Idaho man finds near mint condition Cessna 182T that's been abandoned for 14 years but quickly discovers there's a major problem
Published on Feb 22, 2026 at 7:38 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Feb 20, 2026 at 5:39 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Ben Thompson
A man from Idaho thought he’d found a near-mint Cessna 182T airplane that had been abandoned for nearly 15 years, but it didn’t take long for him to find a problem.
About a month ago, YouTuber CDA Aviation posted a video of him finding the Cessna that had not been outside in 14 years, and which had only flown a few hundred flight hours.
It sounded like a great find, but the video showed that time can also have an impact on an airplane as well as flight hours.
The inspection of the Cessna in the video saw it slowly reveal its story.
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The Cessna 182T was incredibly dusty
Showing how long it had sat for, the Cessna 182T was incredibly dusty from 14 years in a hangar.
Despite this, the YouTuber could tell it was a very new aircraft.
He was also able to tell what type of panel it had in the cockpit, a Garmin G1000, thanks to an outside sticker.
While it was dirty and dusty, inside it was perfect, and they then pulled it out of the hangar.
The owner of the aircraft had called them in to give it a service, its first in a long time.
That should have been a relatively easy process.
But as shown in the video, there was a major issue with the airplane.
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The major issue with the light aircraft
A neon color with the oil was a warning sign, and the team needed to check the engine properly.
But after towing the Cessna for inspection, a big problem revealed itself.
The engine had extensive internal corrosion, even though it had only a few hundred hours on the clock.
With the engine in such poor condition, the owner decided it should be removed and fully overhauled.
As the Cessna had not been properly preserved, it had allowed the corrosion to set into the engine.
That is what 14 years of storage can do to an aircraft.
It raised important questions about long-term storage and how an aircraft should be looked after.
Hopefully, this Cessna will manage to get back into the skies once more.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.
