About FAA PMA Parts

Every company which manufactures parts not integrated into the aircraft at the time of “Type Certification” must obtain their own Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has been granting PMA since the late 1960’s.

There are four (4) methods by which PMA parts are approved by the FAA:

  1. License
  2. Test and Computation
  3. Identicality
  4. Supplemental Type Certificate (STC)

“PMA by License” means that the Type Certification Holder (Boeing, Airbus, Pratt, GE etc.) grants a “license” or right to produce parts with its approval and technical support and the FAA follows with its manufacturing authorization. Whereas in each of the other three cases the parts manufacturer must create a different part number. When a PMA part is granted through a “license” the part number remains the same as that of the Type Certificate Holder. For example, the Boeing part is 63-12345-6, under a PMA by license, Boeing would grant the license and the FAA would approve the part manufacturer to make the part and sell it with the PMA part number 63-12345-6, which is the identical part number.

In the other methods of PMA’s listed above, the part number must use either a prefix (D69-12345-6), suffix (69-12345-6D) or entirely different part number, because the part number has not been approved by the Type Certification Holder (TCH) as a licensed part number.

When a manufacturer receives authority from the FAA to manufacture a PMA part, the FAA issues a “PMA Supplement” to document the approval and the method of approval. This supplement for a licensed PMA part will document that the approved PMA part number and the original TCH part number are identical.

OEM Licensed PMA’s offer significant cost savings vs. OEM products. In addition, ancillary cost savings include reduced engineering workload and part commonality saves inventory control costs.

Please contact LKD with any questions you may have. LKD can provide samples of OEM Licensed PMA supplements and pictures of parts or answer any questions you may have.

Sales@Lkdaero.com
Tel: 425-396-0829 ext. 1

OEM Licensed PMA Quick Facts

What is a PMA, and what does it mean?

As a stocking distributor for many different manufacturers, including those that manufacture PMA replacement parts, we are often asked about PMA parts. A PMA part is a replacement part that has undergone an extensive review process and received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Letters PMA stand for Parts Manufacturer Approval, and when a manufacturer stamps its parts with the letters FAA-PMA it means…

  • Each part will be permanently and legibly marked with the letters “FAA-PMA”, the part number, the name or trademark of the manufacturer, and the name and model of aircraft on which the part may be installed. (FAR 45.15)
  • The FAA regularly inspects the facilities and has approved the company’s internal Fabrication Inspection System (FIS). (FAR 21.303,e)
  • That each part has been manufactured to the print and passed both in-process and final inspections before shipment to you. (FAR 21.303,h)
  • That the manufacturer’s print cannot be changed without the approval of the FAA (FAR 21.303,e,2)
  • The parts are fully interchangeable with the OEM part as outlined on the PMA supplement whether it is an identical part or a modification part. (FAR 21.303,d,1)
  • That each part meets the airworthiness requirements of the FAA – e. g. flammability, toxicity, hardness, corrosion-resistance, etc. (FAR 21.303,d,1 and FAR 25.653)
  • That each part is completely traceable. From the raw material, processing, treatments, finishes, plating, inspection- each step is documented and filed with the dated work order, should a problem ever arise. (FAR 21.303,h,9)
  • All FAA-PMA parts stocked by LKD Aerospace have a PMA Supplement document in our system and are available for viewing online at www.lkdaerospace.com.

OEM Licensed PMA’s are Parts Approved by both OEM and the FAA to be Sold Under the Original OEM (OEM) Part Number
Saves Both Engineering and Administration Time and Expense
Significant Cost Savings
Thousands of Part Numbers Now Available at LKD
Additional Parts Being Added Continuously
8130 and Mfg Certs Available (Contact LKD for Specific Part Number Applicability)
Significant Stock Available
Long Term Purchase Agreement (LTPA) Discounts
Save $$$ on PMAs

OEM Licensed PMA Parts Applicable to Boeing Aircraft Models:
B-707 B-727 B-737 B-747 B-757 B-767 B-777 B-787 
DC- 8 DC-9 DC-10 MD-80 MD-90 MD-11

Including New Generation Aircraft

FAA’s Certification and Procedures for Products and Parts – Original Document

Download LKD’s PMA Brochure