This order explains Service Difficulty Report (SDR) requirements and promotes application of Safety Management System (SMS) principles to the safety data and information the aviation community reports to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Safety (AVS) Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) and Flight Standards Service (FS).

This Order provides guidance for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the development of standards as outlined in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities, published on January 27, 2016. OMB Circular A-119 outlines federal policy for Agency engagement in standards development based on the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) of 1995 (Public Law 104-113), as amended by Public Law 107-107 section 1115 on December 28, 2001. The NTTAA codified the policies on the development and use of voluntary consensus standards, as well as established reporting requirements. This Order facilitates the implementation of updated OMB Circular A-119 and provides the FAA with instructions for implementing the requirements of OMB Circular A-119. The key objectives of this Order are to:

a. Enable a coordinated and effective approach to the development and use of voluntary consensus standards, international standards, and other standards.

b. Manage the effective use of resources by focusing the FAA’s participation on the development of standards on anticipated regulatory needs. Promote a consistent approach to Agency engagement with standards bodies.

The FAA announces a clarification of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) policy regarding the review of payloads to be launched or reentered under an FAA license. Given the increasing complexity of payloads on the growing volume of FAA-licensed launches or reentries, the FAA is updating its payload review policy to require applicants for a payload review to disclose the contents and composition of all payloads, including those of all hosted payloads.

This order establishes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Brand Identity Program and sets policies for a program to maintain a consistent and uniform look and style in all publications (print and digital) and other materials to visually convey to all audiences we are all part of one unified organization. It also describes the uses of the FAA logo (formerly FAA insignia), FAA signature (Department of Transportation seal and words “Federal Aviation Administration”), and Department of Transportation seal, and provides overall responsibility for managing the program and issuing program guidelines to the Office of Communications.

This AC provides operational guidance to aircraft owners, operators, and pilots operating aircraft under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91 who want to replace required paper information and/or utilize hosted database and software applications as part of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) functionality. This AC is not mandatory and does not constitute a regulation. This AC describes an acceptable means, but not the only means, to replace required paper information and/or utilize hosted database and software applications as part of EFB functionality. However, if you use the means described in the AC, you must follow it in all important respects. The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way, and the document is intended only to provide information to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.

This order provides direction for the management of Aviation
Safety (AVS) delegation programs. 

This order explains how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Certification
Service (AIR) personnel can use and apply RTCA, Inc., document RTCA/DO-254, Design
Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware, and the additional guidance and
clarifications in FAA advisory circular (AC) 20-152A, Development Assurance for Airborne
Electronic Hardware, when working on certification projects. Because it is impractical to cover
all situations or conditions, supplement these instructions with good judgment when handling
problems.