Pre-Buy Aircraft Records Inspection Checklist (2026)

You've found the airplane. The hours look right, the price is fair, the photos are clean. Before your deposit clears, here's the records-side checklist your A&P will work through during the pre-buy — and the red flags that should kill the deal.

Why records matter as much as compression

A clean airframe with bad records loses 15–35% of its market value the moment the records gap is discovered. A scuffed airframe with complete, queryable records can outsell a prettier airplane at the same price.

The market knows this. Your A&P knows this. You should know this before you make an offer.

The 14-item pre-buy records checklist

Airframe records

1. Original aircraft logbook present?

The first page should have manufacturer, model, serial number, and the original delivery date. If page one is a photocopy or "starts at" a date 5+ years after manufacture, the original was lost. Verify the FAA records package matches.

2. Continuous logbook chain since manufacture?

Pages should be sequentially dated. Multi-year gaps that aren't accounted for in a "logbook continuation entry" mean records were rebuilt — see [our lost-logbook guide](/blog/aircraft-logbook-lost-or-damaged-what-to-do) for what that costs.

3. AD compliance list, current and per-serial-number?

Every AD applicable to this exact serial number, marked complied or open. If the AD list is generic for the model (not serial-number-filtered), the seller hasn't done the homework. Budget 2–4 hours of your A&P's time to rebuild it.

4. Last annual signed by an IA, no overdue items?

Verify the IA's certificate number is real (FAA Airmen Inquiry online). Read every discrepancy on the last annual — items "deferred to next annual" can hide problems.

5. Last 100-hour (if for-hire)?

If the plane has been used for instruction or rental, the 100-hour cadence matters as much as the annual. Missing 100-hours = grounded.

Engine + propeller records

6. Engine logbook(s) present and continuous?

Engines often outlive multiple airframes. The engine log should show every major overhaul, top overhaul, cylinder change, accessory rebuild. Missing pages = murky overhaul history = lower resale on the engine alone.

7. Time-since-major-overhaul (SMOH) defensible?

The seller's listed SMOH should match the engine log's last MOH entry. Compare against the manufacturer's TBO (Lycoming O-320: 2,000 hrs; Continental O-470: 1,500 hrs depending on model). Engines past TBO can fly, but get priced like overhaul-needed.

8. Cylinder compressions on file for last 3 inspections?

Trend is more important than a single number. A cylinder going from 78/80 → 72/80 → 65/80 over 3 annuals is a different story than 75/80 → 78/80 → 76/80.

9. Propeller logbook + last prop overhaul + recent strike history?

A prop strike is reported but sometimes is buried in narrative form. Search every engine log entry for "strike", "impact", "incident". 8130-3 forms attached to the prop tell you who overhauled it and when.

Equipment + installations

10. Form 337 for every major alteration?

STC paperwork, autopilot installs, avionics upgrades — each requires a 337 on file. The FAA Aircraft Records package (~$50, 1–4 weeks) lists every 337 ever filed; compare against the logbooks.

11. W&B current and matches installed equipment?

A new GPS that's heavier than the old one and was never weighed-in is a real (and surprisingly common) airworthiness gap.

12. ELT current — battery, registration, transmission?

Owner's responsibility. AD 2011-26-04 governs ELT batteries. Missing entry = open AD = grounded.

Operations + insurance

13. No reported incidents on NTSB / FAA databases?

Search the N-number on:

• https://aviation-safety.net/
• https://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/
• https://ntsbsearch.com/

An incident in the airframe's history isn't necessarily a kill, but if the seller didn't disclose it, walk.

14. Insurance-shopping doesn't reveal disclosure surprises?

Get a non-binding insurance quote on the tail before closing. Insurance companies have access to incident data and pricing tells you a lot.

Red flags that should kill the deal

• **Pages photocopied** — original logs are gone; you're paying for a paper trail that's no longer original
• **Mechanic's signature illegible AND certificate number absent** — un-verifiable entries
• **Multi-year gaps in continuity** — the seller can't explain
• **"AD compliance list pending"** — they don't have it, you're buying it blind
• **More than 3 different mechanic signatures in the last 3 years** — instability, often hides a buying-around-an-issue history
• **Aircraft has a major STC but the 337 is missing** — paperwork hole that can ground the plane
• **Prop strike narrative buried in an oil-change entry** — sloppy and worrying
• **Engine past TBO with no "recent overhaul intent" pricing** — you're inheriting an overhaul

How myaircraft.us speeds up a pre-buy by ~3 hours

If the seller can hand you their myaircraft.us record file (a tap on their phone), you save your A&P 2–4 hours of:

• Cross-checking the AD list against the serial number
• Searching every logbook entry for "strike" / "incident" / "damage"
• Mapping every 337 to its alteration entry
• Building a compression trend chart

The seller benefits too — clean records sell faster and at higher numbers. We're seeing it routinely on the marketplace side.

[Try myaircraft.us free](/signup) — upload the seller's records, the AI builds the pre-buy AD list, compression trends, and incident search in 24 hours. Free trial; no credit card.

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Need a deeper walkthrough? Our team can help you walk a specific record set during a pre-buy. [Contact us](/contact) — we're a phone call away.