Aircraft pre-delivery inspection that closes or prices every finding before title passes
Every finding closed or priced before title passes, while the airline still has leverage.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Aircraft pre-delivery inspection is the airline's technical acceptance of a new aircraft at the manufacturer's delivery center: a ground inspection of every zone, a customer acceptance flight, a check of the delivery documents and a punch list of findings the manufacturer must fix before the Certificate of Acceptance is signed. Botminds' Aircraft Pre-Delivery Inspection adds seven agents that argue each finding from the purchase agreement, read the manufacturer's replies and check the records, while the technical acceptance lead decides and signs.
How to choose AI for airlines: a buyer's guide to agentic AI solutions →
Updated
Aircraft pre-delivery inspection starts when a new aircraft is ready at the delivery center, and the airline's technical acceptance team has about a week: a ground inspection of every zone, a customer acceptance flight, a review of the delivery documents and a running punch list the manufacturer must work. Every finding turns into an argument — fixed, within limits, after delivery, or "buyer-furnished, not ours" — and each answer has to come from the purchase agreement, the Detail Specification or the BFE exhibit, written from a hotel room with replies spread across the manufacturer's portal, e-mail and paper.
Then the Certificate of Acceptance is signed, title passes and the leverage is gone. A finish scratch accepted as a touch-up kit becomes a paint job in your own hangar. A seat-power wire bundle the manufacturer sent to the seat supplier becomes your work order and an aircraft night. And one wrong digit on an engine release certificate, or a 406 MHz ELT nobody registered, follows the aircraft for life or keeps the ferry flight on the ground.
Estimated split of the technical acceptance team's hours on one widebody delivery, by hand and with the solution.
Seven agents turn inspectors' notes into findings, argue each from the purchase agreement, read the manufacturer's replies, check the papers and each other; the acceptance lead decides and signs.
Corvane Airways' new 787-9 N845CV is at the Charleston delivery center (CHS). The ground inspection ran October 12–13, the customer acceptance flight flew 3.4 hours on October 14, and signature is planned for Monday, October 19 at 09:00. Here is how this aircraft delivery inspection runs, and how the acceptance lead works with the agents, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Seven findings need Elena, three block acceptance, the signature is four days away and 60 of 64 delivery records agree. Overnight the manufacturer answered 11 findings, the reply agent drafted 7 answers, and the records agent cross-checked every record. The delivery agent's briefing sums it up, and she can ask it anything.
Delivery agent: “Signature on Monday holds if the ELT certificate arrives by Friday noon.”
N845CV has 47 findings — 39 from the ground inspection, 8 from the acceptance flight. The three blockers stay pinned at the top, each with the plain reason it blocks. Under F-07, a 140 mm scratch through the primer on flap track fairing 2L, sit Jorge Alvarado's note and photo, the manufacturer's reply and the contract agent's suggested answer, with the check agent agreeing. Beside the list, the signature shows locked.
Manufacturer: “Within SRM 57-53-01 allowable damage limits. We propose a touch-up kit, applied by Corvane after delivery at DEN.”
Each numbered citation opens its source. Detail Specification §25-21, page 214, says damage that penetrates the topcoat or primer is refinished before delivery. The repair manual section the manufacturer cites says itself that it covers the laminate's structural integrity, not finish. The suggested answer asks for a refinish; accepting the kit would leave about $11,800 of paint work at DEN.
The contract agent never paraphrases a clause without quoting it.
Hannah found wire bundle W5312 rubbing on a seat-track fitting at STA 1386, jacket worn through over 18 mm, no clamp. The manufacturer answered that the seats are buyer-furnished. The contract agent agrees the seats are BFE, but the wiring list shows W5312 is supplied and installed by the seller, and Exhibit B §4.2 makes the installation and seller-supplied wiring theirs. The contract agent also suggested a sweep of rows 29–34 on both sides; Hannah checked them and found no other chafe.
“Found after delivery, it costs us about $26,500 and a night.”
The records agent compared MSN, registration, 24-bit address, ELT hex ID and engine serial numbers across the registration application, bill of sale, equipment list, transponder configuration, engine logbooks and release certificates. Engine 2's release certificate reads 959-372; the data plate and logbook read 959-327 (F-36). And the ELT coding certificate is missing, so the beacon's hex ID cannot be checked against ABA2F4. The check agent repeated the comparison and agrees.
