Boeing, Southwest Airlines, and Aeroxchange complete first digital FAA 8130-3 parts shipment

Summary Points: 

• The first part shipped was a battery serviced at Boeing’s Davie, Fla., repair center.
• The document transfer used Aeroxchange’s eARC platform.
• Boeing plans to expand digital certification to all nine of its repair centers pending FAA approval.

PLANO, Texas - The Boeing Company in Arlington, Va., working with Southwest Airlines in Dallas and Aeroxchange Ltd. in Irving, Texas, has completed the aerospace industry's first shipment of aircraft parts accompanied by a digital Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Form 8130-3 Authorized Release Certificate. The new electronic version replaces the traditional paper form and is designed to strengthen supply chain security and prevent unapproved spare parts from entering the aviation aftermarket.

FAA Form 8130-3 certifies the airworthiness of aircraft parts, components, and articles. The new digital certificate uses secure, encrypted files to verify the signer's identity and ensure document integrity. Boeing led a pilot project to develop and gain FAA authorization for the electronic solution.

The first part shipped under the program was a battery serviced at Boeing’s product repair services center in Davie, Fla. It was transmitted through the Aeroxchange eARC platform and received by Southwest Airlines in Dallas, where the authenticity and airworthiness of the component were verified electronically.

Related: Airlines are racing to find fake parts in Airbus and Boeing engines

"Southwest is proud to be a partner in the electronic process of document transfers and thrilled to be on-site for the very first delivery of a ship battery using this process," said Landon Nitschke, senior vice president of Technical Operations at Southwest Airlines. "The security benefit of electronic forms aligns to Southwest’s value of a safety-first culture and will be of significant benefit in the aviation industry."

"Aeroxchange is honored to have partnered with Boeing and Southwest Airlines to transmit this first-ever eARC document providing a highly secure, verifiable digital record of the Authorized Release Certificate, Form 8130-3," said Al Koszarek, president and CEO of Aeroxchange. 

The digital certificate leverages X.509 security protocols, public/private key encryption, and blockchain-ready formats to create a verifiable record of part authenticity throughout its lifecycle.

Boeing plans to expand the use of the digital 8130 certificate across its nine product repair service centers, pending FAA authorization for each facility to use electronic recordkeeping, signatures, and manuals.

Expanding digital authorized release certificates was a key recommendation from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition (ASCIC), a cross-industry group focused on preventing unapproved parts from entering the supply chain. Boeing, Southwest Airlines, and Aeroxchange are active ASCIC members.