Advisory Services
FAA DAR-T
& Regulatory Advisory
An FAA-appointed DAR-T on the team means export approvals, airworthiness certificates and special flight permits are scheduled around the transaction — not around an FAA office’s workload.
FAA Designee
Regulatory Sign-Off Belongs Off the Critical Path
In an international aircraft transaction, the last steps are regulatory: deregistration from one register, an export airworthiness approval, entry onto the next register, and often a special flight permit to position the aircraft. When those steps depend on an FAA office’s availability, a closing date can slip by weeks while the aircraft and the purchase funds sit idle.
A Designated Airworthiness Representative is an individual appointed by the FAA to perform specific certification functions on its behalf. A DAR-T — the maintenance category of DAR — can issue airworthiness certificates, export airworthiness approvals and special flight permits for aircraft in service, within the limits of the designee’s authorisation. Michael Bonventre, our Senior Technical Advisor, holds that appointment.
Because the DAR-T works inside the same team that is running the inspection and records review, the certification inspection is planned into the transaction from the first day, and the records it requires are already assembled when the inspection takes place.
Export Process
An Export Approval, Step by Step
Destination requirements
Confirm what the importing authority needs. Some accept an FAA export approval as issued; others add special conditions or carry out their own inspection.
Records and conformity review
AD compliance, modification approvals, major repair and alteration data, and life-limited part status reviewed against the aircraft’s type design.
Physical inspection
Inspection of the aircraft to confirm it conforms to its type design and is in a condition for safe operation.
Issuance
Export airworthiness approval issued, with any exceptions documented for the importing authority.
Registry change
Deregistration or registration coordinated with the FAA Aircraft Registry and the foreign authority.
Positioning
A special flight permit where the aircraft must be ferried before certification is complete or to a maintenance facility.
Services
Certification & Regulatory Services
DAR-T Functions
- Export airworthiness approvals
- Airworthiness certificates for aircraft entering the US register
- Special flight permits
- Airworthiness inspections for registry changes
Foreign Owners & Operators
- Regulatory obligations of N-registered aircraft operated abroad
- Letters of Authorization for operational approvals
- Requirements for foreign-registered aircraft in US airspace
Government & State Aircraft
- Compliance programmes for government flight departments
- Civil versus state aircraft considerations
- Liaison with foreign civil aviation authorities
Transaction Support
- Regulatory due diligence in acquisitions
- Records conformity for registry change
- Expert technical opinion in regulatory proceedings
Delays
What Usually Delays an Export or Import
Almost every regulatory delay at closing is a records problem that could have been found weeks earlier.
- Modifications installed without approved data, or under STCs the importing authority has not validated
- AD compliance records that show an AD was complied with but not the method used
- Life-limited parts without complete back-to-birth traceability
- VIP interior installations approved under data the importing authority has not accepted
- Registration paperwork — bills of sale, lien releases, trust and ownership documents — not ready when the aircraft is
- Avionics equipage short of the destination’s airspace mandates
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a DAR-T?
A DAR-T is a Designated Airworthiness Representative in the maintenance category, appointed by the FAA to perform certification functions on its behalf for aircraft in service, such as issuing airworthiness certificates, export airworthiness approvals and special flight permits, within the limits of the designee's authorisation.
How long does an export approval take?
That depends on the condition of the aircraft and, above all, its records. When the records are complete and the aircraft conforms, the inspection and issuance can be scheduled around the closing date rather than the other way round.
Can you issue certificates for a non-US aircraft?
The DAR-T issues FAA certificates and approvals for aircraft on, entering or leaving the US register. Certificates for other registers are issued by the relevant foreign authority; we coordinate with that authority on the owner's behalf.
Do you advise foreign owners of N-registered aircraft?
Yes. We advise on the technical and operational obligations of N-registered aircraft operated outside the United States, and work alongside the owner's aviation counsel where ownership structures such as owner trusts are involved.
Is regulatory advisory available outside a transaction?
Yes. Compliance programme design, operational approvals and independent regulatory reviews are available as standalone engagements.
Related Advisory
Often Engaged Together
Speak with Our FAA DAR-T
Whether you need an export approval, a special flight permit or regulatory guidance for a transaction, contact us for a confidential consultation.
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