What is meant by a progressive inspection?

• A. A separate inspection for each system only.
• B. A mandatory continuous inspection by the manufacturer.
• C. An inspection approved by the FAA FSDO in which an aircraft is inspected according to an approved schedule. This schedule allows the complete inspection to be conducted over a period of time without having to keep the aircraft out of service as long as would be necessary to perform the entire inspection at one time.
• D. An inspection that must be completed within 7 days.

Answer: (C)

A progressive inspection is an FAA-approved maintenance program that lets an aircraft be inspected in phases over a defined period, rather than having a full annual done all at once. The key is that the plan is approved by the FAA (the local FSDO) and specifies which tasks are done when, so the complete inspection can be completed over time while the aircraft stays in service and remains airworthy.

This matches the option that describes an inspection approved by the FAA with a schedule that allows the whole inspection to be spread out, rather than requiring the entire inspection to be performed in one downtime-heavy session.

The other ideas don’t fit because a progressive inspection isn’t limited to separate inspections for each system, isn’t mandated by the manufacturer as a continuous process, and doesn’t have a universal 7-day completion window—the duration comes from the approved schedule.