FAA Aircraft Registry Scraper

FAA Aircraft Registry Scraper

Scrape the FAA aircraft registry by N-Number, owner, manufacturer, or location, across seven official datasets. Each record returns the full registration detail, from engine type to airworthiness status. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The FAA publishes aircraft registration, deregistration, dealer, and document index files as raw text downloads. Parsing those files yourself means handling fixed-width columns, status codes, and multi-gigabyte updates. This Actor reads the official FAA database releases directly, lets you filter by N-Number, owner name, manufacturer, year, or engine type, and returns clean, structured rows you can use immediately.

Who uses it	What they scrape FAA Aircraft Registry for
Aviation market researchers	Analyze fleet composition by manufacturer, age, or engine type across the entire U.S. registry.
Aircraft title and escrow companies	Verify current registration, lien documents, and dealer certificates before closing a transaction.
Aviation insurers	Pull aircraft specs, owner details, and airworthiness status to feed underwriting models.
Airport planners and FBOs	Map based aircraft by owner city, state, and ZIP to size a local market.
Aviation journalists and analysts	Track deregistrations, reserved N-Numbers, and fleet trends over time.

What it does

This Actor collects aircraft registration records from seven FAA datasets and returns each match as a flat, consistent row.

• ✈️ Seven datasets in one run: Master Registry, Aircraft Reference, Engine Reference, Dealers, Deregistered Aircraft, Document Index, and Reserved N-Numbers.
• 🔍 Field-level filters: N-Number, serial number, manufacturer model code, engine make, year range, owner name, city, state, ZIP, and more per dataset.
• 📊 Structured output: every record returns as a flat row with the same schema, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export.
• ⚙️ Global and per-dataset limits: set a total max items across all datasets and optional caps per dataset to control run size.
• 🏷️ Coded values decoded: registrant type, aircraft type, engine type, status codes, and region codes are selectable by their plain-English labels.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with FAA Aircraft Registry data

📈 Fleet composition analysis.

A market analyst pulls all active Cessna 172 aircraft manufactured after 2000 to estimate the addressable market for a new avionics upgrade.

🔎 Pre-purchase title verification.

An escrow officer searches by N-Number across the Master and Document Index datasets to confirm the current registered owner and any outstanding liens.

📍 Regional market sizing.

An FBO operator filters the Master Registry by state and ZIP code to count based aircraft within a 50-mile radius and plan hangar expansion.

📉 Deregistration trend tracking.

An aviation journalist scrapes the Deregistered Aircraft dataset filtered by year manufactured to report on aging fleet retirements.

🔢 Reserved N-Number monitoring.

A branding agency pulls the Reserved N-Numbers list weekly to watch for newly reserved tail numbers that match client trademarks.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key or login	Reads the public FAA database files directly with no registration or OAuth.
Seven datasets, one schema	Master, reference, engine, dealer, dereg, document index, and reserved N-Numbers all return as consistent rows.
Rich filtering	Filter by N-Number, owner, manufacturer, year, engine, status, location, and more before the data hits your storage.
Full record detail	Every row includes the complete FAA registration fields, from Mode S code to kit manufacturer.

How it compares

No other Store actor targets FAA Aircraft Registry the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	FAA Aircraft Registry Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When FAA Aircraft Registry changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor by selecting one or more FAA datasets, then apply filters per dataset. Filters run as each record is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "datasets": [
    "master"
  ]
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "datasets": [
    "master"
  ]
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.009 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.90
1,000 results	$9.00
10,000 results	$90.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the FAA Aircraft Registry Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to FAA Aircraft Registry through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/faa-aircraft-registry-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your filters match the dataset you selected. For example, a deregistered N-Number will not appear in the Master dataset. Also verify that you have not set a global max items of zero or conflicting filters like a year range that excludes all records.

Why did my run stop after 10 records?

Free Apify accounts are limited to 10 records per run. Upgrade to a paid plan and either remove the global max items limit or set it higher to collect more records.

The N-Number search returns nothing for a known aircraft.

Try the search without the 'N' prefix. Also confirm the aircraft is in the dataset you are querying. Currently registered aircraft are in the Master dataset, while cancelled or deregistered ones are in the Deregistered dataset.

Some fields are empty in the output.

The FAA source files contain optional fields. If a field was not reported or is not applicable to that record, the Actor leaves it blank. This is expected behavior reflecting the raw data.

The run takes a long time or times out.

The full FAA database files are large. Apply specific filters to reduce the number of records scanned. You can also set a lower global max items to limit the run size.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What FAA datasets can I scrape with this Actor?	You can scrape seven datasets: Master Aircraft Registry, Aircraft Reference, Engine Reference, Aircraft Dealer, Deregistered Aircraft, Document Index, and Reserved N-Numbers. Select one, several, or all in a single run.
Can I search for a specific N-Number?	Yes. Enter the N-Number with or without the 'N' prefix in the Master, Deregistered, or Reserved dataset filters. The Actor will return only that aircraft's record.
How do I filter by owner name or company?	Use the Owner Name filter in the Master or Deregistered dataset sections. It matches against the registered owner or company name field in the FAA data.
Can I filter by aircraft manufacturer and model?	Yes. The Aircraft Reference dataset lets you filter by manufacturer name and model. The Master dataset also has a Manufacturer Model Code filter for direct lookups.
How do I get only active aircraft?	In the Master dataset, set the Status Code filter to 'Active'. This returns only aircraft with a current, valid registration.
What export formats are supported?	The Actor outputs structured data that Apify stores as a dataset. You can export it to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify console or API.
Is there a limit on how many records I can scrape?	Free Apify users are limited to 10 records per run and must set the global max items. Paid users can scrape up to 1,000,000 records per run by leaving the limit empty or setting a high value.
Does this Actor use the FAA's official API?	No. It reads the public FAA database release files directly, so you do not need an API key, registration, or OAuth setup.
Can I filter by engine type or horsepower?	Yes. The Engine Reference dataset has filters for engine manufacturer, model, type, horsepower range, and thrust range. The Master dataset also has an Engine Type filter.
How do I find deregistered or cancelled aircraft?	Select the Deregistered Aircraft dataset and apply filters like N-Number, owner name, or year manufactured. The Master dataset only contains currently registered aircraft.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Federal Aviation Administration. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.