If an aircraft requires a test flight as the final maintenance action, the test flight items remain in what status?

• A. NMCM status
• B. Completed
• C. Deferred
• D. Awaiting approval

Answer: (A)

When a maintenance action requires a test flight to verify that everything works as intended, the items linked to that action stay flagged as Not Mission Capable - Maintenance. This status shows the aircraft cannot perform its mission yet because the final verification flight hasn’t been completed and confirmed. Keeping the test-flight items in NMCM signals that the maintenance work isn’t fully closed until the flight test proves the system meets requirements. Once the test flight is successfully completed and verified, those items can move to a completed/ released state.

Other statuses imply different conditions: Completed would indicate full verification already done; Deferred would mean the action is postponed for some reason; Awaiting approval would mean sign-off is still pending before proceeding. None of those reflect the need to perform and verify the final test flight, so NMCM is the appropriate status while the flight test is pending.