It's a common confusion. The Equipment List in the POH us a list of aircraft equipment with notes indicating whether it is standard, optional, required, etc. It is definitely regulatory but it is not a "MEL."Rich wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 12:56 am
I'm confused. This is a section titled "Minimum Operational Equipment (Serviceable)". In the US, I believe this constitutes the MEL, as interpreted by the FAA since it is in my AFM (downloaded POH is unofficial, BTW) and therefore applies. Other countries may have different perspectives. Some years back, the FAA took a position that raised a bunch of controversy. Many AFM's lacked this kind of specificity and there was a position that everything in the airplane had to be in working order or it was not airworthy. Having an actual MEL in the AFM is a defense against an enforcement of such a position.
A MEL is an official FAA term. It is list of specific equipment in a specific airplane which is permitted to be inoperative without going through the steps in FAR 91.213(d). The list, generally based on a master template, is submitted to the FAA by the aircraft owner/operator and approved by the FAA. MELs are discussed and described in FAR 91.213(a)-(c).
If you had a MEL, you'd know it because you would have submitted it to the FAA and received a letter of approval, it's unusual to have one in the Part 91 world, although I have heard of some flight schools getting them to avoid needing to ground airplanes due to certain discrepancies without needing a mechanic sign-off.
The "Minimum Operational Equipment" list in the AFM is different from both. It does not mean that everything else can be broken. Its more a KOEL in US terms. Primarily a recitation of our 91.205 and 209 bare minimum requirements, You'll notice the engine and prop isn't listed. You wouldn't argue it's ok to fly with a bent prop, would you?
