Compliant traceability from teardown to China
The AFRA-CAAC Registry program creates a controlled, verifiable path for used serviceable material recovered from retired aircraft to return to service on China-registered aircraft. Block Aero is the program's implementation partner, operating the qualifying overseas registration platform: the only overseas compliant parts management platform in the program.
What the AFRA-CAAC Registry is
As the world's retired-aircraft fleet grows, so does the value locked in reusable parts, and the need to prove those parts are what they claim to be. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) addresses this in its Advisory Circular on aircraft disassembly (AC-145-FS-017 R1), which standardizes how disassembly organizations recover parts for return to service and keeps that return controllable, so non-conforming material never reaches a China-registered aircraft.
The challenge
Disassembly for return to service is, in essence, a maintenance activity. But parts recovered overseas have historically arrived with inconsistent paperwork and no shared record of where they came from.
The framework
Disassembly organizations are managed under CCAR-145 principles, with airframe and engine ratings. The CAAC executed a Memorandum of Understanding with AFRA so that qualified overseas organizations can participate through AFRA's Best Management Practice (BMP).
The registry
Recovered parts and their source aircraft are recorded in a disassembled-part registration system, creating a traceable, queryable record that buyers, owners, and authorities can rely on.
From retired airframe to installed, verified part
Each step produces a record that travels with the part, so the proof is built once, at the source, and trusted everywhere after.
A qualified organization recovers the part
A CCAR-145-rated organization, or an overseas organization qualified through AFRA under the BMP, performs the disassembly for return to service.
An Aircraft Dismantle Parts Tag is issued
The part is tagged with its name, part number and model, manufacturer, and serial number. The tag attests that disassembly was performed correctly. It is not an Authorized Release Certificate.
The part and its source aircraft are registered
Registration captures the aircraft type, manufacturer serial number, the nationality registration mark held before retirement, the airworthiness certificate, and a copy of the Certificate of Deregistration, with each part's dismantle tag attached. All of it is recorded on a qualifying registration platform.
Buyers check before they commit
Airlines, MROs, and distributors query the registry to confirm a part's provenance and eligibility, turning weeks of due diligence into minutes.
Release certification completes the chain
An appropriately rated organization issues a Maintenance Release or Authorized Release Certificate (e.g. AAC-038 / ARC). The registry record links the full history end to end.
Aircraft, engines, and dismantled parts
The program spans three connected registries on Block Aero, so a part can be traced all the way back to the airframe it came from.
Each registry entry holds the records that make a part trustworthy:
The implementation partner and overseas platform
Block Aero builds and operates the registry technology for the program, and is the qualifying overseas registration platform that organizations outside China use to participate.
Qualifying overseas platform
Overseas disassembly organizations register their parts on Block Aero, the program's qualifying registration platform, reachable at registry.afra.aero/caac.
Powered by Registry Manager
The program runs on Block Aero's Registry Manager and Digital Asset Manager: submission and endorsement workflows, auditor oversight, and public verification, all on the Aviation Blockchain Network.
About Registry Manager#RegistryReady data packages
Sellers assemble a data package once and share it with buyers, owners, and authorities, turning registry compliance into a faster sale.
About data packagesThe dismantle tag vs the release certificate
A common point of confusion, and one the registry makes unambiguous.
| Document | What it attests | Enables return to service? |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Dismantle Parts Tag | The disassembly was carried out correctly by a qualified organization, and the part is identified (name, P/N, manufacturer, S/N). | No, not on its own |
| Authorized Release Certificate (e.g. AAC-038 / ARC) | The part has been found airworthy and is approved for return to service by an appropriately rated organization. | Yes |
The registry links both to the same part record, so buyers always know exactly which approvals a part carries, and which it still needs.
A coordinated program
CAAC
Sets the framework through the Advisory Circular and recognizes qualifying registration platforms.
AFRA
Under an MOU with the CAAC, qualifies overseas organizations through its Best Management Practice (BMP).
Disassembly organizations
CCAR-145-rated and AFRA-qualified overseas organizations recover parts, tag them, and register them.
Asset owners
Provide aircraft provenance, including deregistration, airworthiness, and configuration records, to anchor each registry entry.
Buyers: airlines and MROs
Check eligibility and provenance against the registry before parts are installed on China-registered aircraft.
Block Aero
Implementation partner operating the qualifying overseas registration platform and the underlying technology.
This is Block Aero's plain-language summary of the AFRA-CAAC Registry program and the CAAC Advisory Circular AC-145-FS-017 R1 (Aircraft Disassembly), provided for general information. The program is currently in a voluntary participation phase. Our English text is a working reference only; the official Chinese text of the Advisory Circular is authoritative. For program eligibility and requirements specific to your organization, contact us.
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