Re: identification plates on aircraft
The details that go onto these plates are regulated at the federal/airworthiness authority level (Transport Canada, FAA, CAA UK, etc). Hereis the relevant Canadian Aviation Regulation regarding “Aircraft Identification and Registration and Operation of a Leased Aircraft by a Non-registered Owner”. The plate must be affixed either in a place visible to a person on the ground or visible to a person at the main or rearmost door. I know the plates on Bombardier Global Express planes are at the rear, on the exterior near the aft equipment bay door.
In Canada, the required information on the plate includes:
- the name legal name of the manufacturer
- the aircraft model designation based upon the type certificate (e.g. BD-700-1A10 for the Global Express)
- Type certificate number (or equivalent), (e.g. A-177 for the Global Express)
- the aircraft serial number
Other countries have other requirements, and so if an aircraft will be registered in another country, the manufacturer ensures that the identification plates meet that country’s requirements as well.
From the point of view of air safety, these plates are invaluable, because it enables investigators to absolutely confirm which aircraft was involved in an accident/incident (I vaguely recall a story about a collision where it was thought there was only one plane crashed until the second plate was found, but don’t quote me on that!). A 737 built today conforms to a different type certificate revision as one built 30 years ago, and so being able to get the serial number and appropriate certificate info tells investigators which airframe it was and what engines, avionics, etc it had on board so that they don’t waste their time investigating problems with equipment the plane may never have had installed. It’s also one reason the investigators I’ve met like having the plates installed near the aft equipment bay - it’s a part of the plane that is more likely to survive an impact, and it’s where the FDRs are installed, and so grabbing the plate info along with the FDRs is that much easier!