I think there may be a grey area.
Let’s say an A&P/IA takes a quick look at the plane and sees multiple serious issues which make it obvious the plane cannot be flown. He has not done a formal inspection and since the customer is getting “agitated” he chooses to walk away.
This is fairly common in GA. A smart IA doesn’t want to get busted by the FAA. It’s happened to a number of them, as some here well know.
I believe he is not required to sign anything.
I have been doing my best to stay off this thread as I have seen a just about all the types of customers over the years and largely they bring trouble on themselves by not talking to the maintenance company early enough before the check is due so they can get time critical parts ordered.
I know of no maintenance companies ( bar one ) that are openly disruptive of the owners wish to get the aircraft flying on time, after all an aircraft cluttering up your hanger prevents the bill being paid and the next chance to make money from rolling in the door.
I have no doubt that one or two of my former customers think I am disruptive but I won’t certify anything that I consider dangerous, I want to sleep easy in my bed knowing that the aircraft that I have released to service are safe. It is also the customers who push the hardest to get a dubious aircraft released who are the first to call the lawyers if something goes wrong.
Those who develop a relationship with their maintenance provider usually get the best all round deal as the aircraft becomes a known quantity to those who have to maintain the aircraft and sensible decisions on the items requiring replacement can be tailored to the way the aircraft is used.
Peter wrote:
Let’s say an A&P/IA takes a quick look at the plane and sees multiple serious issues which make it obvious the plane cannot be flown. He has not done a formal inspection and since the customer is getting “agitated” he chooses to walk away.This is fairly common in GA. A smart IA doesn’t want to get busted by the FAA. It’s happened to a number of them, as some here well know.
I believe he is not required to sign anything.
In the real world, he walks away having ‘never met the owner or seen the plane’. No paperwork, end of story, owner pursues other options, or none. Since friendly A&Ps do not grow on trees its best to establish if the guy is basically reasonable and if he is, do not annoy him.
That aside, I find that for various reasons three quarters of the businesses providing GA parts and services (and people behind them) are unreliable. I was recently surprised to receive a quote in only four days from my airframe parts supplier in Europe, and at reasonable cost. If I’m lucky they may ship the parts soon, which BTW are 50 year old NOS, Peter’s favorite variety of parts 
I’d like to have the parts on hand to install during Annual down time and my fingers are firmly crossed. Prior experiences have been cartoonishly ridiculous, but maybe I caught them on a good day this time.
If you can, the best way to maintain your plane is in collaboration with A&P friends having real non-aviation jobs to make real money, buying as much as you can from Aircraft Spruce – which has the volume to operate a real business. When you unavoidably need ‘professional’ (e.g. repair station) labor or OEM/specialty airframe parts be prepared for poor service, high costs and/or long delays. Its also useful to be plugged into whatever owners groups may exist, community in this case case solves problems that business cannot economically address.