The acceptance gate is computed by the delivery agent and confirmed by the check agent: three blockers open, the ELT record missing, two post-delivery commitments priced at $38,400, no co-signature needed. Elena asks whether she can sign with F-07 still open. The answer cites the specification and the agreement, and names who would have to co-sign.
“A downgrade it disagrees with needs Diane Royce to co-sign. Once signed, the $11,800 is ours.”
On F-19 the delivery agent's verdict is plain: registering the beacon is Corvane's job, but Exhibit D item D-14 says the manufacturer delivers the coding certificate, and it is not in the documents. The request to Dale Whitcomb, the manufacturer's delivery manager, is already drafted with the hex ID and 24-bit address. Elena picks a reason code and approves it with her e-signature — nothing goes out until she does.
Reason codes: “R2 · Request a document or data” or “B3 · Must close before acceptance — records”.
The manufacturer replies with the coding certificate: hex ID ADCE4C1A7300001, 24-bit address ABA2F4, coded September 30, 2026. The reply agent checks both against the equipment list and the registration application, and the NOAA beacon registration is prepared from it. Sofia Lindgren, the records manager, submits it herself and attaches the confirmation.
The records agent never submits a registration — Sofia does.
With F-07 refinished, F-31 repaired and both re-inspected with photos, and the ELT registered, the gate clears; the check agent re-read all 47 findings on its own and agrees. The Certificate of Acceptance lists the two post-delivery commitments under Letter Agreement LA-07 — the Lav C mirror light and an IFE monitor, due November 6, $38,400 of credits if late — and the 13 open items to close before the ferry. Elena signs with reason S2, accept with listed commitments and open items.
“Title and risk pass to Corvane when you sign.”
The delivery file indexes 1,214 documents in eight sections: FAA and registration, the manufacturer's delivery documents, engines and components, cabin and buyer-furnished equipment, findings with their photos and re-inspections, the acceptance flight, every message with the manufacturer, and the acceptance and commitments. Once sealed, nobody can change it; it goes to DEN technical records and the M&E system's aircraft load file of 2,914 parts.
The same aircraft pre-delivery inspection, seen by five of the people who carry it — what acceptance week looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents turn inspectors' notes into findings, argue each from the purchase agreement, read the manufacturer's replies, check the papers and each other; the acceptance lead decides and signs.
Owns the punch list and the plan to signature: marks what blocks acceptance from Corvane's blocking rules and says why in plain words, computes the acceptance gate, writes the morning briefing and drafts requests to the manufacturer.
Turns inspectors' notes, photos and the acceptance flight's test points into findings with zone, ATA chapter and severity; merges duplicates; matches re-inspection notes to their findings; proposes sweeps when a finding may repeat.
Reads the purchase agreement, the Detail Specification and the exhibits — BFE, inspection and acceptance, delivery requirements, the post-delivery letter agreement — and ties each finding to the clause that decides who fixes it.
Reads every manufacturer answer, classifies it — fixed, within limits, after delivery, buyer-furnished — checks it against the clause, drafts Corvane's response and tracks promised dates, drafting an escalation when one is late.
Checks the 64 delivery records against Exhibit D and the FAA list, cross-checks identifiers across documents, prepares the ELT registration and builds and seals the delivery file.
Re-reads every blocking verdict and records cross-check on its own, and must agree before a blocker is downgraded or the acceptance gate opens.
Checks ferry flight readiness: documents on board under 14 CFR 91.203, the registered ELT, weight and balance, crew qualifications, fuel, insurance attaching at title transfer and the hangar slot at DEN.
Approves every answer and signs the acceptance; the VP Fleet co-signs above the limits. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Every screen has an ask box. Answers cite the clause, the record or the message they come from, and some offer the next step.
Will we sign on Monday?
Yes, if the three blockers close: the fairing refinish needs a night and a cure, the wiring repair half a day, and the ELT needs the certificate and Sofia's registration. The agreement gives us the right to hold until they are fixed.
Is the seat wiring ours or theirs?
Theirs. The seats are buyer-furnished, but wire bundle W5312 is supplied and installed by the manufacturer, and Exhibit B §4.2 makes installation and seller-supplied wiring theirs.
Has this happened on our other 787-9s?
Once: N842CV in June had a chafed seat-power wire bundle at row 33 right, found after delivery and repaired at DEN. That is why the inspection agent suggests the sweep.
What happens to the credits if they miss a date?
