The FAA doesn't define "operator", but if we accept a dictionary definition:
"One who operates a machine or device".

FAR 1:

Operate, with respect to aircraft, means use, cause to use or authorize to
use aircraft, for the purpose (except as provided in §91.13 of this chapter)
of air navigation including the piloting of aircraft, with or without the
right of legal control (as owner, lessee, or otherwise).
§ 91.7 Civil aircraft airworthiness.
(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an airworthy
condition.

§ 91.403 General.
(a) The owner or operator of an aircraft is primarily responsible for
maintaining that aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance
with part 39 of this chapter. [NOTE that "operator" includes "pilot"]

§ 91.409 Inspections.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may
operate an aircraft unless, within the preceding 12 calendar months, it has
had-

(1) An annual inspection in accordance with part 43 of this chapter and has
been approved for return to service by a person authorized by §43.7 of this
chapter; or [blah blah]

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may
operate an aircraft carrying any person (other than a crewmember) for hire,
and no person may give flight instruction for hire in an aircraft which that
person provides, unless within the preceding 100 hours of time in service
the aircraft has received an annual or 100-hour inspection and been approved
for return to service in accordance with part 43 of this chapter or has
received an inspection for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate in
accordance with part 21 of this chapter. The 100-hour limitation may be
exceeded by not more than 10 hours while en route to reach a place where the
inspection can be done. The excess time used to reach a place where the
inspection can be done must be included in computing the next 100 hours of
time in service.



About once a year our FSDO gathers up the CFIs in an area and rails at us
about various topics. Airworthiness is always one of those topics. They
are very emphatic that the CFIs must teach airworthiness compliance to
pilots they work with, and that the PIC is ultimately responsible for
determining the airworthiness of an aircraft before flight. This includes
required inspections and compliance with ADs, inoperative equipment
requirements, and presence of required AFM supplements in the airplane for
STCed equipment. In lieu of requiring the pilot to personally perform AD
searches and peruse the maintenance logs in excrutiating detail, they say
that, as a "safe harbor" good-faith action, the pilot may rely upon an
aircraft status board provided by the FBO or equivalent documentation in an
aircraft check-out notebook. But this documentation must cover required
inspections (annual, 100-hr, pitot/static, etc.) and status of recurring AD
inspections or actions. And they also stress that there is a zero-tolerance
policy for overflying an AD interval (and that the book will be thrown at
you in such an event), which usually means that the 10-hr grace period on a
100-hr inspection does not exist in reality for those aircraft requiring
100-hr inspections.

Airworthiness is not just being in condition for safe flight; it is
primarily paperwork.







"Dave Butler" wrote in message
...
Vaughn Simon wrote:

At a certain amount of risk of bing wrong because I don't have the
time to look up the applicable FAR, the short answer is "NO". The
operator of the plane is responsible for that stuff. I have no idea of
the annual date or even the 100-hour status of the planes I fly. I trust
the operator to do a professional job on that stuff, and the operator is
not about to leave the plane's logs out where they can be misplaced.

When I used to be an "operator" (I owned a plane leased to a flying club),
I kept an up-to-date signed document in the plane attesting to compliance
with the various airworthiness requirements, showing dates and times of
required inspections and the dates when the next action was required to
maintain airworthiness and fitness for IFR flight. The only exception was
the 30-day VOR check, which was explicitly noted as a pilot
responsibility.

AFAIK no inspector would care about such a document, but I think the
pilots appreciated having it.