Before signing the purchase agreement

The strongest pre-buy starts before the aircraft enters a shop. Address:

• Inspection facility and type-specific qualifications.
• Independence and conflicts.
• Physical inspection scope and permitted disassembly.
• Engine, APU, propeller, and borescope work.
• Test flight and ground-run authority.
• Oil, fluid, filter, and laboratory analysis.
• Avionics and cabin-system functional checks.
• Records access and copying.
• Who pays inspection, repositioning, fuel, and corrective work.
• Deposit refund, rejection, correction, credit, and escrow rights.
• Deadline extensions for material findings.
• Aircraft condition and use between inspection and delivery.

Do not assume “standard pre-buy” has a shared meaning. Attach or reference the written scope.

Start with the aircraft records

Reviewing records first helps the physical team target known risk. The pre-buy records review should cover:

• Aircraft and component identity.
• Total time and cycle continuity.
• Current inspection and maintenance status.
• Airworthiness Directive applicability and compliance.
• Life-limited-part history.
• Engine and APU program status.
• Major repairs, alterations, and STCs.
• Damage, corrosion, and incident history.
• Open discrepancies and deferred items.
• Missing, conflicting, or illegible periods.

A clean physical appearance does not cure an unsupported history. Conversely, a record reference to prior damage should direct the inspector to the repaired area and approval data.

Airframe and structure checklist

Tailor access to known model risks and history:

• Exterior skins, fasteners, seams, and control surfaces.
• Corrosion-prone zones, drains, lavatory and galley areas.
• Pressure vessel and high-cycle areas where applicable.
• Wings, spars, attach points, empennage, and flight controls.
• Landing gear structure, actuators, brakes, tires, and steering.
• Doors, windows, windshields, seals, and latches.
• Evidence of repairs, paint blending, deformation, or mismatched hardware.
• Fluid leaks, contamination, and environmental damage.
• Required structural inspections and sampling status.

Photograph material findings and map them to exact aircraft location, records, and repair data.

Engine, APU, and propeller checklist

Depending on aircraft type and scope:

• Serial numbers match the records and program accounts.
• Installed configuration matches approved data.
• Time, cycles, starts, and maintenance status reconcile.
• Borescope condition and trend evidence are reviewed.
• Oil and filter findings are evaluated.
• Performance runs or trend monitoring are assessed.
• Leaks, mounts, hoses, wiring, ducts, and controls are inspected.
• Shop-visit history and life-limited parts are traced.
• Engine and APU program coverage, exclusions, transfer, and arrears are confirmed.
• Propeller blades, hubs, governors, and overhaul status are reviewed.

An engine “on program” can still carry exposure if the contract, enrollment basis, utilization, exclusions, or account standing differs from the assumption.

Avionics, electrical, and systems

Functional checks should address the installed equipment and intended mission:

• Flight deck displays and controls.
• Communications, navigation, surveillance, and transponders.
• Autopilot and flight director.
• Weather radar and detection systems.
• Databases, software configuration, and subscriptions.
• Electrical generation, batteries, buses, and emergency power.
• Pitot-static, RVSM, and other certification status where applicable.
• Cabin management, connectivity, entertainment, lighting, and power.
• Oxygen, fire detection, ice protection, environmental, and pressurization systems.
• Minimum equipment and deferred-defect implications for the intended operation.

Confirm the physical equipment matches the equipment list, weight and balance, STCs, wiring data, and flight-manual supplements.

Interior, cabin, and safety equipment

Review:

• Seat tracks, restraints, furnishings, and monuments.
• Emergency equipment identity, location, condition, and expiration.
• Lavatory, galley, water, and waste systems.
• Flammability and modification records.
• Emergency exits, markings, lighting, and placards.
• Cabin pressure, temperature, noise, and odor issues.
• Evidence of water intrusion, smoke, heat, or hidden corrosion.

Cosmetic findings may be negotiable; missing approval or continued-airworthiness evidence can be a deeper configuration problem.

Test flight and ground run

If included and safely authorized, establish a written profile that evaluates relevant systems and performance without turning the flight into an improvised test program.

Capture:

• Crew, authority, insurance, and weather criteria.
• Weight and fuel assumptions.
• Engine start and ground indications.
• Takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing observations.
• Autopilot and avionics behavior.
• Pressurization and environmental performance.
• Vibration, noise, trim, control, and handling observations.
• Post-flight leak and discrepancy inspection.

Compare findings with aircraft manuals and qualified technical judgment. A successful test flight does not eliminate concealed or historical risk.

Classify every finding

Use a consistent finding model:

Do not bury critical exceptions in a long squawk list. Give each finding an owner, source, consequence, and closing disposition.

Connect findings to financing and value

The lender and appraiser may need updated evidence when the pre-buy changes:

• Accepted condition.
• Engine or inspection status.
• Program standing.
• Damage or modification history.
• Immediate capital requirement.
• Aircraft eligibility.
• Supported value or LTV.

The buyer should not close on the original financing assumptions after the inspection materially changes the aircraft story.

Re-run the aircraft valuation projection model when findings change maintenance timing, configuration, damage assumptions, or expected resale value.

Final pre-buy deliverables

Require:

• Signed report with aircraft identity and inspection dates.
• Detailed scope, exclusions, and limitations.
• Findings with photographs and measurements.
• Records reviewed and records unavailable.
• Test results and specialist reports.
• Regulatory or approved-data references where relevant.
• Estimated correction or follow-up actions.
• Corrective-work and reinspection evidence.
• Final open-item schedule.
• Buyer acceptance, rejection, credit, or escrow decisions.

Preserve the final package in the aircraft history. It becomes the baseline for future maintenance, financing, and sale.

Sources and further reading

• AOPA purchase inspection checklist
• 14 CFR 91.409, inspections
• 14 CFR 43.11, inspection records
• FAA aircraft records
• Radar aircraft pre-buy records review