Required Service Bulletins

[Denny of Oakland]

Recently I have received a lot of questions regarding if and when are service bulletins required on part 91 aircraft. The answer can be found in AC 20-771A. I have copied the important section that states when service bulletins are required to be accomplished.

The FAA recognizes that maintenance practices and requirements are not static and may change as information is developed during the service life of an aircraft. Manufacturers may provide a systematic manual revision system to implement changes to their maintenance instructions. Owner and operators should make allowances for such changes. The following is a list of situations when Service Bulletins (SB) would be regulatory and covers most situations ASIs encounter if:

NOTE
For this section only, all references to manufacturer's service bulletins will encompass all manufacturer's service information.

·All or a portion of a SB is incorporated as part of an Airworthiness Directive

·The SB is part of the FAA-approved Airworthiness Limitations section of the manufacturer's manual or the type certificate

·SBs are incorporated directly or by reference into some type of FAA-approved inspection program, such as an Approved Aircraft Inspection Program or CAMP

·SBs are listed as an additional maintenance requirement in the certificate holder's OpSpecs