Recently I talked at length with an aircraft owner who had acquired a 1980 Cessna 340A just a few months ago. He found the aircraft through one of the best-known twin-Cessna brokers in the industry. The pressurized twin appeared to be in pristine condition, with excellent logs and mid-time engines (about 850 hours SMOH). Because this would be a $300,000 purchase, the buyer approached the transaction with appropriate caution. He arranged to have the plane flown to one of the top twin-Cessna maintenance shops in the country for a prebuy inspection, where it received a clean bill of health. Satisfied that the airplane was in first-class shape, he bought the plane and flew it home.Only 30 hours later, the airplane was in the shop for some minor maintenance when a sharp-eyed mechanic noticed a fuel stain on a cylinder head. Closer inspection revealed a serious head crack. When the cylinder was removed, the mechanic looked inside the engine and discovered severe corrosion damage, including a cam that was totally trashed. Before it was over, the airplane was grounded and both engines sent out for major overhaul, at a total cost to the owner of nearly $70,000. Needless to say, the owner was shocked and dismayed, and couldn't help feeling that he'd been betrayed by the people he'd counted on to advise him on the purchase.I was so struck by this owner's plight that I wrote up the gory details of his ordeal in my Savvy Aviator Newsletter, complete with a photo gallery of high-resolution photos showing the devastating corrosion damage to these engines. This sad tale also started me thinking about the broader subject of trust in aviation.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-savvy-aviator-3-whom-can-you-trust