FAA INSPECTOR CAUGHT ACFT MAINT DISCREPANCY DURING RAMP CHK.

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I AM A CAPT FOR ABC COMMUTER AIRLINES IN MIAMI; FL. ON THE MORNING OF JUL/XX/93; I WAS FLYING FROM MIAMI TO NASSAU; BAHAMAS WITH A STOP IN FT. LAUDERDALE; IN AN SMT COMMUTER AIRLINER. ON THE FIRST LEG; MIA-FLL; THERE WERE NO PAX. WE ARRIVED AT THE RAMP IN FLL AT AM37 LCL; AND WERE MET BY FAA INSPECTOR X OF THE FLL FSDO. HE CHKED THE LOGBOOK; WHICH CONTAINED 3 DEFERRED MAINT ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH. ACFT MEL (THE L FUEL GAUGE; #2 XPONDER; AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS). I WAS WELL AWARE OF THE DEFERRED ITEMS FROM MY OWN CHK OF THE LOGBOOK DURING MY PREFLT; BUT MR. X POINTED OUT TO ME THAT THERE WERE NO PLACARDS INSTALLED. I HAD SIMPLY FAILED TO NOTICE THE ABSENCE OF THE PLACARDS. I TOLD MR. X I WOULD CALL OUR DIRECTOR OF MAINT; WHO THEN DIRECTED ME TO PLACARD THE ITEMS MYSELF. MR. X WAS SATISFIED WITH THIS SOLUTION. HE THEN CHKED THE OTHER ACFT DOCUMENTS AND DISCOVERED THAT THE ACFT REGISTRATION ON BOARD HAD EXPIRED IN FEB/93. MY COMPANY THEN CALLED THE FAA OFFICE IN OKLAHOMA CITY AND THEY FAXED US A TEMPORARY REGISTRATION PENDING THE MAILING OF THE PERMANENT REGISTRATION. IT SEEMS MY COMPANY HAD NEVER RECEIVED THE PERMANENT REGISTRATION AND NOBODY IN MGMNT; MAINT OR FLT OPS REALIZED THAT WE HAD NOT RECEIVED IT; AND HAD BEEN FLYING SINCE FEB/93 WITH AN EXPIRED TEMPORARY REGISTRATION ON BOARD. I WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THE ACFT WAS LEGALLY PERMANENTLY REGISTERED; IT JUST HAD THE OUT OF DATE TEMPORARY ON BOARD. I FAILED TO NOTICE THE REGISTRATION WAS OUT OF DATE AND I FAILED TO NOTICE THE DEFERRED MAINT ITEMS WERE NOT PLACARDED. THIS WAS NOT DELIBERATE; IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL AND WE WERE PERMITTED TO CONTINUE THE TRIP AS SOON AS THE FAA FAXED US ANOTHER TEMPORARY REGISTRATION. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 246997: FAA INSPECTORS DISCOVERED THAT ENTIRE FLEET OF ACFT BEING OPERATED BY ABC AIRLINES HAD 'EXPIRED' REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES. ACFT WERE PROPERLY REGISTERED WITH FAA IN OKLAHOMA CITY; BUT 'PERMANENT' REGISTRATIONS WERE NEVER INSTALLED IN ACFT BY MAINT/OPS DEPT. I WILL DOUBLE-CHK MAINT/OPS FUNCTION TO ENSURE PROPER REGISTRATION IS ABOARD; ALTHOUGH 'NORMAL' FO DUTIES DO NOT SPELL THIS OUT.