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I want to bring a gift to my buddy in Russia, and he's very much into aviation, so I found a defective aluminum Cessna propeller for him. It fits the luggage and the airline accepts it, but I'm worried if I can export it from the US. It's going to have a tag from tech inspection that it cannot be used on a certified aircraft due to some wear on a blade. Local FAA office doesn't take phone calls, probably due to the government shutdown. How is this regulated? Can I carry out it as a souvenir?

I have read in several places that high tech US production such as aircraft, engines, propellers and their blades are subject to export regulation, but the only definite thing I found so far is airworthiness certification of the FAA.

EDIT: My concerns are because of this: https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/export_aw_approval/export_aw_process/ and this: https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/export_aw_approval/media/8130-3QA.pdf

EDIT 2: CBP is able to answer this question, they have an item in their help phone line's automated menu about goods that are possible to be under export regulations, but they aren't working these days. https://www.cbp.gov/contact

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  • Why do you think this might be a problem? – Michael Hampton Jan 25 at 18:17
  • It wouldn't be FAA for export control, it would likely be the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce (the other being Office of Defense Trade Controls in the State Department for military-related controls). Unfortunately, both are closed at the moment. – user71659 Jan 25 at 18:19
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    @user71659 wouldn't CBP have the job of enforcing any such export controls? Would they be able to help determine whether the propeller in question is affected? They at least are working during the shutdown. – phoog Jan 25 at 18:26
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    @MichaelHampton Aerospace components are often subject to export controls. The penalties are severe and include fines and jail. You should not assume that you are allowed to bring it out of the country. – user71659 Jan 25 at 19:07
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    @Battle_Slug CBP is working, since people and goods continue to enter and leave the US, but I am not surprised that some parts of CBP are closed. You ought to be able to talk to someone at your nearest international airport. – phoog Jan 25 at 21:52
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I don't think it will be a problem. Reading through the Form 8130 FAQ, it's pretty clear that the FAA wants all parts to be used on a flying aircraft to have that form. Remember, the title of Form 8130 is (emphasis mine)

Export Airworthiness Approval

The propeller has already been deemed unworthy of future use as a propeller. If CBP questions you about it, tell the truth and say you bought it as a gift for decorating a friend's house. Since it has a tag deeming it unworthy for flight, they'll probably consider it junk.

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    That's also my thought. I just don't want to be caught for "trying to smuggle". All my explanations wouldn't mean anything if they decided that it should have been declared somehow and it wasn't. And that part is not clear. – Battle_Slug Jan 25 at 21:23
  • @Battle_Slug But you're not trying to smuggle it, you're just trying to clear CBP. If you're up front and honest there shouldn't be an issue. We're not talking new parts here. I seriously doubt most CBP agents would even know about FAA export regulations – Machavity Jan 25 at 21:25
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    @Machavity I also doubt they'd know the details of most Department of Agriculture import restrictions. It doesn't matter: when they don't know stuff, they look it up. – David Richerby Jan 25 at 21:56
  • Any restrictions to consider on arrival in Russia? – Traveller Jan 26 at 10:04
  • @Traveller I didn't find any specific to airplane parts, let alone unusable ones – Machavity Jan 26 at 15:16

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