Wisdom of buying a plane that was in a flood

bcool

bcool

Pre-takeoff checklist
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I've become aware of a plane that was apparently refurbished after having been involved in a flood.

Are there any circumstances under which this might be an OK purchase? It was rebuilt several years ago and has been flying ever since. Plus, it's aggressively priced and incredibly equipped.

Obviously, I would do an extensive prebuy, but could things be lurking that wouldn't be found in the prebuy that could bite me later?

Part of me says don't do it, but the other part says take the chance :confused:
 
bcool said:
I've become aware of a plane that was apparently refurbished after having been involved in a flood.

Are there any circumstances under which this might be an OK purchase? It was rebuilt several years ago and has been flying ever since. Plus, it's aggressively priced and incredibly equipped.

Obviously, I would do an extensive prebuy, but could things be lurking that wouldn't be found in the prebuy that could bite me later?

Part of me says don't do it, but the other part says take the chance :confused:
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Depends on the plane and the level of restoration. I know from my experience in motorsports it's always important to have documentation and a history of the repairs. Most high end projects like that will have a ton of pictures as proof of everything being done properly and thoroughly.
 
My first reaction is why can't you find a good aircraft that hasn't been in a flood?

Is the aircraft so rare? If it is something common like a Cessna 172, there are so many available that taking the chance on a flood aircraft doesn't seem to make sense.
 
Fresh or salt water? If salt, you have a never ending corrosion problem. Run!
 
The pre-buy and logbook records are the important thing here. As long as all the work is documented and a thorough pre-buy does not show any corrosion issues or any problems with electronics, you should be fine.

Remember, there have been warbirds pulled out of lakes, the ocean and from under glacial ice that have flown again.
 
Damage repair isn't rocket science. Most guys will be focused on corrosion. That's simple to validate. I'd be more concerned about the integrity of all things electrical right down to the last wire. Submersion in water kills wiring harnesses and connections.
 
One of our flagship award winning Navions was completely submerged at one point. The airport was expecting flooding and these guys put the plane up on as many concrete blocks as they could fit but it the waters were higher. It's a lot of work to bring it back.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Remember, there have been warbirds pulled out of lakes, the ocean and from under glacial ice that have flown again.
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Yes, but the big question is how much money do you want to sink into it? Is the airplane worth the trouble.

All of the resurrected warbirds have gone through extensive structural work, reskinning replacement of many components.

Take Glacier Girl for example (P-38 found under the ice). There was a pretty good documentary on the restoration of that one. I'd say well over 50% of the metal on that aircraft is new, using the original parts as patterns. For something like a P-38, that effort might be worth it. For a common Beech/Cessna/Piper, not even close.
 
I've seen seaplanes sink in their tied owns and ski planes sink in soft ice. Repairs aren't that difficult. You guys have vivid imaginations.
 
Stewartb said:
I've seen seaplanes sink in their tied owns and ski planes sink in soft ice. Repairs aren't that difficult. You guys have vivid imaginations.
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SkyDog brought up the warbird example - those are documented, not imagined.

I'm simply talking worst case. It's one thing when you already own it and have to deal with the recovery - you know exactly what happened and what you did to bring the airplane back.

Now, for someone buying such an airplane, they simply need to do their due diligence and research and hope that the seller is not trying to do anything shady (think submarine Mooney).

All I am saying is that I wouldn't buy something like a flood damaged 172. Just waaaay too many other good airplanes out there that you probably wouldn't be able to get a good enough deal on it and depending on how well they handled the recovery it may or may not have problems in the future.
 
bcool said:
I've become aware of a plane that was apparently refurbished after having been involved in a flood.

Are there any circumstances under which this might be an OK purchase? It was rebuilt several years ago and has been flying ever since. Plus, it's aggressively priced and incredibly equipped.

Obviously, I would do an extensive prebuy, but could things be lurking that wouldn't be found in the prebuy that could bite me later?

Part of me says don't do it, but the other part says take the chance :confused:
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Pretty pointless without some idea of what you are proposing to buy.

There is a big difference between a Cessna 206 sitting in 8 inches of water vs a Mooney, MU-2 or Twin Commander...
 
Fearless Tower said:
All I am saying is that I wouldn't buy something like a flood damaged 172. Just waaaay too many other good airplanes out there that you probably wouldn't be able to get a good enough deal on it and depending on how well they handled the recovery it may or may not have problems in the future.
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Define flood damaged. Could be a simple as washing stuff well with fresh water and replacing the wheel bearings, brake pads & disks.
 
Don't tell me someone reassembled the crashed submarine Mooney. Oh, wait--no, it couldn't be that plane, 'cause they'd never have mentioned the previous water damage.
 
How deep was the flood an how extensive the service. The concern is corrosion and silt sediment in the seams. After a couple of years of use since, any issues should be apparent on a good inspection. I would not be afraid to look at it.
 
bnt83 said:
Define flood damaged. Could be a simple as washing stuff well with fresh water and replacing the wheel bearings, brake pads & disks.
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Don't know - OP hasn't provided that info, but I would assume if we are talking flood damage that it involved more than the wheels/landing gear.
 
