Aviation Registry Web Site Adds 'Tail' Number Search

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Anyone with access to the Internet may
now check data on all U.S. registered civil aircraft. The new
option is on the already-popular U.S. Civil Aviation Registry web
site operated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in
Oklahoma City, and located on the world-wide web at
http://registry.faa.gov.

The site has many other aircraft and airmen information options
and is averaging over a thousand visitors per day.

The new aircraft search option lets aviation industry, state and
local government agencies, pilots and other aviation enthusiasts
access the vital statistics of any U.S. registered aircraft by
entering its "tail" or N number. Searchers get the aircraft's
description, the registered owner and co-owners, additional
airworthiness data about engine type, temporary registrations and
modifications. Searches may also be made by: aircraft serial
number, make-model, state-county, and the name of registered
owners.

The N number search option was made available on April 4, and
has already processed nearly 800,000 queries.

The Registry plans to further expand the web site, introduce new
storage technology and get into electronic commerce which will
provide certain Registry services online. Registry customers
can reserve and renew N numbers online and pay for those
services with their credit card and order and pay for copies of
aircraft records. Airmen records and requests for information
under the Freedom of Information Act cannot be ordered through
the web site, but upon receipt of an invoice for those services
they can be paid for with a credit card on the web site.

The Civil Aviation Registry, located in Oklahoma City, directs all
matters associated with the planning, development, and
implementation of the regulations and systems associated with
the registration of U.S. civil aircraft. The Registry also manages
and operates national comprehensive systems for the issuance
of all FAA airmen certificates and the legal content of all airmen
certification records.

The overall Registry web site provides full sets of both the
aircraft and airmen databases, various forms used to do
business with the Registry, and other useful information. In
addition, there are now some services that can be requested and
paid for online. Data bases in each category may also be
downloaded which include all information for aircraft. For airmen,
privacy act information is not included, and addresses are
redacted on airmen who chose not to have their address released.

The Registry staff of 220 interacts with hundreds of thousands
of customers every year. They issue some 70,000 aircraft
registration certificates and 180,000 airmen certificates, answer
over 140,000 telephone calls, reserve 17,000 special aircraft
registration numbers (N numbers), provide 200,000 copies of
records, and update over 108,000 addresses. In addition,
Registry systems provide information to FAA aviation safety
inspectors, National Transportation Safety Board investigators,
and law enforcement agencies to support aviation safety
activities.