Ownership guide
Piper PA-18-135
221 registered in the US, built from about 1950 to 1956, 2 seats, most with the Lycoming O-290. Its Airworthiness Directives, its engines', and what to check before buying one.
The fleet
- Registered in the US
- 221
- Built
- 1950 to 1956
- Half built by
- 1954
- Seats
- 2
- Engine type
- Piston
- Most common engine
- Lycoming O-290
Engines installed
- Lycoming O-290124 aircraft (56%) · 5 ADs, 1 with a repeat action
- Lycoming O-32060 aircraft (27%) · 24 ADs, 3 with a repeat action
- Lycoming O-3604 aircraft (2%) · 24 ADs, 3 with a repeat action
From the FAA aircraft registry, rebuilt daily. Years are those recorded on each registration.
Airworthiness Directives
14 current ADs name the PA-18-135 airframe, 0 with a repeat action; 2 more were superseded. Its engines carry 53 more. 3 equipment ADs name the model.
No current airframe AD mentions a repeat action.
What gets reported
1 Service Difficulty Reports since 2016: a mechanic or operator files one when a part fails or is found defective.
Systems reported most
- Engine Mount Section1
Parts reported most
- Mount, broken1
The latest reports
2026-05-19 · Engine Mount Section · Mount, broken
Engine mount complete broken in two parts.
From the FAA's Service Difficulty Reporting System, refreshed monthly. Counts of what was reported, not failure rates: most of general aviation reports voluntarily, and a busy training fleet reports more than a private one.
Accident record
31 accidents since 2008, 2 fatal (3 people killed in them, a midair counting both aircraft), 0 aircraft destroyed.
What happened
- Loss of control in flight6
- Loss of control on ground6
- Nose over/nose down5
- Fuel exhaustion2
- Loss of engine power (partial)2
- System or component failure (not the engine)1
Phase of flight
- Landing17
- Enroute4
- Maneuvering3
- Takeoff3
- Initial climb2
The latest
| Date | Where | What happened | Injuries | NTSB number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-11 | Palmer, AK | Landing: Nose over/nose down | None | ANC25LA073 |
| 2025-06-28 | Chenega, AK | Landing: Loss of control in flight | None | ANC25LA066 |
| 2023-09-03 | Compton, CA | Maneuvering: System or component failure (not the engine) | Minor | WPR23LA336 |
| 2022-08-30 | Palmer, AK | Landing: Loss of control on ground | None | ANC22LA074 |
| 2022-07-01 | Walker, MN | Landing: Loss of control on ground | None | CEN22LA295 |
| 2022-02-27 | Wasilla, AK | Unknown: Unknown or undetermined | Minor | ANC22LA020 |
From the NTSB's aviation accident database, refreshed monthly; accidents only, homebuilts left out. Counts, not rates: nobody publishes how many hours each model flies, and a training fleet flies far more than a private one. Look up any case by its number in the NTSB's CAROL.
What it costs to run
Per hour flown
Per year, flown or not
- Fuel
- $0/hr
- Engine reserve
- $0/hr
- A year
- $0
- All in, per hour
- $0/hr
Everything else is yours to fill in: insurance, hangar and overhaul prices vary too much by pilot, airport and shop for a default to mean anything. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Before you buy one
- Run its N-number through the AD check: every AD that names its airframe and engine, as a checklist to take to the logbooks.
- For each repeat-action AD, find the last compliance in the logbooks and when the next one is due.
- Compare the engine's time since overhaul with its maker's published overhaul time, and look for the reason behind any long gap in flying.
- Ask the mechanic doing the pre-buy to look hard at the engine mount section and for broken mounts: they are what gets reported most on this model.
- 3 equipment ADs name the PA-18-135 (a muffler, a seat belt, a display): find out which of that equipment is installed.
- Check the registration, the airworthiness certificate and the date of the last annual inspection.
- Work out the sales or use tax your state will charge with the aircraft tax calculator.
The rest of the PA-18 family
Questions
- How many Piper PA-18-135s are registered in the US?
- 221, in the FAA aircraft registry.
- When was the Piper PA-18-135 built?
- From about 1950 to 1956. Half of those registered today were built by 1954.
- What engine does the Piper PA-18-135 have?
- Most have the Lycoming O-290 (56% of those registered); others have the Lycoming O-320, Lycoming O-360.
- What are common problems with the Piper PA-18-135?
- In 1 Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA since 2016, the systems reported most were engine mount section, and the part most often reported was a broken mount.
- How many accidents has the Piper PA-18-135 had?
- 31 in the NTSB's database since 2008, 2 of them fatal. The most common defining event was loss of control in flight. These are counts, not rates: how many hours the fleet flew is not published.
- How many Airworthiness Directives does the Piper PA-18-135 have?
- 14 current ADs name the PA-18-135 airframe, 0 of them with a repeat action, and 53 more name its engines. Whether each applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number and installed equipment.
Figures from the FAA aircraft registry and the FAA's Airworthiness Directives, rebuilt daily. An AD listed for a model is one to read; whether it applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number, equipment and records.