Sample Trace Gap Report

Synthetic sample. The customer, parts, serial numbers, form tracking numbers, work orders, aircraft and companies in this report are all invented, and any resemblance to real organisations is unintentional. The format, the four statuses, the consistency checks and the retention rules are the ones every real report uses.

Trace Gap Report

Customer

Sample Distributor, Inc.

Batch

SDI-2026-09-A · 25 lines

Scope

25 lines selected by the customer from legacy and teardown stock — the lines they were least sure of.

Files received

2026-09-14 · SDI_batch_A.pdf (412 pages), 138 documents

Delivered

2026-09-21 (five business days after receipt)

1. Summary

14 of 25 lines ($121,800, 33.0% of the batch value you supplied) have a gap or an inconsistency. This batch was the customer's own selection of the lines they were least sure of, so this proportion is not typical of a whole inventory.

• Start with the 6 inconsistent lines (section 4). The documents are present but contradict each other.
• Then the 5 recoverable lines (section 2), worth $50,100. One of them has a retention window closing in 72 days.
• 3 lines are likely unrecoverable, worth $18,950. Decide whether to reprice, write down, or sell them as-is with accurate disclosure.

Documents: 138 identified in the intake file. 4 could not be classified (UNKNOWN) and 7 could not be matched to any line in this batch; both lists are in the CSV delivered with this report.

2. Recoverable gaps, ranked by value

If you read one page, read this one. Each gap below has a named issuer that is still obliged to be able to produce the record. We have drafted a request for each; you send them.

3. All lines

Condition codes as supplied: NE new, NS new surplus, OH overhauled, SV serviceable, AR as removed. Values are extended line values as supplied by the customer.

4. Inconsistencies

Each finding below states what the documents say and where. We do not determine which document is correct, why they differ, or what the difference means. That is for your quality system.

The checks we run

5. Method and limits

• What we did. Every document in the intake file was separated, classified, and matched to inventory lines by serial number, part number and date. Each line's chain was laid out by date and checked against the Required on receipt column of the AC 00-56B Appendix 1 documentation matrix for that part's class, then against checks C1–C10. A person reviewed every Inconsistent and every Likely unrecoverable line against its source pages, and a sample of Complete lines.
• Commercial parts and standard parts are assessed against their own documentation requirements (AC 21-45; AC 00-56B Appendix 1). A missing 8130-3 is not a gap where none is required.
• Recoverability depends on who issued the missing record: production approval holders 5 years, or 10 for critical components (14 CFR § 21.137(k)); Part 145 repair stations 2 years from return to service (14 CFR § 145.219(c)); owners and operators 1 year after the work, or until superseded (14 CFR § 91.417(b)). A closed window means the issuer is no longer obliged to hold the record. It does not mean the record is gone, and it says nothing about the part itself.
• Your own retention duty. As an accredited distributor, your traceability records carry their own 7-year retention under ASA-100 §12.A, separate from the issuer windows above.
• What "Complete" means. The documents expected for that part's class are present and the chain is continuous. It is not a statement that the part is airworthy, and it is not an authentication of any document.
• Absence of a finding is not a finding of absence. We report on the documents supplied. A document that exists but was not in the folder cannot be seen.