1. Sourcing: start from a written brief
Write down the aircraft type and variant, intended use (training, private or commercial), required avionics and equipment, budget range, delivery country and timing. Check early that your authority recognises or validates the type certificate for that type, and what it will require before registration; this decides which aircraft are worth looking at.
2. Seller authority and title
- Ownership chain: bills of sale or other title documents back to a point your lawyer accepts, and the current registration certificate.
- Authority to sell: the seller's legal identity and evidence that the person signing may bind it (corporate resolutions or a power of attorney).
- Liens and other interests: mortgages, leases, unpaid charges and any interests recorded with the national register.
The Cape Town Convention and the International Registry
The Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol create international interests that are registered in the International Registry of Mobile Assets. The Protocol covers airframes type certificated to transport at least eight persons including crew or goods over 2,750 kg, helicopters for at least five persons or goods over 450 kg, and engines of at least 1,750 lb thrust (jet) or 550 rated take-off shaft horsepower (turbine or piston) (Article I). The Protocol also applies key provisions to contracts of sale (Article III). For aircraft in scope, search the International Registry before signing and register the sale at closing. A four-seat piston trainer is normally below these thresholds; then national register searches and local law govern title.
China is a Contracting State to the Protocol. In its declarations, China designated the CAAC Aircraft Rights Registry as the entry point, declared that it will apply Article XIII (irrevocable de-registration and export request authorisations, IDERA), and stated that, unless otherwise notified, the Convention and Protocol do not apply to Hong Kong or Macao. Ask whether an IDERA has been recorded for the aircraft: if so, its holder is the party entitled to request deregistration and export, and must be part of the closing.
3. Records review
- Airframe, engine and propeller logbooks, continuous and complete.
- Maintenance records and the current maintenance programme.
- Airworthiness directive compliance status and service bulletin status.
- Life-limited parts and times since overhaul, with supporting documents.
- Modifications and major repairs, with their design data and approvals.
- Damage history and any incident reports.
Records may be in the language of the exporting country; plan for translation. Missing or inconsistent records reduce value and can delay or prevent registration in another country.
4. Independent pre-purchase inspection
The inspection should be carried out by an organisation the buyer chooses, not by the seller. Agree its scope in writing — records audit, physical inspection, engine checks and, where possible, a test flight — and agree in advance how defects will be handled: rectification before delivery, a price adjustment, or the right to withdraw. Include a check against your destination authority's import requirements, so that modifications needed for registration are known before you commit.
5. Deregistration and export
An aircraft cannot be validly registered in more than one State (Chicago Convention, Article 18), so it must leave its current register before it can join yours. In China, CCAR-45 states that an aircraft that has not been removed from the Chinese register may not be registered abroad; the applicant files a deregistration application with supporting documents and returns the registration certificate, and the nationality and registration marks are then covered.
The exporting State's authority issues an export certificate of airworthiness: in China under CCAR-21, Chapter 11, and in the United States under 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart L. Under CCAR-21 the export certificate is not a document that authorises operation of the aircraft (§21.405), and the importing country's special requirements must be addressed in the application. Plan the move itself — a ferry flight with the necessary permits, or disassembly and shipping.
6. Import, registration and airworthiness in your country
Registration is governed by the laws of the State of registry (Chicago Convention, Article 19), and an aircraft in international navigation must carry a certificate of airworthiness issued or rendered valid by that State (Article 31). In practice your authority will register the aircraft and issue or validate its certificate of airworthiness after its own review, which may include an inspection and required modifications. Customs duties, import taxes and any import licence are set by your country's rules; take local advice.
7. Escrow and payment
- Hold the deposit with an independent escrow agent, released only on conditions agreed in writing (for example the inspection result).
- Make final payment at a single closing, simultaneous with the bill of sale, the registry filings that apply and delivery.
- Agree where and when title passes, because this can have tax consequences; take tax advice.
- Allow time for banks' compliance checks on cross-border payments.
8. Key risks
| Risk | How to reduce it |
|---|---|
| Seller without authority, or undisclosed liens | Title chain, register searches (including the International Registry where it applies), legal review. |
| Incomplete or inconsistent records | Full records audit before price is final; translation where needed. |
| Hidden damage or corrosion | Independent pre-purchase inspection with an agreed scope. |
| Deregistration or export delays | Confirm IDERA status and the export certificate requirements early; agree who does what. |
| Destination authority requires modifications | Check import and registration requirements before signing. |
| Payment or transfer problems | Escrow, conditional release, and a single documented closing. |
How AeroOrigin helps
AeroOrigin is a sourcing and coordination partner for used aircraft, not a dealer: it does not hold inventory and does not give airworthiness, legal or tax opinions. It matches opportunities to your written brief, checks that the seller has authority to sell, and coordinates records, inspection and transfer steps with the specialists you appoint. See used aircraft sourcing, or send your requirement by email to orbgrid@qq.com.
Sources
- UNIDROIT — Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (2001)
- UNIDROIT — declarations of the People's Republic of China under the Aircraft Protocol
- International Registry of Mobile Assets
- ICAO — Convention on International Civil Aviation (Doc 7300)
- CAAC — CCAR-45, Regulations on Nationality Registration of Civil Aircraft
- CAAC — CCAR-21, Certification of Civil Aviation Products and Parts
- FAA — 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart L, Export Airworthiness Approvals (eCFR)