Method and apparatus using historical data to associate deferral procedures and fault models

A method of associating deferral procedures to a fault model for complex systems based on historical data, the method including the steps of: analyzing historical data for deferral information to identify deferral procedures; associating each of the deferral procedures with a corresponding one or more standard repairs; linking each of the standard repairs with a fault code; and associating each of the deferral procedures with one or more of the fault codes that were linked, respectively, with the one or more standard repairs to thereby provide a set of associations between deferral procedures and fault codes. The method may be implemented in a software program and the program may advantageously be employed in an aircraft maintenance and operations support system for automatically associating deferral procedures with an aircraft fault model based on historical data.