AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2024 - 98

The TBM 940 (left) is required to do annual inspections, but the King Air C90 (right) isn't. Go figure!
portion of the aircraft to go more than a
year without being inspected. Since the four
inspections are to be performed at 50-hour
intervals, a progressive inspection program
generally does not make sense for an aircraft
that flies fewer than 200 hours per year. It
can be a useful alternative for flight schools
and freight haulers, but not for most ownerflown
aircraft.
In contrast, owners of " big boy "
aircraft like King Airs and Citations
are not required to do annual or 100hour
inspections. Instead, they are
permitted to choose from a variety of
inspection options. One option is to use
the inspection program recommended by
the aircraft manufacturer, and this is the
option that most " big boy " owners choose.
However, owners may also develop their
own custom inspection program and ask
the local FSDO to approve it. Typically,
such " approved aircraft
inspection
programs " (AAIPs) are based on the
manufacturer's recommended inspection
program with certain modifications. But
any inspection program that the FSDO is
willing to approve may be used.
The manufacturer's recommended
inspection program for " big boy " aircraft
is almost always a phased inspection
program, but unlike progressive
inspections there's no FAA requirement
for all the phases to be completed in one
98
AOPA PILOT / September 2024
year. Let's take a look at one such program,
the one for the ubiquitous King Air.
King Air inspection programs
There are actually three manufacturerrecommended
inspection programs for
King Airs, each consisting of four phased
inspections. The choice of which program
applies depends on how many hours the
airplane is flown per year.
The " standard program " is for aircraft
that fly at least 400 hours per year. It
involves performing one phased inspection
approximately every 200 hours. The
maintenance cycle is complete when the
phase 4 inspection has been completed.
The phase 1 inspection is then due 180 to
210 hours later. All four phases must be
completed within 24 months.
For aircraft that fly fewer than 400
hours per year, the " alternate program "
involves doing both phase 1 and 2
inspections after 200 hours or 12 months,
and doing phase 3 and 4 inspections after
the next 200 hours or 12 months. Finally,
for aircraft that fly fewer than 200 hours
per year, there's a " biennial program " that
involves an abbreviated interim inspection
(basically an operational check) after 12
months and then doing all four phased
inspections at 24 months.
These three alternative inspection programs
give owners considerable flexibility,
and all are based on the concept of completing
all four phases every two years. If that's
not sufficiently flexible, owners have the
opportunity to modify the program and ask
their FSDO to approve it as an AAIP.
What about the rest of us?
Frankly, it has always baffled me why the
FAA-in its infinite wisdom-approves
this kind of two-year phased inspection
program for King Airs but requires a
complete inspection every single year for a
Pilatus PC-12 or Daher TBM 940 or Cessna
421 or Mooney 252. Not only does this seem
to make no sense, but it seems contrary to
one of the FAA's most fundamental guiding
principles, the " safety continuum doctrine. "
Mandated by Congress, the safety
continuum doctrine recognizes that
different types of aircraft and operations
require different levels of safety. Under this
doctrine, aircraft that carry more people,
that weigh more, and that fly faster need
to be held to a higher level of safety than
ones that are smaller, lighter, and slower.
Public carriers need to be safer than
private carriers. Based on this doctrine,
experimental amateur-built, light sport,
certificated GA and transport aircraft are
held to a progressively higher level of safety.
This makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
So how does it make sense
that a Cessna 150 requires a

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2024

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