As I see it, there are 3 ways to ground a fleet, and each will have to be ordered by the Administrator.
- An Airworthiness Directive. See the Part 39 explanation below. Trouble is an unsafe condition must be determined. That's an engineer design thing + good judgement but it can be done with a single document. - A Flight Standards dictum, all operators must be told by each FAA oversight office that they can't operate Bombardiers. That's bound to vary, best guess 100% grounding will be elusive. - Air Traffic asking "Are you Bombardier?" Nuts to that. All options are insane. In my FAA time I learned my butt was covered for my decisions & actions as long as I stayed aligned with regulations & policy. If I stepped outside that box I could easily be on my own. So like the military, "I was just following orders." won't work. If the order comes down, there would be a pretty good variety of reactions; refusal to do it, resignations & resistance until someone is found who will do it. Brings to mind the DoJ lawyer exodus. If Trump gets serious I'd say Administrator Bryan Bedford will have to face a serious decision. And let's not forget Airbus has a pretty big stake in Bombardier. Borfitz I posted this in LinkedIn yesterday: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To "decertify" an airplane doesn't really have a regulation to lean on. Part 39 "Airworthiness Directives" requires the FAA to make a finding of an unsafe condition, see the first few lines below, a link below that. Of course that's just the facts. By regulation you can't just ground a fleet because you feel like doing it. There must be a VERY serious problem. But we're in crazy times and all the correct & accurate information below may mean nothing. What WILL matter is: - The angry airlines $$$ - The angrier passengers who vote - Bell Helicopter with a manufacturing facility in Canada when they get shut down from spite § 39.1 Purpose of this regulation. The regulations in this part provide a legal framework for FAA's system of Airworthiness Directives. § 39.3 Definition of airworthiness directives. FAA's airworthiness directives are legally enforceable rules that apply to the following products: aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances. § 39.5 When does FAA issue airworthiness directives? (Paraphrased) (a) An unsafe condition exists in the product; (b) The condition is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-39 Mike Borfitz Cell 206-714-8797 Kilroy Aviation LLC WWW.FAAODA.COM <http://www.faaoda.com/> Kilroy is available for aviation regulatory and safety issues - Type & Production Certification, Continued Operational Safety - International validation & safety matters - Program & system management - FAA STC ODA On Sun, Feb 1, 2026, 2:29 PM Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> wrote: > ‍DALLAS — A U.S. political flare-up over aircraft certification put an > unexpected spotlight on how deeply Canadian-built jets and helicopters are > embedded in the U.S. fleet, especially Bombardier business aircraft and > regional jets that fly thousands of daily segments. > [image: Flying on board Widerøe's Embraer E2 | #Traveler] > [image: auto skip] > [image: Airways Logo] > > U.S. President Donald Trump used a Truth Social post today to call on the > FAA to “decertify” Bombardier private jets, framing the threat as > retaliation for Canada’s refusal to certify certain Gulfstream models, > according to reporting. > > The move raised questions about what “decertify” could mean in practice, > since aircraft type certification sits with regulators, not politicians, > and typically ties to engineering and safety findings rather than trade > disputes. A day later, the White House states that any action "would not > apply to planes in operation." > > For a sense of scale, Cirium data shared with *Airways* show 5,425 > Canadian-made aircraft (including narrow-bodies, regional jets, trainers, > and helicopters) in service and registered in the U.S. Of that total, 2,678 > are Bombardier aircraft built in Canada operated by 1,202 operators. > Cirium’s dataset also flags 150 Bombardier Global Express aircraft in the > U.S. registry, spread across 115 operators, underscoring how widely those > long-range business jets are distributed across corporate and private > fleets. > > The same Cirium snapshot highlights Canada’s role in U.S. commercial > operations beyond business aviation. Canadian-built regional jets remain a > core tool for U.S. network connectivity, and outside reporting notes that > hundreds > of Bombardier CRJ aircraft fly U.S. schedules each day, making any broad > certification threat operationally explosive even before it reaches legal > reality. > > Cirium also counts 58 Airbus A220-family aircraft in U.S. service, > operated by Delta Air Lines (46), JetBlue (10), and Breeze (2)—a reminder > that “Canadian-made” spans multiple OEMs and programs, not just Bombardier. > (Airbus builds A220s in both Canada and the U.S.; Cirium’s figures refer to > Canadian-made frames in the U.S. registry.) > Why It Matters > > Even if the rhetoric never translates into formal action, it shows how > quickly geopolitics can collide with fleet realities—and why operators, > lessors, and manufacturers treat certification pathways as one of > aviation’s most sensitive chokepoints. > > For background, Gulfstream pursued multi-regulator approvals for its > newest large-cabin types, with certification milestones that typically > involve the FAA and other authorities. > > Note: Bombardier sold the Dash 8 program and the De Havilland brand to > Longview in 2019. De Havilland Aircraft of Canada now runs the program. > > Canadian-made aircraft in the U.S. registry > In-service aircraft registered in the United States • Source: Cirium • > Snapshot: Jan 2026 > > 5,425 > > Total Canadian-made aircraft in U.S. registry (all types) > > 2,678 > > Bombardier-built (Canada) in U.S. registry • 1,202 operators > > 150 > > Global Express in U.S. registry • 115 operators > > 58 > > Airbus A220 (Canada-built) in U.S. registry > Bombardier vs non-Bombardier share > Top U.S. operators of Canadian-made aircraft > Largest Canadian-made families (U.S. registry) > A220 operators (Canada-built frames) > Operator list (top 15) > Operator Total in service > SkyWest Airlines 238 > NetJets 200 > Endeavor Air 141 > PSA Airlines 138 > Air Evac Lifeteam 125 > Flexjet 106 > Air Methods LLC 98 > Solairus Aviation 94 > Executive Jet Management 79 > Med-Trans Corp 59 > Helicopters Inc (Illinois) 54 > GoJet Airlines 53 > Corporate American Operator 49 > Delta Air Lines 47 > Mesa Airlines 45 > Tip: swipe the table left/right on mobile (it won’t push the page). > Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Canadian-made aircraft > include jets and helicopters across multiple OEMs. > [image: Google News Follow Button] > <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMP23owswwMK7Aw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen> > <https://www.thaiairways.com/> > <https://shop.airwaysmag.com/products/airways-calendar-2026> > > Airways Calendar 2026 > > The Airways Photography team has selected their finest aviation images for > the Airways 2026 calendar. Twelve mon... > <https://shop.airwaysmag.com/products/airways-calendar-2026> > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Revised: 20250507 > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > exactly cost-free. 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