Larry Dighera wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 12:08:22 GMT, Sydney Hoeltzli
wrote in Message-Id:
:
How does the CPSC (or the mfrs) issue a recall against consumer
goods that lack the FAA's mandated paper-trail?

They seem to manage. The companies involved even seem to do
more for the consumer.

Gosh -- no expensive FAA mandated official paper trail, and this
recall bit still worked.

If the FAA mandated paper-trail from raw material to finished part is
unnecessary, why do you think it was made it a requirement?

This would be pure speculation on my part, but my guess is that
with the advent of computerized manufacturing and records keeping,
many more manufactured parts are routinely trackable by mfring
location, date, and lot than was the case when the regulations
were written.

Now let's take the pending Superior air parts piston pin AD which
was pending a few years back when we bought our plane. Per engine
log, the relevant part had been installed in my plane during engine
overhaul 7 years ago. But for various reasons, I had my doubts.
...
Here's the punch line: when one of the cylinders was pulled due to
a valve problem, *the piston pin which came out was made by an entirely
different manufacturer*.

Once bitten by such a lack of records, an aircraft owner soon learns
to obtain copies of repair records AT THE TIME OF INSTALLATION, and
files them with the aircraft log books. The IA is required by FAA to
document all the parts used.

Um, Larry: either you didn't read the post you're responding
to very carefully, or you totally missed the point.

The parts used were documented in the logs. There were copies
of some repair records

The documentation was incorrect. It reflected the installation
of a part which was not, in fact, installed.

If you (or the previous owner of your airplane) had kept a record of
the parts installed, it would have been possible for you to KNOW if
they were among those that were recalled. I fail to see how your
failure to keep a copy of the records reflects poorly on the FAA
mandated record keeping practices.

Hello, Larry: where did you get this notion that "failure to keep
a copy of the records" was the issue here?

The point is, the FAA paper trail doesn't do a thing to improve
the quality of the work or to prevent simple human error, such
as logging piston pins from Mfr A as being installed while in
fact reaching into the parts box for Mfr B.

Will you 'get it' this time?

Sydney