New TBO for 912, mandatory overhaul?

[bruceschimmel]

My ten-year old engine, with 750hrs, has recently been deemed by Rotax to have a TBO of 15 years or 2000hrs.

What does this mean for an aircraft used exclusively for private transportation?

On other certified aircraft engines, an overhaul at TBO is (I believe) NOT mandatory unless used air taxi, etc.

Do the exact same rules apply to Rotax?
NO overhaul unless used as air taxi, etc?

thx, Bruce

[Webmaster]

Hi Bruce

I found the following notes online: link

A key quote from this article:

The FAA does not require private owners to comply with the manufacturer’s stated TBO interval. The manufacturer's TBO is therefore advisory only. As long as a properly certified mechanic has within the previous twelve months certified that the engine is airworthy, then the owner is, from a regulatory standpoint, free to operate the engine as many hours as he wishes.

But if an owner does operate past TBO, and the engine fails, and a passenger is hurt as a result, could the owner be held accountable despite the fact he was in compliance with all FAA regulations?

You bet.

An owner can be held accountable for an accident after TBO if a judge or jury decides that:

1. in not complying with the manufacturer's overhaul recommendations, the owner was negligent (not "reasonably careful" under the circumstances) and

2. the negligence was a cause of the accident.

The article in the link above goes on to state:

Some proponents of running an aircraft engine beyond TBO downplay the risks. They argue that the manufacturer's TBO is a "made up" number, and few engine failures have actually been attributed to the owner's decision to run past it. One prominent aviation maintenance expert even suggests that there have been no cases where running past TBO resulted in an owner being held responsible for a passenger's resulting injuries.