Annual inspections are often a sore subject for both the aircraft owner and the shop. There have been and will continue to be misconceptions as to what an annual is and what it is not. Our first order of business is to note the requirement for an annual inspection comes from FAR 91.409, requiring an inspection by an authorized individual within the past 12 calendar months for the aircraft to be legally operated. The annual inspection scope and detail is spelled out in FAR 43’s Appendix D. The objective is to determine that an aircraft conforms to its type certificate or properly altered condition and is in a condition for safe operation, and therefore airworthy.
Aircraft not requiring an annual inspection are those carrying a special flight permit, a current experimental certificate, and a light-sport or provisional airworthiness certificate. With the exception of the special flight permit, these aircraft will require some type of equivalent inspection. For experimental, amateur-built aircraft, a “condition inspection” with at least the scope and detail listed in FAR 43 Appendix D is required annually.
