How it works
Four public records, one report.
Every U.S. aircraft is documented across four government datasets. We pull them together for one tail number and write the result in plain English.
The sources
Current · updated daily
FAA Civil Aviation Registry
Registration, ownership, make, model, serial number, and engine details for every aircraft on the U.S. civil registry.
2008–present
NTSB accident database
Aviation accident and incident records, including the factual narrative and probable-cause findings.
1995–present
FAA Service Difficulty Reports
Reports mechanics and operators file with the FAA when they find a failure or airworthiness concern.
1994–present
Federal Register (airworthiness directives)
Mandatory FAA directives requiring inspection or corrective action on an aircraft type, engine, or component.
Source links: FAA Civil Aviation Registry · NTSB accident database · FAA Service Difficulty Reports · Federal Register (airworthiness directives)
How records are matched
- 01Accident and service-difficulty records are matched to an aircraft by its registration number (N-number).
- 02The FAA reassigns N-numbers over time, so a tail's history can span more than one physical aircraft — every accident shows its own make, model, and serial to check against.
- 03Airworthiness directives are matched at the manufacturer and type level. They are candidates to verify against the aircraft's logbooks, not a determination that each applies to this specific aircraft.
- 04The report is decision support built from public records — not an airworthiness determination, an appraisal, or a substitute for a logbook review and a pre-purchase inspection.