Aircraft log book improperly filled our resulting in aircraft flight in unairworthy condition.

Attributes
ACN	134915
Time
Date	199001
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : gmu
State Reference	SC
Altitude	msl bound lower : 8000 msl bound upper : 8000
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : ztl tracon : stl tower : phl
Operator	other
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft, Low Wing, 2 Eng, Retractable Gear
Flight Phase	cruise other
Route In Use	enroute airway : ztl
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : cfi pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 75 flight time total : 555 flight time type : 20
ASRS Report	134915
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : radar
Qualification	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe non adherence : far
Independent Detector	atc equipment other atc equipment : unspecified
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Picked up newly acquired aircraft for FBO from previous owner. Logs showed aircraft to be in current annual inspection with what appeared to be all legal endorsements. Departed greenville, sc in IFR conditions. Flew victor arwys to stl. During flight received several inquiries to mode C irregularities. Upon arrival in stl, aircraft was found to have faulty charging system, thus not providing transponder with necessary voltage required for proper operation. Following day, flew aircraft to den in VFR conditions for repair of system. Upon arrival in den certified mechanic alerted me to illegal entries in logs for transponder and pitot/static system certification checks. Charging system failure was caused by 2 faulty voltage regulators. Aircraft log books appear to be very easy to be made to look legal, when in reality they are not. Anyone flying an aircraft to which they are unfamiliar with the maintenance, should refer the assistance of a qualified person to inspect these logs. The flight was completed west/O incident, but the result could have been far worse.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ACFT LOG BOOK IMPROPERLY FILLED OUR RESULTING IN ACFT FLT IN UNAIRWORTHY CONDITION.

Narrative: PICKED UP NEWLY ACQUIRED ACFT FOR FBO FROM PREVIOUS OWNER. LOGS SHOWED ACFT TO BE IN CURRENT ANNUAL INSPECTION WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE ALL LEGAL ENDORSEMENTS. DEPARTED GREENVILLE, SC IN IFR CONDITIONS. FLEW VICTOR ARWYS TO STL. DURING FLT RECEIVED SEVERAL INQUIRIES TO MODE C IRREGULARITIES. UPON ARR IN STL, ACFT WAS FOUND TO HAVE FAULTY CHARGING SYS, THUS NOT PROVIDING XPONDER WITH NECESSARY VOLTAGE REQUIRED FOR PROPER OPERATION. FOLLOWING DAY, FLEW ACFT TO DEN IN VFR CONDITIONS FOR REPAIR OF SYS. UPON ARR IN DEN CERTIFIED MECH ALERTED ME TO ILLEGAL ENTRIES IN LOGS FOR XPONDER AND PITOT/STATIC SYS CERTIFICATION CHKS. CHARGING SYS FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY 2 FAULTY VOLTAGE REGULATORS. ACFT LOG BOOKS APPEAR TO BE VERY EASY TO BE MADE TO LOOK LEGAL, WHEN IN REALITY THEY ARE NOT. ANYONE FLYING AN ACFT TO WHICH THEY ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE MAINT, SHOULD REFER THE ASSISTANCE OF A QUALIFIED PERSON TO INSPECT THESE LOGS. THE FLT WAS COMPLETED W/O INCIDENT, BUT THE RESULT COULD HAVE BEEN FAR WORSE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.