Aircraft Pre-Purchase Inspection: What to Expect and What to Demand

What is a pre-purchase inspection actually verifying?

A pre-purchase inspection verifies four things: current airworthiness, logbook completeness and continuity, AD and service bulletin compliance, and damage or corrosion history. It is not an annual, it is not a phase inspection, and it is not a warranty. It is a snapshot taken by a neutral maintenance facility — paid for by the buyer — to confirm the aircraft you are about to wire money for is the aircraft the seller described.

The PPI starts with a records audit. The shop pulls every logbook, every 337 form, every component tag, and reconciles them against the FAA Aircraft Registry in Oklahoma City and the CAMP or CESCOM maintenance tracking record. Missing logs from 1994 are not a quirk — they are a five-to-seven-figure discount or a walk-away. The physical inspection then opens panels, borescopes engines, runs functional checks on avionics and pressurization, and tests landing gear, brakes, and flight controls under load.

Who performs the PPI and who pays for it?

The buyer pays, the buyer chooses the facility, and the facility should be independent of both parties. Period. Letting the seller's home shop perform the PPI is the single most common rookie mistake in this business. The shop that has been signing off this aircraft's annuals for eight years is not going to flag the corrosion they missed in 2019.

Pick an OEM-authorized service center or a top-tier independent — Duncan Aviation, West Star, Stevens, Constant Aviation, Textron service centers for Citations, Bombardier service centers for Globals and Challengers, Gulfstream company-owned for GIVs and up. Expect $25K-$40K for a light jet PPI (CJ3, Phenom 300), $50K-$90K for a midsize (Citation XLS, Learjet 60, Hawker 800), and $100K-$150K+ for a heavy (Global, Falcon, GV). Turboprop PPIs run $15K-$35K. Add ferry fuel and crew, which the buyer also covers.

How long does a pre-purchase inspection take?

Plan on 10 to 21 days on the ground for the inspection itself, plus another 7 to 14 days for squawk negotiation and corrective action. A clean light jet can wrap in eight working days. A heavy jet with a deep records audit and borescope findings can stretch past a month. Build this into your purchase agreement — the inspection clock starts when the aircraft arrives at the facility, not when you sign the LOI.

The acquisition timeline from LOI to delivery typically runs 60-180 days total. The PPI consumes 30-45 of those days. Push too hard to compress it and you will miss findings; let it drag and you will lose the aircraft to a back-up buyer or market drift.

What does the PPI checklist actually include?

A proper PPI runs a borescope of every engine hot section, a compression check, a fuel nozzle flow test, and an oil analysis trend review. Landing gear gets a retraction test on jacks. Flight controls are rigged-checked. The pressure vessel gets a leak-rate test. Avionics get a full bench check including database currency, RVSM and ADS-B Out compliance, and any LOA-required equipment for international ops.

Records side: every AD on the master list cross-referenced to the logbook entry that complied with it, every SB the OEM has issued reconciled to status, every life-limited part traced to its birth certificate, and a damage history search through the FAA's accident database and the NTSB. The shop produces a squawk list categorized as airworthiness items (must be fixed before delivery), discrepancies (negotiable), and observations (informational).

What squawks do PPIs typically find?

Roughly 70% of PPIs surface $50K or more in defensible squawks, and that number climbs to nearly 100% on aircraft over 15 years old. Common findings: corrosion in the wing-to-fuselage join, lap joint corrosion on pressurized fuselages, fuel bladder seepage, engine compressor blade erosion approaching limits, brake wear, tire condition, interior wear that violates the seller's "good condition" representation, and paint delamination.

The killers are the ones that move six figures. Undisclosed damage history found via paint thickness gauging or X-ray of suspect repairs. Engine borescope findings that require a hot section inspection or, worse, an overhaul — a CF34 hot section runs $400K-$700K, a Rolls-Royce BR710 overhaul north of $2M. Avionics that are not actually ADS-B Out compliant despite the listing claim. Logbook gaps that void engine program coverage.

Who pays for the squawks?

The purchase agreement should specify that airworthiness items are seller's responsibility and non-airworthy discrepancies are negotiated. In practice, the seller fixes anything that grounds the aircraft, and the parties split or credit out the rest. A well-drafted PSA caps the seller's exposure (often $50K-$100K) before either party can walk; above that cap, the deal reopens.

Demand that corrective action be performed at the inspecting facility, not flown home for the seller's shop to handle. Demand re-inspection of any major repair. Demand that engine and APU programs (JSSI, MSP, ESP, CSP) be brought current and transferred at seller expense — program arrears are a common closing-table surprise that can run $200K+.

What should you demand in the PPI agreement?

Demand a written scope of work signed by buyer, seller, and facility before the aircraft arrives. The scope should reference the OEM's published PPI checklist (most manufacturers publish one), specify borescope and records audit depth, and define what constitutes an airworthiness item versus a discrepancy. Ambiguity here is where deals die.

Demand that the seller deliver complete logbooks to the facility 72 hours before aircraft arrival so the records audit can start in parallel. Demand the right to have your technical representative on site — a DOM-for-hire or your management company's director of maintenance — to observe and ask questions in real time. Demand a written squawk list within five business days of inspection completion, with photographs and references to the applicable maintenance manual chapter.

What happens after the PPI is complete?

After squawks are negotiated and corrective action signed off, the aircraft is delivered in airworthy condition with a fresh logbook entry and any required test flight completed. Closing happens in escrow through an Oklahoma City title company — Insured Aircraft Title Service, AIC Title, or Aerospace Reports — which simultaneously files the bill of sale and security agreement with the FAA Registry. Escrow and closing run $5K-$15K.

The PPI is your last and best chance to discover what you are actually buying. Spend the money, hire the right shop, and write the scope tight. The buyers who skip steps here are the sellers who lose money 18 months later.