Sale Ferry Flight with Overdue Inspections and Missing Equipment
A Cessna 172N is based at Nadzab. Its annual inspection was completed on 12 March last year, and the maintenance release shows a 100-hour inspection 118 flight hours ago. The aircraft's Certificate of Airworthiness lists a Mode S transponder, but the transponder was removed six weeks ago for repair and has not been refitted. The registration certificate is a photocopy; the original was lost. The owner has a buyer in Lae and wants a one-off ferry flight of 35 minutes to complete the sale, carrying the buyer as a passenger. The engine has a known oil leak at the rocker cover, consuming about one litre every four hours, and the last oil change was 60 hours ago. CASA PNG has not issued any ferry permit. The pilot holds a valid CPL and the aircraft has third-party insurance only. The owner asks whether the flight can be made and what documents are required.
1. Is the aircraft airworthy for the proposed 35-minute flight with the buyer as passenger? Address inspection status, transponder, registration document, oil leak and insurance.
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Treat each defect as a barrier. The annual inspection was completed on 12 March last year. If today is after 12 March this year, the annual is overdue and the aircraft is not airworthy for any flight. The 100-hour inspection is also exceeded by 18 hours, so a new inspection and maintenance release are required.
The transponder has been removed, so the aircraft does not conform to its approved configuration and equipment list. A Mode S transponder is normally required for controlled airspace, and the aircraft cannot be dispatched until it is refitted or a permitted deviation is approved. The lost registration certificate must be replaced; a photocopy is not the original document and may not satisfy the carriage requirement.
The oil leak at the rocker cover must be investigated and corrected, not monitored, because it is a known defect. Third-party insurance is a commercial matter, not an airworthiness document, but the policy may prohibit passenger carriage. The answer is no: the flight cannot be made as proposed.
2. Could CASA PNG issue a special flight permit, and what conditions would make such a permit realistic?
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A special flight permit is possible only for a specific, limited purpose such as positioning for maintenance or inspection, not for carrying a buyer as a passenger to complete a sale. CASA PNG would need to be satisfied the aircraft can make the flight safely under restrictions.
Typical conditions would be: no passengers, essential crew only, day VFR, a specified route and duration, no flight over congested areas, a maintenance release or equivalent authorisation, and coordination with ATC if the transponder is missing. The pilot would still need to verify the permit's validity, the aircraft's weight and performance, the fuel plan and any operating limitations.
The oil leak and overdue inspections would have to be assessed by a licensed engineer; a permit does not make an unairworthy aircraft airworthy. For the proposed passenger sale flight, the realistic path is to complete the inspections, refit the transponder, replace the registration certificate and fix the leak.