I believe that the FAA's actions are more of a reaction than them being proactive or even insightful. Since the crash of TWA 800 over Long Island, NY, there has been an inordinate amount of attention to wiring as a cause of that accident and others in my humble opinion. I agree with Blacksheep, there should be training (apprenticeship) required before a technician(engineer) is let lose on a complex system for a wiring repair. I think you JAR66 folks will find out soon enough that the decision about who will and who won't make a repair is left to the airline. The way the FAA license is set up, I can work on any and all aspects of an aircraft as long as I have both an Airframe and Powerplant rating. I don't really want to argue the merits or shortfalls of the system, thats just the way it is. The fact of the matter is, in the U.S. the unions for A/C technicians have seperated the jobs into line, base, and avionics. Generally an avionic type does not remove panels, but by the same tolken, the panel puller will most likely never make a wiring repair, or even t/s a system. I guess what I'm trying to say is that with this type of training, people who probably should never touch a pin pusher or a set of crimpers may feel "empowered" and only cause further troubles due to lack of experience.