Page 12 - April 25

ingestion incident. His MORE plan covered a discounted
bearing replacement during the next scheduled
maintenance, but the immediate FOD repairs fell outside
the plan’s scope, leaving him to lean on his insurance.
This is where the program shines indirectly: meticulous
maintenance records. The MORE program enforces strict
documentation and regular inspections, which can prove
invaluable when filing an insurance claim. If your PT6 is
well-maintained under MORE, it’s harder for an insurer
to pin the damage on normal wear and tear, which can
lead to a denied claim.
Insurance: The FOD safety net
For most King Air owners, hull insurance is the
backbone of FOD protection. This coverage, typically
bundled into an aviation policy, pays for physical damage
to the aircraft – including engine repairs – minus a
deductible and the depreciated value of the damaged part.
If a flock of starlings turns your PT6 into a blender, your
insurer will dispatch an adjuster, assess the wreckage and
cut a check based on your policy terms. A typical claim
might cover teardown costs, parts, labor and even loss-
of-use expenses if your King Air is grounded for weeks.
But here’s where the MORE program complicates
things. Some experts will argue that a PT6 has no value
once it hits 3,600 hours, while others feel the engine is
just getting broken in and will last for thousands more
hours if maintained properly. These two perspectives
have a tremendous effect on how much your insurance
company will pay for a FOD event. Take for example the
$103,000 claim in Florida. Originally, an expert said that
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­ KING AIR MAGAZINE the engine was past the 3,600 TBO therefore insurance
has no obligation to pay to repair the damage. The King
Air owner felt he still had 12.5% life left on his engine
time per the MORE program. This discussion needs to
be had and a conclusion reached to determine if the
insurance company will pay for any of the replacement
parts and labor.
Once you have the insurance company understanding
and agreeing to your perspective, you must negotiate
how much they are going to pay for the parts. If new
parts are installed and you only have 12.5% of the
life left in the engine, that 12.5% is all the insurance
company will want to pay. The other 87.5% is considered
betterment – meaning you are better off after the claim
than before because you have new parts. To avoid
betterment and to keep the repair cost down, the
insurance company will try to find used or refurbished
parts. But in this post-COVID era, parts are hard to
come by at times, and the insurance company will have
no choice but to put new parts in the engine. That is
their problem, not yours. You shouldn’t be penalized
because used parts are not available.
If your engine is enrolled, repairs might involve
the MORE program and your insurer, creating a two-
headed claims process. Say a bird strike damages
your compressor and turbine blades. For example, under
MORE you might get a discounted replacement part with
the program covering 30% of the cost. Your insurance
then steps in to pay the balance, minus your deductible,
assuming the claim is approved. This synergy can save
thousands but it requires coordination. Insurers may
scrutinize MORE’s contribution to avoid overpaying,
while the MORE program won’t touch repairs outside
their contract’s scope.
When going through the repair estimate, make sure
you have good representation by your broker to be able
to get as much of it paid for by the insurance company as
possible. I’ve seen King Air owners leave a lot of money
on the table. On the earlier referenced $103,000 claim,
the insurance company originally only wanted to pay
$68,000. After some back-and-forth on each line item,
the insurance company ended up paying $85,000.
Flat-out denials are another risk. Insurers sometimes
reject FOD claims if they suspect the event wasn’t a
one-time occurrence that requires immediate attention.
The MORE program’s rigorous upkeep standards can
counter these arguments but only if your paperwork
is airtight. One operator dodged a denial after a 2022
FOD incident by presenting MORE logs showing a clean
inspection just days prior.
Navigating the fallout:
Tips for King Air owners
So, how do you ensure FOD doesn’t ground your King
Air and your wallet for good? Here are practical steps:
APRIL 2025