A pre-purchase inspection is the check a buyer orders before signing: someone qualified reads the aircraft's papers and looks at the aircraft itself, on the buyer's behalf. Part-ML, the European maintenance rulebook for light aircraft, does not mention it: it covers the yearly airworthiness review and the handover of the records. This guide is built on what that review has to verify, because it is the closest thing to a checklist the rules give you.
It covers aeroplanes, gliders and helicopters under EASA rules, and says where microlights part ways. The figures come from the 2,603 aircraft advertised for sale on PlaneNest on 4 October 2026.
Print the checklist
Every point of this guide on two A4 pages, with the rule behind each one and room for your notes.
What adverts leave out
Read on 4 October 2026 across 2,603 aircraft for sale on PlaneNest. The rest has to be asked of the seller.
82%
give the airframe hours
28%
say whether the aircraft was damaged
22%
show the registration
Which rules apply to your aircraft
Most certified light aircraft fall under Part-ML, Annex Vb to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014: aeroplanes up to 2,730 kg maximum take-off mass, rotorcraft up to 1,200 kg certified for at most four occupants, and other ELA2 aircraft, unless they are listed on an airline's air operator certificate Article 3(2). Part-ML has rules written for sailplanes, so gliders are covered ML.A.302(d)(1)(b).
Under Part-ML the owner answers for the aircraft's continuing airworthiness ML.A.201. The day you sign, that owner is you, and the seller must hand you the records with the aircraft ML.A.307.
Microlights, aircraft at least 51% built by amateurs and historic aircraft are outside EASA's rules altogether Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. Their owners follow national rules, covered at the end of this guide.
The papers to see first
Ask for them before you travel. Each item below is one the yearly airworthiness review has to verify ML.A.903(a).
Airworthiness certificate and ARC
The airworthiness review certificate, or ARC, is valid for one year ML.A.901(a). It becomes invalid if the airworthiness certificate is suspended or the aircraft leaves the register of an EU Member State ML.A.902(a). Check its expiry date: a new review soon after the sale is one more cost.
Logbooks
Aircraft, engine and propeller logbooks, plus log cards for life-limited parts ML.A.305(b). Each maintenance task ends with a certificate of release to service, entered within 30 days ML.A.305(a), naming who did the work and their approval or licence number ML.A.801(e).
Airworthiness directives
Every applicable AD must have been carried out ML.A.303, and the records must show the current status of each one ML.A.305(d)(1). EASA publishes them in its public database.
Modifications and repairs
Each one must be recorded and done with approved or declared data ML.A.304 ML.A.903(a)(6). If the papers do not trace a repair, ask the seller about it before the next reviewer does.
Life-limited parts, mass and balance
The records hold the status of service-life-limited components and the current mass and balance report ML.A.305(d)(4) and (5). An aircraft with a component that does not meet Part-ML may not fly ML.A.902(b)(1).
The maintenance programme
Each aircraft is maintained to a programme, the AMP ML.A.302. When the owner declares it, they sign that they are responsible for any deviation from the manufacturer's recommendations ML.A.302(c)(7). Ask to see it, and ask what it changes.
Hours and age: what the market looks like
Airframe hours only mean something next to the aircraft's age. Here is the median among the adverts that give both, read on 4 October 2026.
Single-engine aeroplanes: 281 h under 10 years old, 1,118 h at 10 to 24 years, 1,574 h at 25 to 39 years, 3,606 h at 40 years and over.
Microlights: 219 h under 10 years old, 592 h at 10 to 24 years, 793 h at 25 to 39 years.
Gliders: 1,622 h at 10 to 24 years old, 2,408 h at 25 to 39 years, 2,675 h at 40 years and over.
The spread is wide. Among single-engine aeroplanes aged 40 and over, the middle half of the adverts sit between 2,270 and 5,770 h. Far below the median is not a bargain in itself: ask why the aircraft flew so little, and where it stood in the meantime. Far above it, ask what was overhauled, and when.
Asking prices follow age as well. The median single-engine aeroplane is advertised at €197,400 under 10 years old and €76,500 at 40 years and over. To place one aircraft, try Estimate my aircraft, or compare it with the single-engine aeroplanes for sale.
