Every part you record is checked against the FAA’s airworthiness directives. On a part’s card the directives are grouped: the ones that name the part, the ones still to be checked, the ones complied with, and the ones set aside. Each directive is one line. Press it and it opens with what it requires, why it reached this part, and the FAA’s own summary.
They are sorted by how much reason there is to read each one: those naming your exact part number first, then those naming the series, then those that reached the part only through the manufacturer. Each says why it is there.
This is a research aid and not a compliance determination. It finds directives you should read; it does not decide whether one applies to your aircraft. That determination is yours, made against the directive itself, and the link to the FAA’s document is on every one. Usually the deciding question is a serial number range, which the FAA publishes in prose.
Every directive card carries the same five actions, wherever it appears:
- Read the FAA’s summary, folded behind one line.
- “Read — not applicable”: say why in a few words. It is recorded as your determination and can be reopened.
- “Already complied with”: the date from the logbook, who signed, when it is next due if it repeats, and the logbook page uploaded as evidence of the AD status 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v) requires.
- “Applies — write it up”: it becomes a discrepancy report, required for airworthiness, and the work is run on the Discrepancies page.
- “Recommend to owner”: it becomes a discrepancy report for the owner to approve, defer, or decline. The decision is recorded either way.
Once the work is approved for return to service and the entry is written, the directive shows Complied with: the date, who signed, and when it is next due if the directive repeats.