Definition
An individual who holds a Repairman Certificate issued by the FAA under 14 CFR Part 65, authorizing them to perform specific maintenance, preventive maintenance, and inspection tasks on a particular aircraft or class of aircraft. The certificate is tied to a specific employer or, in the case of an experimental amateur-built aircraft, to the person who built the aircraft. A repairman's authority is narrower than that of an FAA-certificated mechanic and is limited to the work specified on their certificate.
Plain English
A person the FAA has officially approved to do certain maintenance or inspection work on a specific aircraft. Their approval is more limited than a full mechanic's -- it only covers the work listed on their certificate.
Context Anchor
Seen during preflight and maintenance-record checks, especially when confirming that required work on the airplane was done and signed off by someone legally allowed to do it.
Derivation
Certificated comes from certificate, a formal written authorization. In FAA use, certificated means officially approved by the FAA for a stated role; it does not simply mean experienced or well trained.
Why Pilots Care
Confirms that required maintenance was performed by someone legally authorized to do the work, supporting the aircraft's airworthiness and legal compliance.
Intuition Check
Do not read repairman here as simply “a person who fixes things.” In this FAA context, it means a person with a specific FAA-issued certificate and limits on what work they may do.
Example Sentence 1
The owner of the experimental aircraft held an FAA-certificated repairman certificate, allowing him to perform the annual condition inspection himself.
Example Sentence 2
Only work signed off by an FAA-certificated repairman holding the proper rating can be accepted for this inspection item.