AOG means aircraft on ground. The plane can't fly until something gets fixed. A flat tire on Nantucket, a dead battery on a cold morning, a rough mag check at Hanscom. Sooner or later it happens to every owner.
Brooks handles AOG work for Cirrus, Beechcraft, Piper, Mooney, and Cessna owners across New England, and he answers calls and texts 24/7 at 978-544-9005.
First, stay put
Don't fly it home to deal with it later. If the run-up was rough or something failed, the airplane just told you something important.
Secure the plane. Tie it down, chock it, put the covers on, and let the FBO or airport manager know it's staying for a while.
Call or text Brooks with these details
- Your N-number, make and model
- The airport, and where on the field the plane is parked
- What happened, in plain words. "Left mag dropped 300 rpm" helps more than "the engine felt funny."
- Photos or a short video, if you can get them
- When the plane last had maintenance
Texting photos at 2 a.m. is fine. That's what the 24/7 number is for.
Parts Brooks keeps in stock
Waiting days for a part is often the worst part of an AOG. Brooks keeps tubes, tires, magnetos and batteries on hand, so the common failures can get fixed fast.
- A flat tire or a leaking tube is one of the most common reasons a plane gets stuck.
- Batteries take a beating from cold New England mornings and from planes that sit for weeks between flights.
- A magneto that fails the run-up check keeps the plane on the ground. Our guide to magneto trouble explains why.
Where Brooks can get to you
His home base is Orange Municipal Airport, KORE, in Orange, and he also works out of Minute Man Air Field in Stow. Hanscom Field in Bedford is an easy drive. For the islands, he'll fly to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
When the fix has to wait
Sometimes a plane can't be made fully airworthy where it sits but could safely fly to a shop. For that, the FAA can issue a special flight permit, often called a ferry permit. You apply through the local Flight Standards District Office on FAA Form 8130-6. Brooks can tell you whether that's an option for your plane.