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How to Read a CAMP Report Before Making an Offer

An aircraft’s maintenance tracking report is its financial ledger and operational biography written in code. For any serious buyer, it’s the single most important document to analyze before an LOI is even drafted. Whether the aircraft is tracked on CAMP, Traxxall, CMP, or another system, this data export provides the objective framework for your offer, your pre-purchase inspection (PPI) workscope, and your long-term operating budget. Misinterpreting it is a direct path to unforeseen seven-figure expenses.

As a broker, my team and I underwrite dozens of these reports a month. We are looking for a narrative. Is this an aircraft that has been maintained to a high standard, with proactive compliance and investment? Or is it an asset that has been managed reactively, with maintenance deferred to its absolute legal limit? The data tells the story.

Here is how we break down a tracking report to distinguish a sound asset from a financial liability.

First Pass: The Due List & Summary

Before diving into the multi-page detail, start with the summary, often called the "Due List" or "Forecast." This is your immediate financial exposure snapshot. The report will list all upcoming airframe, engine, and APU inspections, overhauls, service bulletins, and airworthiness directives.

Ignore items due in five years. Your focus is on the next 24 months. What major capital expenses are on the immediate horizon? An aircraft with a "clean" due list for the next 18-24 months presents a completely different ownership proposition than one facing a major inspection in the next quarter. This initial view frames the entire negotiation. If the seller has just spent $800,000 on a 12-year inspection, they will want to recapture that cost. If that same inspection is due in six months, it’s your negotiating leverage.

Section 1: Discrepancies and Deferred Items

A discrepancy, or deferred item, is a known issue logged by the flight crew or a technician that has been legally deferred for later repair under the aircraft’s Minimum Equipment List (MEL). Every aircraft has them. A burnt-out cabin reading light or a sticky cupholder is operational noise. What we are hunting for are patterns and systemic issues.

Red Flags:

• Recurring System Faults: An avionics unit, like a Flight Management System (FMS), that has been written up for intermittent failures multiple times is a serious red flag. This might indicate a deeper wiring issue or a faulty unit that needs a $75,000 replacement, not just a reset.
• Hydraulic or Fuel Seeps: A recurring "slow hydraulic seep" noted on the same actuator or line points to a systemic issue that will not fix itself. These are often complex to trace and can ground an aircraft.
• Flight Control Issues: Any notes of flap asymmetry, slow spoiler deployment, or unusual trim behavior are immediate high-priority items for the PPI.

A long list of open discrepancies, even minor ones, signals a reactive maintenance culture. It suggests an operation that does the bare minimum to keep the aircraft flying, which often leads to larger, more expensive failures down the line. We see this as a direct reflection on the flight department’s standards.

Section 2: Major Inspections – The Capital Expense Forecaster

This is where the multi-million-dollar budget items live. These are non-negotiable, time-based or cycle-based inspections that represent the largest scheduled maintenance costs outside of engine overhauls.

Landing Gear Overhaul

Typically due every 10 or 12 years, a full landing gear restoration is a significant capital event. The gear assembly is removed from the aircraft and sent to a specialized MRO. For a Gulfstream G550, this work, performed at a facility like the Gulfstream Service Center in Dallas, will run between $450,000 and $600,000 USD in 2026 dollars and involves a 4-6 week downtime. If the report shows this is due within your first two years of ownership, it must be factored directly into your acquisition cost analysis.

Heavy Structural Inspections (96-Month, 144-Month, 12-Year)

These are the private aviation equivalent of a "C-check." They involve extensive disassembly, including partial or full interior removal, to allow for detailed visual and non-destructive testing of the airframe structure, primarily for corrosion. This is mandated by the aircraft’s Corrosion Prevention and Control Program (CPCP).

A 96-month inspection on a Challenger 605, for example, can be a $400,000 to $650,000 USD event at an MRO like Duncan Aviation or StandardAero. Findings of corrosion, especially in aircraft operated in high-salinity environments (e.g., coastal Florida, the Caribbean), can easily add another $100,000+ to the invoice. An aircraft coming off a Bermuda (VP-B) or Cayman (VP-C) registry that was based in a coastal region requires extreme scrutiny here. Negotiating an escrow holdback for corrosion findings during the PPI is a standard buyer protection mechanism.

Section 3: Engine Status – Cycles, Programs, and LLPs

Engines can account for over 50% of an aircraft