Why is an aircraft damage history search needed?
Since a damage history may substantially decrease the value of an aircraft, some unscrupulous operators repair damaged aircraft without documenting the repairs in the aircraft maintenance records. While damaged aircraft which have been properly repaired may suffer little or no decrease in utility, the marketplace places a premium on aircraft that have never been damaged. So it is not uncommon that repairs are either not recorded in the aircraft maintenance records, or, the repairs may be camouflaged with a creatively worded entry such as details on file under work order number …. Obtaining the 337 forms also provides copies of any of these forms missing from the aircraft maintenance records. This avoids expensive reconstruction of missing documents at the next annual inspection.
