601 Applicability.
§ 21.603 TSO marking and privileges.
§ 21.605 Application and issue.
§ 21.607 General rules governing holders of TSO authorizations.
§ 21.609 Approval for deviation.
§ 21.611 Design changes.
§ 21.613 Recordkeeping requirements.
§ 21.615 FAA inspection.
§ 21.617 Issue of letters of TSO design approval: import appliances.
§ 21.619 Noncompliance.
§ 21.621 Transferability and duration.
