Note to Owners and Operators
Most aircraft owners and operators give little thought to the airworthiness directives that apply to their aircraft. When they do think about them then they are likely to be concerned more with the cost of compliance than any other aspect. Usually this attitude turns out to be penny wise and pound foolish.
It's the aircraft owner who is responsible for AD compliance. The owner may employ a mechanic or inspector to accomplish this work and that person has certain legal responsibilities, but it's the owner or operator who has the greatest liability. You might try to shift the responsibility to the inspector, but that's not a good strategy because people have been known to virtually vanish when problems arise. Moreover, those pockets are likely not very deep and a crash or fatality traced to lack of AD compliance can leave you without insurance coverage.
The best approach is to take an active interest in the maintenance health of your aircraft. You can do this by ordering an AD Search prior to the aircraft's next scheduled annual inspection. Your I/A will appreciate you saving him hours of boring research and you will save paying for his time to conduct it. Use the search documents to record notes and compliance on your aircraft. Become involved and experience the comfort of knowing your aircraft meets all the existing requirements.