The misconception
"The shop signed it off, so airworthiness is on them." It is the most common misreading of how aircraft ownership works, and it is expensive. The mechanic is responsible for the work performed and approved. The regulation puts continuing airworthiness somewhere else entirely: on the owner.
Where the law puts responsibility
14 CFR 91.403(a) is direct: "The owner or operator of an aircraft is primarily responsible for maintaining that aircraft in an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 of this chapter" — that is, with airworthiness directives. 91.405 fills in the duties: the owner must have the aircraft inspected as required by subpart E, have discrepancies between inspections repaired as prescribed in part 43, and ensure that maintenance personnel make the records entries approving the aircraft for return to service. A mechanic performs and signs; the owner carries the aircraft's continuing airworthiness, and its AD compliance, every day in between.
The annual is a snapshot you inherit
An annual inspection certifies, under 43.11, that the aircraft "was determined to be in airworthy condition" as of that date — or, if it was not, it hands the owner a signed list of discrepancies and unairworthy items. Either way, responsibility for what happens after that date is the owner's. And because the 91.417(a)(2) status records transfer with the aircraft at sale, a buyer does not just inherit the airplane — the buyer inherits its records, its AD posture, and any gap a prior owner left open.
Why this is leverage, not just a burden
Read correctly, 91.403 is the strongest argument for pre-purchase records diligence there is. Responsibility transfers with the aircraft, so the pre-purchase window is the one moment a buyer can see the gaps, price them, and require them corrected before they become the buyer's legal problem. The owner is the party the FAA holds accountable; independent records due diligence is how that party goes in with eyes open.
What cannot be concluded
A records review informs the owner's decisions and documents what the records show. It does not assume the owner's legal responsibility, it does not determine airworthiness or AD compliance, and it does not substitute for the inspection and judgment of the responsible IA.
What to request or verify next
- Current AD status with next-due dates and times, verified against primary records — the compliance the owner carries from day one.
- Any open discrepancy or unairworthy-items list from prior annuals, and its resolution.
- Return-to-service entries for recent maintenance, confirming the work was approved and recorded.
- A written plan for the continuing-airworthiness items — inspections, life-limited parts, recurring ADs — that transfer with the aircraft.