Buying & Selling 1 JUNE.qxp_Finance 22/05/2018 15:02 Page 1
OWNERSHIP T BUYING & SELLING
Buying an Aircraft: How Much Corrosion is Too Much? No one wants to buy an aircraft riddled with corrosion, but some will be unavoidable, argues Jet Tolbert. What are the different causes and remedies, and how much should be deemed too much by the aircraft buyer?
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lmost anything will cause corrosion on a metal airplane if it’s not cared for appropriately. Air that comes into contact with bare metal can expose it to moisture and oxidization. The blue fluids used in the various aircraft systems (such as the lavatory) can cause serious structural corrosion if they leak into the belly of the aircraft. The de-icing fluids used by ground crew can seep into certain aircraft parts, causing deep corrosion. Even the environment the aircraft is based in if particularly humid, sandy or saline can cause varying degrees of corrosion. Any of these situations could necessitate highdollar repairs that have the potential to exceed the value of the aircraft, and a prospective buyer needs 52
AVBUYER MAGAZINE – June 2018
to be aware of them. The aircraft OEMs are also aware of most scenarios causing corrosion, and have developed preventative procedures. Most require bare metal to be treated. Aircraft are inspected around the lavatory (for example) to ensure that any leaks are caught quickly before corrosion takes hold. Procedures have been developed to perform deep washes of aircraft exposed to anti-ice/de-ice fluids, and similarly for airplanes that operate in more corrosive environments. Most times the corrosion is found during the inspection process and treated quickly with very little impact on the aircraft’s structure. On occasion, though, the inspection process reveals corrosion that requires a high-dollar repair.
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Aircraft Index see Page 129