Piston · Buyer's guide
Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian buyer's guide:
what the records reveal
Every number on this page is computed from official U.S. government records — the FAA registry, the NTSB accident database, FAA Service Difficulty Reports and the Federal Register — for the 1,655 Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian aircraft currently on the U.S. registry, and reconciled to the airframes actually in this fleet: U.S. registrations get reused, so records filed while a registration belonged to a different aircraft are excluded. Nothing here is opinion or marketing copy: it is what the public record says about this type, and what that means for your pre-buy.
The U.S. fleet at a glance
The FAA registry lists 1,655 Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian aircraft, built between 1983 and 2026. The largest concentrations are registered in TX (179), CA (135), FL (120). A large, active fleet works in a buyer's favor: parts supply, mechanic familiarity and comparable sale prices are all easier to establish than on a rare type.
Type specifications (FAA Type Certificate)
| Certification | Normal (14 CFR Part 23) |
|---|---|
| Engine | Continental TSIO-550 (Malibu/Mirage); P&WC PT6A (Meridian/M500/M600 turboprop) — 350 hp (piston) / 500–600 shp (turboprop) |
| Seats | 6 |
| Fuel | Avgas 100LL (piston) / Jet-A (turboprop) |
| Production | 1983–present |
| Type certificate | A25SO (FAA) |
Representative type specifications — values can vary by serial/variant. Verify against the official FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet (drs.faa.gov, document A25SO).
Where this fleet reports maintenance difficulties
FAA Service Difficulty Reports are filed by mechanics and operators when a component fails or malfunctions in service. Across the Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian fleet, 173 reports have been filed against this type since 1995 — most airframes have zero reports on file, with a mean of 0.1 per airframe. The systems mechanics report most on this type:
- JASC 32 — Landing Gear : 25 reports fleet-wide
- JASC 85 — Reciprocating Engine : 18 reports fleet-wide
- JASC 74 — Ignition : 14 reports fleet-wide
- JASC 71 — Powerplant : 14 reports fleet-wide
- JASC 57 — Wings : 13 reports fleet-wide
Filing is voluntary, so these figures understate reality — but the RELATIVE weight of each system is exactly where an experienced buyer points the pre-buy inspection first. Reconciliation note: 882 further reports filed under these registrations were excluded because the aircraft model declared in the report shows they belong to previous holders of the same N-numbers.
The accident record, in numbers
The NTSB database holds 108 accident or incident records serial-matched to Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian airframes in this fleet since 2008 — about 6.5 per 100 currently registered aircraft, of which 14 involved fatal injuries (most recent record: 2026). A further 16 records filed under the same N-numbers belong to different airframes (reused registrations) and are excluded.
Method: the denominator is the fleet currently on the FAA registry. Airframes destroyed and later deregistered leave that denominator, so this ratio understates lifetime accident history — read it as a fleet-profile indicator, not an accident rate. Fleet totals also reflect how the type is flown (training and commercial work versus private use), not just the machine itself. 3 records without a usable serial could not be verified and remain included.
Fleet-level counts tell you about the TYPE; what matters for your purchase is whether the specific airframe you are considering appears in that database — and U.S. registrations get reused, so a serial-number check matters. That per-aircraft lookup is exactly what a TailGuard report does.
Airworthiness directives to know about
24 airworthiness directives published since 1997 in our Federal Register database and matched to this type are currently open, including 3 recurring directives that must be re-complied with at set intervals. The full list of directives applicable to an older airframe is longer — build it at drs.faa.gov. The most recent in our database:
- AD 2023-25-02 · effective 2023-12-19 — report that a bearing fell out of a control column mount during routine handling prior to installation in an affected airplane and the discovery that a quality
- AD 2022-11-10 · effective 2022-06-27 — testing that showed that the wing splice assembly could fail before the assembly reaches its established life limit
- AD 2021-09-02 · effective 2021-04-16 — The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-04-07 which applied to certain Piper Aircraft, Inc., (Piper) Models PA-46- 350P (Malibu Mirage), PA-46R-350T (Malibu Matrix), and PA-46-500TP (Malibu Meridian) airplanes. AD 2021-04-07 required identifying and correcting nonconforming stall warning heat control systems. Since AD 2021-04-07 was issued, the FAA was notified of an error in the stall warning heat control modification kit part number. This AD retains all of the actions in AD 2021-04-07 and corrects the incorrect modification kit part number. The FAA is issuing this AD to addr
- AD 2019-12-12 · effective 2019-07-12 — report of understrength rivets installed during manufacture of the bulkhead assembly
- AD 2018-14-01 · effective 2018-07-25 — report of undersized fasteners installed during manufacturing
- AD 2017-16-03 · effective 2017-08-09 — report from Piper of the aft wing spar cracking during wing assembly
Superseded directives are excluded from these counts. Directives apply by type — no database can tell you whether a given airframe complied. Only its logbooks can, and that is the single most important paperwork check of your pre-buy.
Ownership turnover
Comparing monthly FAA registry snapshots from Aug 2023 to Jun 2026, 628 of the 1,654 observed Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian airframes — 38% — changed registrant at least once. This includes registrant-name changes that are not market sales — such as a transfer to an owner's LLC or trust — and newly delivered aircraft registered to their first buyer within the window. A recent ownership change is not a red flag by itself, but a rapid succession of owners deserves a direct question to the seller, and the registration timeline of the specific aircraft is worth reading before you negotiate.
Before you buy a Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian
A records-driven starting checklist for this type — derived from the figures above, to hand to your mechanic:
- Inspect the landing gear closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (25 reports fleet-wide).
- Inspect the reciprocating engine closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (18 reports fleet-wide).
- Inspect the ignition closely — it is among the most-reported systems for this type in FAA Service Difficulty Reports (14 reports fleet-wide).
- Verify in the logbooks that the 3 recurring airworthiness directives matched to this type are signed off at the required intervals.
- Confirm engine and airframe times against the logbooks and the most recent annual inspection.
- Have a licensed A&P/IA perform a physical pre-purchase inspection — no records check replaces it.
Check the specific aircraft you're considering
This page covers the type. Your decision is about ONE airframe — its own NTSB history (serial-verified), its own service difficulty reports, its own registration timeline and risk score.
Browse the data: Piper PA-46 Malibu / Mirage / Meridian fleet records · Method: how to check any aircraft's history