Required inspection personnel

This regulation establishes who can perform required inspections on Part 135 aircraft and under what conditions.

Inspections must be performed by personnel who are properly certificated, trained, qualified, and authorized. These inspectors must work under the supervision of an inspection unit, and critically, cannot inspect their own work—someone else must verify what they did.

There's a special exception for helicopter operations in remote areas: when no qualified mechanic is available, the FAA may approve procedures allowing a pilot employed by the certificate holder to perform required inspections following a mechanical problem (not routine scheduled inspections). The pilot must be properly trained, and the work must be re-inspected by a certificated mechanic as soon as possible. Flight control inspections require flight testing before return to service.

Certificate holders must maintain a current list of authorized inspection personnel, detailing their names, titles, and specific inspection authorities, and provide each inspector with written documentation of their responsibilities and limitations.

*This is a plain-English summary for study only. The official 14 CFR text on this page is controlling — always read the current regulation and consult a CFI.*