Online logbooks prove one flight school plane has been serviced in the last year, others are still in question

MILWAUKEE — Despite information on the Spring City Aviation website showing otherwise, one of the planes underwent an engine overhaul last summer.

The I-Team discovered that most of the planes on the Spring City Aviation website had since been overhauled beyond the manufacturer’s recommendations, including the plane piloted by 18-year-old Daniel Perelman. Perelman died after his Cessna 152 crashed into a Wauwatosa backyard on May 26.

An overhaul is a complete teardown, inspection of each individual part, and rebuilding of the engine to ensure it is safe to fly.

The I-Team discovered the logs on a plane buying and selling website. Spring City Aviation had put the plane up for sale online at trade-a-plane.com. It’s been on display since at least February 8, 2022 for a price tag of $59,500. Although this plane looks almost identical to the one piloted by Perelman, it is different.

Spring City Aviation’s website showed the plane had not had its engine overhauled (TSOH) in 6,096.2 hours. The logbooks of this aircraft registered N4723B underwent their last major revision on June 17, 2021.

Spring City Aviation

During this overhaul, an employee of Poplar Grove Airmotive in Illinois wrote, “This engine was stripped, cleaned, inspected and reassembled with new parts as required in accordance with a major overhaul in accordance with the manufacturer’s current overhaul manual. “

trade-a-plane.com

On August 9, 2021, this engine was installed in the aircraft by an employee of Spring City Automotive. There are at least five additional entries between August and November, the last of which was a 100-hour inspection where the inspector deemed it satisfactory to return to service.

The I-Team did not discover the logbooks of the other five aircraft in question, including the aircraft that Daniel Perelman was piloting. Spring City Aviation did not provide an official comment on the accuracy on its website of the times since the overhaul of one of its planes.

As of Thursday morning, the SCA website where students can plan flights no longer has tabs showing available planes and maintenance statistics for those planes. On Wednesday afternoon, this information was available.

SCA Chief Executive Officer Josh Siehoff said, “Spring City Aviation maintains all of its aircraft in accordance with applicable federal aviation regulations. Due to the ongoing investigation by the FAA and NTSB, we are unable to provide additional comment at this time. Spring City Aviation will continue to provide assistance to the appropriate authorities throughout the process. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Daniel Perelman.

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