Dear EASA Stakeholders,
EASA informs that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has concluded an investigation into Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. (SACI), a U.S.-based trustee company registering aircraft under non-citizen trust agreements.
On Tuesday, 13 January 2026, the FAA formally notified SACI that it does not satisfy U.S. citizenship requirements under applicable U.S. law and directed the company to surrender all associated U.S. aircraft registration certificates within 21 days. Upon issuance of this notice, the affected Certificates of Aircraft Registration became invalid, resulting in the immediate grounding of the aircraft, regardless of their location.
Based on information provided by the FAA, a number of SACI-registered U.S. (N)-registered aircraft are believed to be operating in or from the EU. Aircraft operated with an invalid Certificate of Registration must not be flown. The absence of a valid registration may also have implications for the mandatory insurance required of owners and operators.
To return aircraft to legal operation, owners or operators must comply with the FAA’s instructions, including establishing alternative compliant trustee arrangements or re-registering the aircraft with an appropriate civil aviation authority. Temporary operating authority issued by the FAA, where applicable, is limited to operations within the United States and does not permit international flights.
This FAA action is an administrative and legal determination related to U.S. registration requirements and does not arise from any identified aviation safety concerns.
A list of 803 aircraft registered to SACI, as drawn from the public FAA Registry on 14 January 2026, is attached to this message. Owners and operators of potentially affected aircraft should not operate their aircraft and should contact Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. for further information.
The FAA press release is available here:
FAA Notifies Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. (SACI) to Surrender All Aircraft Registration Certificates | Federal Aviation Administration
We recommend Member States to reach out to their GA community to ensure that affected aircraft located in their territories will not be operated.