The FAA Aircraft registry website is at :
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry
and the FAA SDR database query site is here
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and the public FAA SDR data download site at :
https://av-info.faa.gov/dd_sublevel.asp?Folder=%5CSDRS
August 2022 - NOTE - all tasks listed below can now be handled by the BAT file at
However, its still important to visit the FAA download page (particularly at the beginning of a new year) to ensure all files are available
So we begin by going to the FAA SDR data download site.
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This website is auto-updated by the FAA every Monday morning. All record layouts are identical going back to around 2010 - not a problem, we already have the data going back to about 1974.
Each FAA datafile data file is suffixed with either
'a' - Commercial Aviation - or -
'g' - General Aviation.
However, this distinction has no relevance to the upload procedure. We consolidate all the data and process it as one batch.
Additionally, we only import pure TEXT data. We’re not importing photographs or documents during this process. Only TC data from Canadian submitters has photos, attachments, supplemental text etc . .
The FAA accepts SDR reports in a "Preliminary" format. This means it can often take months/years for a given report to finally appear on the FAA ftp website, until such time as the report has been marked "reviewed" by a Technical inspector. ( They frequently contact the submitter with supplemental questions, and that exchange can take an extended period ).
The FAA data files themselves are compiled by Date_of_Occurence_Year, but the entry date of any given record can be current year.
Note: In January of any given year, it may take a few weeks for "current year" data to appear on the website. Possibly Contact FAA SDR management if the issue persists into February.
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