The situation
You have agreed to buy an aircraft that is out of annual, or that has one open unairworthy squawk, and it is sitting three states away from your mechanic. Can you legally fly it home? Sometimes — but not on the strength of hope. The mechanism is a special flight permit, and understanding what it does and does not do keeps a purchase from starting with a violation.
What a special flight permit is
14 CFR 21.197 provides for a special flight permit — commonly called a ferry permit — for "an aircraft that may not currently meet applicable airworthiness requirements but is capable of safe flight." Its permitted purposes begin with "flying the aircraft to a base where repairs, alterations, or maintenance are to be performed, or to a point of storage." The permit is applied for under 14 CFR 21.199 and issued by the FAA — a Flight Standards District Office or an authorized representative — typically after a certificated mechanic inspects the aircraft and states that it is safe for the intended flight. It carries operating limitations: often a specific route, day-VFR only, no passengers, and sometimes a weight or configuration restriction.
What it is not
A special flight permit is permission to move an aircraft in a known condition. It is not an airworthiness determination, it does not repair or discharge the discrepancy that made the aircraft ineligible, and it does not authorize normal operations. You fly it to the shop; you do not treat the permit as a temporary annual.
Why it matters at purchase
The permit is tied to the aircraft and the operator, and it interacts with registration and insurance. That creates sequencing questions a buyer should settle before closing: whether the seller obtains the permit before title transfers or the buyer obtains it afterward, whether the buyer's insurance covers a ferry flight under a permit and its limitations, and whether the aircraft's actual inspection and AD status even support a "safe for the intended flight" statement in the first place. An aircraft that cannot honestly clear that statement does not need a ferry permit — it needs a truck.
What cannot be concluded
Advice on records and purchase sequencing does not issue a permit and does not make the safe-for-flight determination. The issuing FAA office or authorized representative, and the certificated mechanic who inspects the aircraft and signs the safe-for-flight statement, hold those roles.
What to request or verify next
- The aircraft's current inspection and AD status, before assuming a ferry permit is the right path rather than ground transport.
- Who will apply for the permit, relative to the timing of title transfer and registration.
- The certificated mechanic's inspection and written safe-for-flight statement for the intended flight.
- Written confirmation that the buyer's insurance covers the ferry flight under the permit's limitations.