8.13 First Article Inspection (AS9102)

First Article Inspection (FAI) validates that the manufacturing process is capable of producing a part that meets all engineering and design requirements.

8.13.1 The FAIR (First Article Inspection Report) Structure

• Form 1 (Part Accountability): Identifies the part, revision, and organization. Summarizes the result (Pass/Fail).
• Form 2 (Product Accountability): Lists all raw materials, special processes (e.g., plating, soldering), and functional tests. Requires mapping to specific Certificate of Conformance (CoC) numbers.
• Form 3 (Characteristic Accountability): The detailed audit. Every dimension, note, and tolerance on the drawing is assigned a unique number ("Ballooning"). The inspector records the actual result against the required range for every single characteristic.

8.13.2 Trigger Events for FAI

A new FAI (or Delta FAI) is required when:

1. New part introduction.
2. Design change (Revision change).
3. Change in manufacturing source, process, inspection method, or location.
4. Lapse in production for two years.

Final Checklist