Answered the way we train: directly, with the CFR reference, and honest about scope. If an answer sends you to a product, it's because the product exists to solve exactly that problem — not the other way around.
May 28, 2027. The FAA's SMS final rule extended 14 CFR Part 5 to Part 135 operators, §91.147 air tour operators, and certain certificate holders. It will not move, and FSDO review queues only get longer as it approaches. The SMS Kit is the Part 5 documentation set sized for small operators.
Yes — at any contract tier. Under 14 CFR part 120, anyone performing maintenance or preventive maintenance for a part 121/135 operator must be covered; subcontracting doesn't launder the requirement away. Independents typically enroll through a consortium/C/TPA that runs the random pool, collections, and MRO. Diligent operators ask for enrollment proof before contracting — and increasingly for awareness-training evidence, which is what the D&A Awareness certificate provides.
60 minutes on drug indicators + 60 minutes on alcohol misuse for supervisors making reasonable-suspicion determinations. FAA quirk worth knowing: reasonable-cause drug decisions generally take two concurring supervisors (one trained; small-employer exception at ≤50 covered employees), while alcohol determinations take one trained supervisor. The D&A Supervisor course delivers both hours with genuine, verifiable runtime — not stopwatch fiction.
No. DOT testing is federal — 49 CFR part 40 controls, THC stays on the five-panel, and a medical card doesn't change MRO verification. Metabolites persist days to weeks, which is how state-legal Saturdays become federal Mondays.
Usually not — but they're almost never uncontrolled. Most civil parts sit under the EAR as 9A991 or EAR99; Export Control Reform moved most military aircraft parts to the CCL's 600 series (9A610), which still carries near-ITAR weight. EAR99 means least-restricted, never uncontrolled: screening and embargo rules apply to every shipment, and emailing controlled technical data abroad is itself an export. The Export Control course turns this into a desk procedure.
Tritium exit signs, Americium-241 in older ionization smoke detectors, Krypton-85 indicators, thoriated components, and depleted-uranium counterweights on some older heavies. Removing, storing, or shipping them takes Class 7 competence: the 10 CFR 31.5 general license most shops already hold without knowing it, plus 49 CFR 173 Subpart I for transport. That's the Class 7 Cleared course.
More than saying no — and it carries the same consequences as a positive: failing to proceed after notification, leaving before the process completes, adulterated or substituted specimens, refusing a required observed collection. Once notified, the only safe exit is the far side of the process.
The SAP road (49 CFR part 40 Subpart O): Substance Abuse Professional evaluation, prescribed treatment or education, a directly-observed return-to-duty test, then 6+ unannounced follow-ups in 12 months, extendable to five years. Long, watched, and genuinely real — and the violation follows through the DOT records check regardless.
Yes — rulemaking extended program requirements to foreign repair stations working on part 121 aircraft, with compliance required by 2027. The net around contractor and repair-station coverage widens every year.
Rectifly — post the aircraft, location, and discrepancy; verified A&P mechanics nearby accept. Certificates are checked against the FAA Airmen Registry at enrollment and monthly after, and mechanic profiles display completed compliance training so you can check credentials before the callout.