Narrative:

Owner of the aircraft (not me) installed an oil heater on jan/mon/02 on the airplane XXXX. I flew the aircraft on the same day and believed that an entry by the a&P mechanic, along with signoff, had been done. Subsequent to this, comments by someone else made me wonder whether the signoff had been done prior to my, and several other flts conducted by other pilots on that same day, had been done. I have not been able to view the logbooks to determine when the signoff was done, although later, I was told that the signoff had been accomplished prior to the jan/sun/02 flts. I was never notified that there was a period of time between when the work was done and when it was signed off and am concerned about the type of liability this introduces. If I hadn't happened to go by the hangar on jan/mon/02 when the owner was doing the work, I would have never known that this condition existed. Owners, or FBO's that do work on aircraft and allow non-owners to fly the aircraft should have a regulatory responsibility to ensure that pilots are notified of work that was done and not yet signed off. They should also be required to show the logbook signoff to the PIC, because when the PIC asks to see it, owners/FBO's are generally hostile about producing the signoff.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PIPER PA28-140 FLT INSTRUCTOR CONCERNED THAT THE INSTALLATION OF AN OIL HEATER WAS NOT PROPERLY DOCUMENTED AND SIGNED OFF IN THE ACFT LOGBOOK BEFORE FLT.

Narrative: OWNER OF THE ACFT (NOT ME) INSTALLED AN OIL HEATER ON JAN/MON/02 ON THE AIRPLANE XXXX. I FLEW THE ACFT ON THE SAME DAY AND BELIEVED THAT AN ENTRY BY THE A&P MECH, ALONG WITH SIGNOFF, HAD BEEN DONE. SUBSEQUENT TO THIS, COMMENTS BY SOMEONE ELSE MADE ME WONDER WHETHER THE SIGNOFF HAD BEEN DONE PRIOR TO MY, AND SEVERAL OTHER FLTS CONDUCTED BY OTHER PLTS ON THAT SAME DAY, HAD BEEN DONE. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO VIEW THE LOGBOOKS TO DETERMINE WHEN THE SIGNOFF WAS DONE, ALTHOUGH LATER, I WAS TOLD THAT THE SIGNOFF HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED PRIOR TO THE JAN/SUN/02 FLTS. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED THAT THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME BTWN WHEN THE WORK WAS DONE AND WHEN IT WAS SIGNED OFF AND AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE TYPE OF LIABILITY THIS INTRODUCES. IF I HADN'T HAPPENED TO GO BY THE HANGAR ON JAN/MON/02 WHEN THE OWNER WAS DOING THE WORK, I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN THAT THIS CONDITION EXISTED. OWNERS, OR FBO'S THAT DO WORK ON ACFT AND ALLOW NON-OWNERS TO FLY THE ACFT SHOULD HAVE A REGULATORY RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT PLTS ARE NOTIFIED OF WORK THAT WAS DONE AND NOT YET SIGNED OFF. THEY SHOULD ALSO BE REQUIRED TO SHOW THE LOGBOOK SIGNOFF TO THE PIC, BECAUSE WHEN THE PIC ASKS TO SEE IT, OWNERS/FBO'S ARE GENERALLY HOSTILE ABOUT PRODUCING THE SIGNOFF.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.