Elevating Aviation Component Traceability: Strategic Integration of Next-Generation Digital Identity and Integrity Solutions for Enhanced Data Governance

The comprehensive and consistent traceability of aircraft and components throughout their entire lifecycle requires accurate documentation. This is particularly critical for safety-related parts such as Life Limited Parts (LLPs), which have a limited service life and must be closely tracked back-to-birth to ensure the airworthiness of an aircraft. Prevailing documentation and certification procedures rely on physical stamps and signatures by authorized personnel. Next-generation digital identity and integrity solutions in the context of Blockchain and digital twins have the potential to transform the existing paper-based documentation into a more secure and reliable digital record of all aircraft components. To achieve a valid solution, stakeholders and requirements are determined, technical concepts are analysed and a novel approach based on interconnected hash chains and asymmetric cryptography is introduced. The proposed concept further enhances the immutability, integrity and security of the documentation process and can be used in addition to established concepts, which enables a gradual introduction.