I am usually 100% on the same page as wireweinie. On this issue I disagree. Bob Turner is correct. Once the Annual Inspection is completed and the IA has made his record entry with a list of discrepancies provided to the owner, his job is complete. In order for the aircraft to be returned to service as being airworthy
any person who is authorized to correct the particular discrepancies may perform the described maintenance and return the aircraft to service. The ANNUAL inspection will then be considered as complete and airworthy. The original or an alternate IA does not need to be involved again unless the discrepancy was a MAJOR item which required an IA's approval. That being said I offer the following as an example:
An IA performs an ANNUAL inspection during which he notices that one tire is worn through the cord with several serious cuts, rendering that tire not airworthy. All else having to do with the aircraft is in excellent condition. The ANNUAL inspection is signed in the records as being "not airworthy" with the bad tire noted and the list (bad tire) given to the owner. The aircraft can not legally fly. The owner is busy so he does not replace the tire until 11-1/2 months after the end of the month that the ANNUAL was placed in the records. The pilot/owner is authorized to replace the tire and sign the log book since the tire is a preventative maintenance item. At this point in time the aircraft is airworthy and may be flown without an IA or an A&P doing anything. Now a question. How long can the aircraft be flown before it needs another ANNUAL inspection to be accomplished? Answer, two weeks.
INSPECTION AUTHORIZATIONINFORMATION GUIDE
https://www.faa.gov/training_testing...-g-8082-19.pdf Page 18 Aircraft With Discrepancies or Unairworthy Conditions
Also remember what Bill O'Brien always said, "The IA is only responsible for the airworthiness of the aircraft until the ink is dry on his signature".
Granted it is not often that a list of discrepancies is given to the owner. Usually the repairs are done before the inspection is completed. Imagine returning an airplane to service after it being stored for so long that it needed an FAA inspector to issue it an airworthiness certificate and that the required annual couldn't be approved without a test flight being performed first. The FAA had to issue a special flight permit for the test flight before the ANNUAL could be completed before the FAA could issue the permanent airworthiness certificate. Good thing that I was on friendly terms with the FAA inspector. Still needed to have all of the appropriate paperwork. In case you are wondering, this was a pristine original Widgeon which had been pickled and stored since the early 1950s. The ultimate "barn find".
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