The engine
The engine logbook gives the hours since new and since the last overhaul. Only a third of adverts (33%) state engine hours, so ask for them.
Manufacturers recommend an interval between overhauls, the TBO. Under Part-ML, that recommendation is part of the maintenance programme ML.A.302(c)(5)(d), and an owner who declares their own programme may deviate from it, taking responsibility for doing so ML.A.302(c)(7). An engine past its TBO can therefore be legal. Whether it is a good buy depends on its condition, which the inspection checks, and on the price.
On the day: the aircraft itself
The airworthiness review ends with a physical survey of the aircraft ML.A.903(b) and (c). Its points are a sound base for a pre-purchase inspection. The inspector you hire can go further, on what you agree beforehand.
Markings and placards
All the required markings and placards are in place ML.A.903(c)(1).
Flight manual
The aircraft complies with its approved flight manual ML.A.903(c)(2), and the manual matches the aircraft as configured, at its latest revision ML.A.903(a)(2).
Configuration
What is fitted matches the approved documentation ML.A.903(c)(3): engine, propeller, avionics, modifications.
Visible defects
No evident defect is left that has not been dealt with ML.A.903(c)(4), and known defects are corrected or deferred in a controlled way ML.A.903(a)(4).
Papers against aircraft
Nothing on the aircraft contradicts the records ML.A.903(c)(5): serial numbers, equipment, hours on the meter.
Who inspects
Under Part-ML, airworthiness reviews are done by the authority, an approved organisation, or licensed independent staff ML.A.901(b). For a pre-purchase inspection, prefer someone qualified for the type who does not maintain the aircraft for the seller.
Microlights and other national aircraft
Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 leaves to each Member State, among others, aeroplanes of no more than two seats, a stall speed of 35 knots or less and 450 kg maximum take-off mass for a two-seater, gyroplanes of up to 600 kg, aircraft at least 51% built by amateurs, and historic aircraft. A Member State may also take two-seat aeroplanes of up to 600 kg out of EASA's rules Article 2(8).
For these aircraft there is no ARC and no Part-ML: the papers and the owner's duties depend on the country of registration. Ask its civil aviation authority before you buy.
In France, microlights are exempt from the airworthiness certificate arrêté of 23 September 1998, article 1. One may fly only if it matches its identification sheet and has been maintained to its maintenance manual article 14. Those two points are what to check.
Only 7% of the microlights advertised on PlaneNest show their registration. Ask for it, and check it against the papers. Then compare with the microlights for sale.
Questions buyers ask
Is a valid ARC enough?
It shows the aircraft passed an airworthiness review at a given date, for one year ML.A.901(a). It does not tell you how much life is left in the engine and components, or what the aircraft is worth.
Are incomplete logbooks a problem?
Detailed maintenance records only have to be kept for 36 months, or until superseded ML.A.305(h)(1). Total hours, the status of ADs and current modifications must be kept longer ML.A.305(h)(2) to (6). A complete history goes beyond what the rules require.
The aircraft has been damaged. Is that a deal-breaker?
Not necessarily. After an accident or incident affecting airworthiness, the aircraft may not fly until it has been restored ML.A.902(b)(4), with approved repair data ML.A.304. Ask for the repair file. On PlaneNest, 158 adverts say the aircraft has been damaged, and most say nothing either way.
Who keeps the papers after the sale?
You do. The seller must transfer the continuing airworthiness records with the aircraft ML.A.307(a), and the retention periods carry on with you ML.A.307(c).
Browse the aircraft for sale
Aircraft advertised across Europe, in euros, gathered in one search.
Selling an aircraft?
See where it stands against the market, then place your advert on PlaneNest.
Sources, read on 4 October 2026.
EASA, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, September 2025 revision: Article 3, points ML.A.201, ML.A.302 to ML.A.307, ML.A.801, ML.A.901 to ML.A.903.
EASA, Easy Access Rules for the Basic Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, January 2023 revision: Article 2 and Annex I.
Arrêté du 23 septembre 1998 relatif aux aéronefs ultralégers motorisés, on Légifrance: articles 1 and 14.
PlaneNest figures: adverts for aircraft for sale online on 4 October 2026, an aircraft we found on several sites counted once. This guide explains the rules; it is not advice on a particular aircraft.