DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Subject: DISPOSITION OF UNSALVAGEABLE AIRCRAFT PARTS AND MATERIALS
Date: 07/05/94
Advisory Circular No.: 21-38
Initiated by: AIR-200
1. PURPOSE.
This advisory circular (AC) provides information and guidance to persons involved in the sale,
maintenance, or disposal of aircraft parts. It provides information and guidance to prevent
unsalvageable aircraft parts and materials from being sold as serviceable parts and materials. It
provides one means, but not the only means, of complying with 14 CFR Part 21, Certification
Procedures for Products and Parts, requirements for control of rejected parts and materials.
2. RELATED FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS AND ADVISORY CIRCULARS.
a. 14 CFR Part 21, Certification Procedures for Products and Parts.
b. Advisory Circular 20-62, Eligibility, Quality, and Identification of Approved Aeronautical
Replacement Parts, provides information on control of aeronautical replacement parts.
c. Advisory Circular 21-29, Detecting and Reporting Suspected Unapproved Parts, provides
information and guidance for detecting and reporting suspected unapproved parts.
3. BACKGROUND.
It is common practice for possessors of aircraft parts to dispose of unsalvageable parts and materials
by selling, discarding, or transferring such items. In some instances, these items have reappeared for
sale and in the active parts inventories of the aviation community. Misrepresentation of the status of
parts and material and the practice of making such items appear serviceable have resulted in the use
of unsalvageable nonconforming parts and materials.
4. TYPES OF PARTS AND MATERIALS THAT MAY BE MISREPRESENTED.
Persons disposing of unsalvageable aircraft parts and materials should consider the possibility of such
parts and materials later being misrepresented and sold as serviceable parts and materials. Caution
should be exercised to ensure that the following types of parts and materials are disposed of in a
manner that does not allow them to be returned to service:
a. Parts with non-repairable defects, whether visible or not to the naked eye.
b. Parts that are not within the specifications set forth by the approved design, and cannot be
brought into conformance with applicable specifications.
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