The FAA and EASA announced an update to the international safety agreement between the two bodies slated for December 8 implementation but there was a complication. Change 5 to the Maintenance Annex Guidance (MAG) created a clear requirement for a specific FAA Form—the 8130-3—to be issued by production approval holders (PAH). However, under current FAA rules, only the agency or its designees can issue the document for a new part. The FAA addressed the problem in an October 1 final rule that allows U.S. PAHs to issue a Form 8130-3 without needing an FAA designee. Unfortunately, aerospace manufacturers cannot implement the new privilege until the final rule's March 29, 2016 effective date. On October 7, a coalition of aviation trade associations sent a letter to both agencies seeking an implementation delay until the effective date of the FAA's new rule and the agencies have concurred.

Brett Levanto, v-p of operations for Obadal, Filler, MacLeod and Klein, the firm that manages Aeronautical Repair Station Association, told AIN, “The agencies did the right thing by agreeing to delay implementation of the FAA Form 8130-3 requirement until April 1, 2016. They also clarified the requirement would not be applied retroactively to parts released by the PAH prior to the new effective date, whether in a repair station's inventory or in the distribution pipeline.”