Aircraft and the Importance of Maintenance

Recently, we took take our Cessna 172SP for its annual inspection.  Our Cessna was made in 2001 and it is in perfect condition.  I’m very proud to fly a plane in such good condition.  Service bulletins are provided when the manufacturer feels there is an unsafe condition that needs attention.  We learned that we never received a pretty important bulletin at this year’s annual.  Cessna/Textron came out with a Service Bulletin in November 2021 that notified Cessna 172SP pilots of the oil pressure switch/plug on the top of the engine that had to be relocated to a safer part of the engine as per SEV/79/10.  We never received the bulletin.  Cessna/Textron determined that if the oil pressure switch/plug came loose during flight it would create a significant loss in oil and require the pilot to declare an emergency landing because of the of this malfunction.  We were notified at our annual inspection in October 2022 by our IA (Inspection Authorized) of the recall and it has been fixed. I flew the plane for almost a full year with an issue that could have been very problematic. As a new pilot, this was a lesson learned that no airplane is perfect, no matter how nice it looks and how well it seems to be performing. Planes are a mechanical beast and anything can happen.