Yetti Posted December 24, 2025 Report Posted December 24, 2025 On 12/22/2025 at 6:06 PM, MikeOH said: And, it would take even less time for someone already familiar with the specific reg to just cite it! Now keep reading and you will find that the Owner of the airplane is responsible for keeping it airworthy. So in some ways the Owner is kind of responsible for the A&P who signed off on the youngster that dented the oil tubes. 1
MikeOH Posted December 24, 2025 Report Posted December 24, 2025 7 minutes ago, Yetti said: Now keep reading and you will find that the Owner of the airplane is responsible for keeping it airworthy. So in some ways the Owner is kind of responsible for the A&P who signed off on the youngster that dented the oil tubes. LOL! Yeah, that bit of government "logic" has always annoyed me: We owners are not allowed to perform maintenance unless we are a certified A&P mechanic, presumably because we don't have the skills, knowledge, and training necessary to do so...yet, as you point out, we are responsible for knowing that all that maintenance performed by others is done correctly! without having any of said skills, knowledge, and training. This only makes sense to the highly paid government bureaucrats that wrote it!
Dustoff49 Posted December 24, 2025 Author Report Posted December 24, 2025 The good news in all this regardless of the several topics and concerns it has raised, is the shop is taking care of the fixes, they have also taken a step back and investigated how and why it happened and have made some positive changes to processes so it doesn't happen again. We are waiting after the holidays for them to fly to my location and fix it onsite. We will also do a few engine oil ground runs and flushes before a flight. I have oil analysis twice before the event as baselines. I have captured this oil for analysis and will perform one a few hours after the repair and oil flushes to determine if any other bearing damage occurred. If it is determined the 1415 hour engine needs further engine repair they are going to cover it. I am not an A&P but have been building and racing engines for nearly 42 years. Have seen some catastrophic failures and many types of contaminated oil analysis. So far this one seems to have been captured early enough by the filter that it won't be a problem. Will keep the thread updated in the next couple weeks. Thanks 2
PT20J Posted December 26, 2025 Report Posted December 26, 2025 On 12/24/2025 at 9:52 AM, Yetti said: Now keep reading and you will find that the Owner of the airplane is responsible for keeping it airworthy. So in some ways the Owner is kind of responsible for the A&P who signed off on the youngster that dented the oil tubes. I think you misunderstand the intent of the rule. The owner/operator is responsible for getting required inspections done and seeing that all applicable ADs are complied with and, upon discovering an unairworthy condition, getting it fixed. The A&P signing off their own work is responsible for the work done - no more, no less. So in this case, the A&P that signed off the work was responsible for that and clearly messed up. The owner, once discovering that the airplane is unairworthy is responsible for getting it fixed, which is exactly what he did. Suppose it were otherwise. Suppose you took your airplane to a shop to have the oil changed. Suppose the A&P, during the course of the oil change found something that they felt was unairworthy. If the A&P rather than the owner was responsible for airworthiness, they could ground the airplane. But since they are only responsible for changing the oil, they merely inform the owner. The owner is now able to determine the best course of action. It's actually a pretty good system and it gives the owner a lot of flexibility. 2
Dustoff49 Posted January 13 Author Report Posted January 13 Big update and total success story ! DOM and IA flew to my hangar today. Inspected the damage. Installed new pushrod tubes, pushrods, gaskets, etc. Installed new filter , fresh oil , Did a ground run, leak check for 20 mins, drained oil , new filter , cut and inspected the just previous new filter. Eveything looks fine. Went and flew it traffic pattern for 35-40 mins and zero leaks, oil pressure is normal , temps look good. Going to give it 10-12 hours on this oil & filter and inspect one last time. Taking oil samples on each of these. Great experience! Thanks !!! 4
MikeOH Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 IMHO, you have found a GREAT shop! They made a mistake, owned up, fixed it, and at YOUR location. BRAVO! 2
Flyler Posted January 14 Report Posted January 14 Yeah that is great. I had some minor issues after about $28k worth of work at a big reputable shop and they couldn't be bothered to call or email me back after multiple friendly attempts. Everyone makes mistakes, I couldn't care less about the minor issues. The no call/time for little old me, that's lame. I don't plan to give them any more business. I'm sure they don't care about that either. Sounds like you have a good A&P to work with. Hang on to them and be a good customer! 1
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