A PIPER PA31-310 TURBO NAVAJO RECENTLY RELEASED FROM ANNUAL INSPECTION IS IN QUESTIONABLE AIRWORTHINESS.

Date: 1997-04 · Aircraft: PA-31P Navajo P

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-unspecified

Synopsis

A PIPER PA31-310 TURBO NAVAJO RECENTLY RELEASED FROM ANNUAL INSPECTION IS IN QUESTIONABLE AIRWORTHINESS.

Narrative

I AM FILLING OUT THIS FORM DUE TO AN ACFT (NAVAJO) I HAVE WORKED ON. THE ACFT RECEIVED AN ANNUAL BY BBB SVC CTR INC; IN FLORIDA IN WHICH I DOUBT THE AIRWORTHINESS OF THE ACFT. WE REMOVED THE L-HAND ENG DUE TO METAL CONTAMINATION OF THE OIL FILTER. THE ORIGINAL RPT WAS HIGH OIL TEMP AND WAS KNOWN TO EXIST WHEN THE ACFT WAS PICKED UP IN FLORIDA. THE ENG WAS REPAIRED BY ZZZ IN SAN JOSE AND WAS REINSTALLED BY DDD. WHILE WORKING ON THE ACFT SOME VERY QUESTIONABLE AIRWORTHY ITEMS WERE DISCOVERED IN WHICH WE TOOK NO ACTION. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR WAS CONTACTED AND REVEALED THE FOLLOWING DETAILS. AIRPLANE WAS A DEA SEIZURE AND IN BAD MECHANICAL CONDITION PRIOR TO THE ANNUAL INSPECTION DONE IN FLORIDA. AFTER THE ANNUAL INSPECTION WORK WAS COMPLETED THE AIRPLANE WAS FLOWN TO CALIFORNIA. ON ARR THE L ENG WAS FOUND TO HAVE A CRACKED CRANKSHAFT AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. THIS WAS DISCOVERED BY METAL CONTAMINATION OF THE OIL FILTER. THE RPTR STATED ALMOST ALL OF THE AVIONICS EQUIP IS OLD AND OUT OF DATE. MOST OF THE AVIONICS IS INOP OR INTERMITTENT. THE STALL WARNING SYS IS INOP. THERE ARE FUEL FITTINGS AND LINES INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE CABIN FOR EXTENDED RANGE TANKS. NO DOCUMENTATION OR MODIFICATION PAPERWORK EXISTS FOR THIS INSTALLATION. THE ANNUAL WORK DONE IN FLORIDA WAS AT BEST SHABBY AND UNPROFESSIONAL. THE RPTR RELATED THE OWNER IS PREPARING TO FLY THIS AIRPLANE TO AUSTRALIA. THE RPTR HAS NOT CONTACTED THE FAA.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.