Definition
A set of design, manufacturing, performance, and continued-airworthiness standards written by an industry consensus body (such as ASTM International) and formally accepted by the FAA as the basis for certifying and maintaining light-sport aircraft. Once accepted, compliance with these standards substitutes for the traditional FAA type certification process for aircraft in the light-sport category.
Plain English
Rules for building, testing, and maintaining light-sport aircraft that were written by industry experts and then approved by the FAA. Meeting these rules is what makes a light-sport aircraft legal to sell and fly in the United States.
Context Anchor
Seen when reading how light-sport aircraft are built, approved, inspected, and maintained.
Derivation
The phrase combines three plain ideas: 'FAA-accepted' (the FAA agrees to use them), 'industry-developed' (written by manufacturers and engineers, not by the FAA itself), and 'standards' (written technical rules). The wording matters because it signals a different path from traditional FAA certification, where the FAA writes the rules.
Why Pilots Care
These standards allow light-sport aircraft to be certified more quickly and affordably than under traditional FAA type-certification rules while still meeting safety requirements.
Intuition Check
Do not read “FAA-accepted” as “the FAA designed it” or “the FAA personally approved every aircraft part.” It means the FAA recognizes the industry standard as an acceptable rule set for this kind of aircraft.
Example Sentence 1
Light-sport aircraft are certified to FAA-accepted industry-developed standards rather than through the traditional type certification process used for standard-category airplanes.
Example Sentence 2
Before buying a used light-sport aircraft, the pilot checked that it had been maintained according to the FAA-accepted industry-developed standards listed in the operating limitations.