During a lease return or new lease, the aircraft physical inspections are an integral part of the function, and they can combine several purposes including:
– It can be a review of the damage chart; comparing the chart to the physical aircraft to ensure accuracy.
– The review may consider part number & serial number verification checks.
– You might additionally perform conditional inspections based on the lease conditions (brake wear percentage or tyre condition for example).
– There might be an expectation to give oversight and observation during certain aspects or the aircraft preparation for lease out or lease return including borescope, engine ground run or demo flight for example.
The physical observations raised can become an interesting topic, as an aircraft will be maintained in an airworthy condition and inspected in accordance with the AMP. During a physical review you may note items that you wish to be addressed prior to lease acceptance / hand back that you find or observe outside of the AMP scheduled inspections.
Depending on the finding(s), impact to delivery schedule and lead time on parts required – there can be a grounds for discussion.
In a lease delivery to a lessee, there may be an agreement to cover the costs of parts required, cover all or part of a maintenance visit for a component (such as an engine), or agree that the aircraft be returned in the same condition for some of the findings.
When an aircraft is being returned from a lease to a lessor, there is also scope for discussion and this is can vary dependent on the age of the aircraft and the onward potential lease.
The implications of a physical review can be very important on delivery schedule – consider if you raise queries on structural repairs, these might ultimately need subsequent repair or replacement, which means additional access and time. Observations of degradation or defects all require parts and man hours to rectify which can impact the delivery date.
The physical review is an intricate part of any lease, but one that needs to be handled and addressed in an amicable manner.
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