Aircraft Pre-Purchase Records Review: The Buyer's Logbook & Document Checklist

Last reviewed June 16, 2026 · By Chad Griffith

An aircraft pre-purchase records review is the buyer-side document due-diligence in a pre-buy: you and your A&P/IA reconcile the six 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2) status records against the airframe, confirm logbook continuity with no unexplained gaps, and verify AD compliance, Form 337 major repairs, and damage history before money changes hands.

What a pre-purchase records review actually covers

A pre-buy has two halves: a mechanical inspection (a qualified A&P or IA physically examines the airframe, engine, and critical components) and a records review (the buyer confirms the paper matches the airplane). The records review is where most price renegotiations and walk-aways originate, because an incomplete or contradictory set of logbooks can lower the sale price and even affect the aircraft's insurability. The goal is not to re-prove airworthiness from scratch — it is to verify that the maintenance history is complete, continuous, and consistent with the hours and condition the seller is claiming. AOPA's guidance is explicit: have the seller send the airframe and engine logbooks (most are now scanned to PDF) before you fly out, and get your mechanic reading them early.

The six 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2) status records you must reconcile

Under 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2), six categories of records are the permanent maintenance record that must be retained and transferred with the aircraft at the time it is sold (91.417(b)). These are the heart of a records review — each one must reconcile against the airframe: (1) the total time in service of the airframe, each engine, each propeller, and each rotor; (2) the current status of life-limited parts of each airframe, engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance; (3) the time since last overhaul of all items required to be overhauled on a specified time basis; (4) the current inspection status of the aircraft, including the time since the last required inspection; (5) the current status of applicable airworthiness directives (ADs), including for each AD the method of compliance, the AD number, and the revision date; and (6) copies of the FAA Form 337s prescribed by 14 CFR 43.9(d) for major alterations. If a seller cannot produce all six, treat the gap as a price and risk issue, not a formality.

Logbook continuity: hunting for unexplained gaps

Logbook continuity means the maintenance narrative runs unbroken from delivery to today, with each entry meeting the content standard of 14 CFR 43.9(a): a description of (or reference to) the work performed, the date of completion, the name of the person who did the work if different from the approver, and the signature, certificate number, and kind of certificate of the person approving the aircraft for return to service. During a records review you read the inspection dates in sequence and flag any unexplained gap — a year with no annual, a Hobbs/tach jump that does not match the entries, or a missing engine logbook entirely. Gaps are not automatically disqualifying, but each one is a question the seller must answer in writing before closing, because a buyer inherits the airplane's documented and undocumented history alike.

Damage history, major repairs, and STCs

Beyond the status records, a buyer reviews the aircraft's modification and damage history. Every major repair or major alteration should have a corresponding FAA Form 337 on file, and every installed modification should trace to a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) with the supporting documentation and any required flight-manual supplement. AOPA flags this directly: look for Form 337s, confirm AD and service-bulletin compliance, and watch for entries that suggest repairs following an accident or incident. Damage history is not inherently a deal-killer, but undisclosed damage — or a repair with no 337 to back it — is a serious red flag that can affect both value and future insurability. Cross-check the logbook entries against the FAA records (Form 337 history and any NTSB accident records) for the tail number.

How FileFlo turns a stack of scanned logs into a records binder

Most pre-buy logbooks now arrive as a pile of scanned PDFs — sometimes hundreds of pages, often out of order. FileFlo is a compliance document-intelligence layer that reads each document, classifies it to its governing CFR citation, and pulls the dates and statuses into a structured view. It surfaces the 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2) status records, flags missing categories and date gaps in the inspection history, and lets you export an inspector- and buyer-ready records binder you can hand to your A&P or lender. FileFlo is the records and proof layer — it organizes and verifies the paperwork. It is not a title or escrow service, not a broker, and it does not perform the mechanical inspection; your A&P/IA still examines the airplane and signs off. Plans are $89 and $299/mo with a 5-day trial, and FileFlo is not yet SOC 2 certified.

The buyer's records review checklist (the documents to verify)

Use this as the records half of your pre-buy. Each item is a document a buyer and their mechanic should obtain and reconcile against the airframe before closing.

• Airframe logbook(s) — complete and continuous from delivery; entries meet 14 CFR 43.9(a).
• Engine logbook(s) — one per engine; total time and time-since-overhaul reconcile.
• Propeller / rotor logbook(s) — total time and overhaul status present.
• Total-time-in-service record — airframe, each engine, prop, rotor (91.417(a)(2)(i)).
• Life-limited-parts status — current status for airframe, engine, prop, rotor, appliances (91.417(a)(2)(ii)).
• Time-since-overhaul record — for every item on a specified overhaul interval (91.417(a)(2)(iii)).
• Current inspection status — last annual / 100-hour and time since (91.417(a)(2)(iv)).
• AD compliance record — each AD with method of compliance, AD number, and revision date (91.417(a)(2)(v)).
• FAA Form 337s — one for every major repair or major alteration (91.417(a)(2)(vi), 43.9(d)).
• STC paperwork — for each installed modification, plus any flight-manual supplement.
• Airworthiness certificate & current registration — valid and matching the tail number.
• Weight & balance with current equipment list — reflects installed equipment.
• Service-bulletin / service-letter status — complied-with vs. open.
• Damage / accident-repair entries — cross-checked against FAA 337 history and NTSB records.
• Inspection-date sequence — reviewed for any unexplained gap.

What a pre-buy costs and what the report should contain

Pre-purchase inspection cost is the buyer's responsibility and scales with aircraft complexity — turbine/jet inspections commonly run from roughly $600 to $2,500 or more, while a simple piston single is lower. There is no FAA-standardized pre-buy: every shop builds its own checklist from experience, so scope and price vary, and a buyer should agree on the scope in writing first. The deliverable is a written report — usually a PDF — summarizing the aircraft's mechanical condition, every discrepancy found, and estimated repair costs. A thorough report pairs that mechanical findings list with the records review findings: which 91.417(a)(2) status records are present, where the logbooks have gaps, and which 337s or STC documents are missing. Together they give a buyer the leverage to renegotiate price or walk away with eyes open.

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