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Message FAA has recognized "servicing" is maintenance! But, they failed to address that in the letter you cited (likely, the attorneys are not that familiar with their maintenance technician's manuals).
The FAA came up with the list of Preventative Maintenance so that Pilots and aircraft owners can perform minor maintenance on aircraft being operated under Part 91. Pilots cannot perform any Preventative Maintenance on aircraft being operated under Part 135 unless specifically authorized in their OPSPECs. That where you'll find HAA pilots specifically able to service the oxygen/LOX, install/remove named equipment, add oil to engines, etc. If it's not in your OPSPECs, it isn't authorized. But, it is still a maintenance function!
In the Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook - General, pg 1-20
Servicing Aircraft Servicing Aircraft Air/Nitrogen Oil & Fluids Checking or servicing aircraft fluids is an important maintenance function. Before servicing any aircraft, consult the specific aircraft maintenance manual to determine the proper type of servicing equipment and procedures. In general, aircraft engine oil is checked with a dipstick or a sight gauge. In general, aircraft engine oil is checked with a dipstick or a sight gauge. There are markings on the stick or around the sight gauge to determine the correct level. Reciprocating engines are to be checked after the engine has been inactive, while the turbine engine must be checked just after shutdown. Dry sump oil systems tend to hide oil that has seeped from the oil tank into the gearcase of the engine. This oil does not show up on the dipstick until the engine has been started or motored. If serviced before this oil is pumped back into the tank, the engine overfills. Never overfill the oil tank. Oil foams as it is circulated through the engine. The expansion space in the oil tank allows for this foaming (oil mixing with air). Also the correct type of oil must be used for the appropriate engine being serviced.
How is one to know if the correct type of oil was used for the engine being serviced if it is not documented? That's why oil is a maintenance action and falls under the lubrication listing of what Preventative Maintenance is! Fuel, on the contrary, is not a lubrication or maintenance function!
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronatuical Knowledge, pg 7-16
Oil Systems
The engine oil system performs several important functions: • Lubrication of the engine’s moving parts • Cooling of the engine by reducing friction • Removing heat from the cylinders • Providing a seal between the cylinder walls and pistons • Carrying away contaminants
Appendix A to FAR 43:
(c) Preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is limited to the following work, provided it does not involve complex assembly operations:
(6) Lubrication not requiring disassembly other than removal of nonstructural items such as cover plates, cowlings, and fairings.
https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2018/Aug/First_Issue.pdf
Does your aircraft have a set of Manufacturer's Maintenance Manual and/or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICAs) that tell the maintenance folks how to "service" the aircraft oil?
A manufacturer is required under §21.50(b) to prepare a complete set of ICAs in accordance with (IAW) the applicable certification standard for the product (14 CFR parts 23, 25, 27, 29, 33, 35) that is acceptable to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The purpose of the ICAs are to enable persons authorized by the FAA to maintain the continued airworthiness of the product and approve the product for return to service. The manufacturer is also required to furnish the ICA to each owner of the product and then make it available to persons requiring its use. This is how the certification rules interface with the continued airworthiness rules of part 43 and 14 CFR part 91. In addition, as part of the ICAs, the manufacturer is required to provide airworthiness limitations (AWL). The FAA-approved Airworthiness Limitation Section (ALS) is required to be separate and distinct from the remainder of the FAA- accepted ICA document. All of the certification standards (e.g., parts 23, 25, 33, 35) require ICAs to have an ALS that states the following: “The Airworthiness Limitations section is FAA approved and specifies maintenance required under §§ 43.16 and 91.403 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations unless an alternative program has been FAA approved.”
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