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M.A.403 Aircraft defects

Annex I (Part-M) · Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 · EAR revision 2 Sep 2025

IRImplementing rule

M.A.403Aircraft defects

(a)Any aircraft defect that hazards seriously the flight safety shall be rectified before further flight.

(b)Only the certifying staff referred to in point M.A.801(b)(1) or in Subpart F of this Annex or in Annex II (Part-145) or in Annex Vd (Part-CAO), or the person authorised in accordance with point M.A.801(c) of this Annex can decide, using maintenance data referred to in point M.A.401 of this Annex, whether an aircraft defect hazards seriously the flight safety and therefore decide when and which rectification action shall be taken before further flight and which defect rectification can be deferred. However, this does not apply when the MEL is used by the pilot or by the certifying staff.

(c)Any aircraft defect that would not hazard seriously the flight safety shall be rectified as soon as practicable, after the date the aircraft defect was first identified and within any limits specified in the maintenance data or the MEL.

(d)Any defect not rectified before flight shall be recorded in the aircraft continuing airworthiness record system referred to in point M.A.305 or, if applicable in the aircraft technical log system referred to in point M.A.306.

IR · M.A.403 — Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 · Regulation (EU) 2021/1963 · Continuing Airworthiness Easy Access Rules · EAR revision 2 Sep 2025

AMCAcceptable means of compliance

AMC M.A.403(b)Aircraft defects

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An assessment of both the cause and any potentially hazardous effect of any defect or combination of defects that could affect flight safety should be made in order to initiate any necessary further investigation and analysis necessary to identify the root cause of the defect.

AMC · AMC M.A.403(b) — Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 · ED Decision 2015/029/R · Continuing Airworthiness Easy Access Rules · EAR revision 2 Sep 2025

AMCAcceptable means of compliance

AMC M.A.403(d)Aircraft defects

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All deferred defects should be made known to the pilot/flight crew, whenever possible, prior to their arrival at the aircraft. Deferred defects should be transferred on to worksheets at the next appropriate maintenance check, and any deferred defect which is not rectified during the maintenance check, should be re-entered on to a new deferred defect record sheet. The original date of the defect should be retained. The necessary components or parts needed for the rectification of defects should be made available or ordered on a priority basis, and fitted at the earliest opportunity.

AMC · AMC M.A.403(d) — Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 · ED Decision 2015/029/R · Continuing Airworthiness Easy Access Rules · EAR revision 2 Sep 2025

All rules in SECTION A — TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Consolidated from the EASA Easy Access Rules (revision 2 Sep 2025, extracted 17 Aug 2026) for convenience. Not the official publication — verify against the Official Journal of the European Union and the EASA publications before operational use.

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