Getting the Most From Your Prepurchase Inspection

Trust but verify is the name of the game when it comes to buying a new aircraft.

Richard Scarbrough

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 05:22 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Having a thorough prepurchse inspection conducted is an essential step to buying an aircraft regardless of its size. [Courtesy: Par Avion Ltd.]

Key Takeaways:

Despite booming corporate aircraft sales, a meticulous pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is essential to mitigate high financial risks and ensure safety and airworthiness.
A comprehensive PPI involves a detailed review of all aircraft records and logbooks (including ADs and SBs), followed by a thorough physical inspection (e.g., borescope, test flights) to verify condition and compliance.
Buyers should always engage neutral, expert third-party technicians or facilities for PPIs, ensure clear contractual agreements for discrepancy resolution, and avoid rushed deals or "as-is" purchases to prevent significant future costs and valuation issues.

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Corporate aircraft sales are booming. Never before has the industry witnessed this much activity in such a short time. Business aviation was already rising when COVID-19 shot demand into orbit in early 2020. The pandemic introduced new challenges to transacting aircraft. With travel and physical presence limited, buyers and sellers relied on digital records and industry reputation. While executing a non-site, prepurchase inspection (PPI) proved challenging during the lockdown, it returned as essential for conducting business in 2023. The result is blending two worlds, digital and physical, into one new reality. Regarding aircraft maintenance professionals inspecting aircraft, one thing has not and will not change: Trust but verify.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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