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Jim_R said:
Don't tell me someone reassembled the crashed submarine Mooney. Oh, wait--no, it couldn't be that plane, 'cause they'd never have mentioned the previous water damage.
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I saw the Submarine Mooney after it was cut into pieces for scrap. The public is safe from that aircraft. The pilot that ran it out of fuel while drinking beer on the other hand.....
 
Sure, as long as it was repaired properly I wouldn't have a issue.

Just get a heck of a prebuy and try to talk to the shop that did the work.


Many floatplanes have been a flipped and whatnot, they get fixed up and are just fine.
 
tmyers said:
I saw the Submarine Mooney after it was cut into pieces for scrap. The public is safe from that aircraft. The pilot that ran it out of fuel while drinking beer on the other hand.....
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Glad to know that we are safe from that thing!
 
James331 said:
Sure, as long as it was repaired properly I wouldn't have a issue.

Just get a heck of a prebuy and try to talk to the shop that did the work.


Many floatplanes have been a flipped and whatnot, they get fixed up and are just fine.
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No their not just fine with history of sinking their worth a lot less if not impossible to sell other than to a fool, and most fool's do not have any money.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
brien23 said:
No their not just fine with history of sinking their worth a lot less if not impossible to sell other than to a fool, and most fool's do not have any money.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
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Lol, all planes have damage history, some just don't have documented history. I'd sooner fly a plane with documented history that was properly repaired than one with "zero damage history".


If people followed your logic no one would own a single DHC2, 180, 185, PA18 etc, most all of the fleet was had some oops.
 
James331 said:
Lol, all planes have damage history, some just don't have documented history. I'd sooner fly a plane with documented history that was properly repaired than one with "zero damage history".


If people followed your logic no one would own a single DHC2, 180, 185, PA18 etc, most all of the fleet was had some oops.
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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
As the gentleman stated earlier, in Alaska it's probably done quite a bit for obvious reasons. It may come down to who works on it, their true skills, etc. For some probably not a big deal. If your buying an older aircraft, there's probably plenty of " things" that happened that were never logged. It's always a crap shoot.
 
James331 said:
Lol, all planes have damage history, some just don't have documented history. I'd sooner fly a plane with documented history that was properly repaired than one with "zero damage history".


If people followed your logic no one would own a single DHC2, 180, 185, PA18 etc, most all of the fleet was had some oops.
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You clearly have no idea of what happens to a seaplane flipped in salt water and of what it's worth with that history. Their is always some fool to buy it but they are getting hard to find.:popcorn:
 
What's your experience with sunk-and-restored airplanes? Educate us.
 
Salt water quite a bit. If you have to ask you probably have none.:rofl:
 
Every aircraft that has been flooded in the Puget Sound region was flooded by a river over its banks, that fills them with river slit, that is impossible to get out.

There is only one way to eliminate the flood damage. remove every rivet, radio, wire, hose, instrument, the entire interior, glass, engine, and replace them.

That's just an educated opinion based upon what I do to old aircraft.
 
James331 said:
.Who?
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that question was for Brien23, the guy with the strong opinions. I know a few airplanes that have been sunk and restored. They're better after than they were before. One was a part 135 C-185 that sold for top dollar a couple of years after sinking. It had over 10K airframe hours, too. It got top dollar because it was a good airplane. I doubt Brien23 has been around a sunk and restored airplane judging by his comments. No big deal to me.
 
Stewartb said:
that question was for Brien23, the guy with the strong opinions. I know a few airplanes that have been sunk and restored. They're better after than they were before. One was a part 135 C-185 that sold for top dollar a couple of years after sinking. It had over 10K airframe hours, too. It got top dollar because it was a good airplane. I doubt Brien23 has been around a sunk and restored airplane judging by his comments. No big deal to me.
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You clearly have no idea of what your talking about and trying to educate you about salt water corrosion would be impossible.:mad2:
 
the one who brought up salt was you. The OP said flood damage, not tide damage. By the way, I could hit a golf ball from my back yard into salt water. Not many planes around here operate on salt water but I have a fair bit of time in souteast Alaska and Kodiak where they do, so I do have a little knowledge of airplanes and salt water.

I had been interested in why you had such a strong criticism of water damaged airplanes when the planes I'm familiar with cleaned up so well. I've had many toys and tools damaged by flood water. Fortunately not my airplanes. The tractor, wheelers, generators, etc etc have all been repaired to as good as new. You guys with strong prejudice about damage history fascinate me.
 
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Stewartb said:
the one who brought up salt was you. The OP said flood damage, not tide damage. By the way, I could hit a golf ball from my back yard into salt water. Not many planes around here operate on salt water but I have a fair bit of time in souteast Alaska and Kodiak where they do, so I do have a little knowledge of airplanes and salt water.
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Fresh water or salt is a big difference and to say past damage does not affect selling price is a uninformed opinion. Just how many hours do you have on seaplanes.
 
Lots. I don't pay much attention to pilot logs but I've owned three. You?
 
Stewartb said:
Lots. I don't pay much attention to pilot logs but I've owned three. You?
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Planes I have owned C-172 on edo 2000 C-185 amphib, RC-3, Lots of hours in a Lake LA4-200, CFII A&P/IA seen and worked on planes sunk in salt water.
 
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