Definition
A section of the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 14, Part 3, Section 5) that prohibits any person from making fraudulent or intentionally false statements about the airworthiness of an aircraft, aircraft part, or related product, and requires that any communication describing the condition of such items be accurate.
Plain English
A federal rule that says no one is allowed to lie or mislead anyone about whether an aircraft or aircraft part is safe and legal to fly. If you describe its condition, what you say has to be true.
Context Anchor
You may see this kind of citation in FAA handbooks, regulations, applications, maintenance records, or certification material when the FAA is pointing to the exact legal rule that applies.
Derivation
CFR stands for Code of Federal Regulations. Title 14 is the volume covering aviation. Part 3 contains general requirements, and Section 5 is the specific rule about truthful statements regarding airworthiness.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on logbook entries, maintenance records, and seller statements to know whether an aircraft is safe and legal. This rule gives those statements legal weight, and it also means pilots and owners can be held accountable for misleading claims about their own aircraft.
Analogy
A regulation citation works like an address. “14 CFR” names the rulebook, and “3.5” points to the exact rule inside it.
Intuition Check
Do not read “part” here as a casual piece of something. In FAA regulations, a part is an organized block of rules, and a decimal number such as 3.5 usually points to a specific section within the rules.
Example Sentence 1
Under 14 CFR part 3.5, the seller could not legally describe the airplane as airworthy without disclosing the cracked engine mount.
Example Sentence 2
Instructors often direct new pilots to 14 CFR part 3.5 when questions arise about how a word is used in official FAA documents.