Letter Agreement LA-07 credits Corvane $8,400 if the F-12 mirror light is not fixed by Nov 6, and $30,000 if the F-38 monitor is not replaced by then: $38,400 in all.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
What blocks acceptance, the thresholds and the clocks are settings. Changes are proposed, approved by the VP Fleet, and logged.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| What blocks acceptance | Rules v4: safety-related systems, primary structure, wiring, flight controls, emergency equipment; records the FAA or Exhibit D require at delivery; damage that breaks the finish or corrosion protection; specification deviations worth more than $25,000 | Each rule On or Off |
| Agent confidence below which a person reviews | 0.85 | Any value, by proposal |
| Check agent must agree before a downgrade | Always | Otherwise the VP Fleet co-signs |
| Co-sign above this many post-delivery commitments | 3 | Any number, by proposal |
| Co-sign above this value of commitments | $100,000 | Any amount, by proposal |
| Manufacturer answer clock, acceptance week | 24 hours | Hours |
| Our answer to a manufacturer reply | 4 working hours | Working hours |
| Escalate after this many missed promises | 2 | Any number |
| Sharing with the manufacturer | Findings and sent messages only | Prices, notes and drafts never shared |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample delivery data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate (the $36,000 a day is the working solution's lease-rate equivalent for a new 787-9 not flying; the hours in “where an acceptance week's hours go”) · “typical” = published figures (one manufacturer's published orders and deliveries, end of September 2026: about 9,300 aircraft still to deliver) · regulations named as context: 14 CFR 91.203, 47 CFR 87.199. People, Corvane Airways, N845CV, MSN 67418 and PA-3881 named on this page are fictional: characters and sample data in the working solution.
Aircraft pre-delivery inspection is the airline's technical acceptance of a new aircraft at the manufacturer's delivery center: a ground inspection of every zone, a customer acceptance flight, a check of the delivery documents and a punch list of findings the manufacturer must fix before the Certificate of Acceptance is signed. Botminds' Aircraft Pre-Delivery Inspection adds seven agents that argue each finding from the purchase agreement, read the manufacturer's replies and check the records, while the technical acceptance lead decides and signs.
In the aircraft acceptance process, inspectors walk every zone and fly the customer acceptance flight; each discrepancy becomes a finding on the delivery punch list. The manufacturer answers each one — fixed, within limits, after delivery, or buyer-furnished — and the airline answers back from the specification and the purchase agreement. Findings are fixed and re-inspected, the aircraft delivery documents are checked, and the airline signs the Certificate of Acceptance, when title passes.
It depends on the clause. In the working solution's sample agreement, the airline is responsible for defects in the BFE items themselves, but the seller installs them and is responsible for the installation and its own wiring. The contract agent quotes that clause and the wiring list, so a seat-power wire bundle the manufacturer supplied is answered as theirs to fix.
Yes, but only when they are written down. The signature stays locked until every blocking finding is closed and re-inspected; anything else still open is listed on the Certificate of Acceptance as a post-delivery commitment with a date and a credit, or as an open item with the manufacturer's date. Above 3 commitments or $100,000 of them, the VP Fleet co-signs.
In the working solution, 64 records that the FAA and the airline's delivery requirements call for — among them the registration application (AC Form 8050-1), the bill of sale (AC Form 8050-2), the standard airworthiness certificate (FAA Form 8100-2), the weight and balance report, the engine and component release certificates, and the ELT coding certificate. The records agent checks each one and cross-checks MSN, registration, 24-bit address, ELT hex ID and engine serial numbers across them.
In the working solution it blocks the ferry: a 406 MHz ELT must be registered with NOAA (47 CFR 87.199), and the sample delivery requirements ask for it before the delivery flight. The records agent prepares the registration from the manufacturer's coding certificate; the records manager submits it herself.
Yes. The agents never send, close, register, sign or release the ferry. The technical acceptance lead approves every message with a reason code and an e-signature and signs the acceptance; inspectors close findings with a re-inspection photo; the VP Fleet co-signs a downgrade the check agent disagrees with.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your purchase agreements and specifications, delivery requirements, blocking rules and the systems behind them — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on a past delivery of yours first.
Every lease return handed back on its date, inside budget, with every gap priced.
1-min demoAircraft Technical Records AuditEvery records gap found a year before handback, each with the page the agent checked.
1-min demoAircraft Lease ManagementEvery lease obligation tracked to its clause, so nothing surfaces first at lease end.
1-min demoWe'll run Aircraft Pre-Delivery Inspection on your purchase agreement and a past delivery's punch list.