nrp wrote :
The friend found not one, but two keys that would work.

Pretty common. There are only 5 or 6 different types of keys. I
carry three different airplane keys and can get into quite a number of
airplanes. While trying to assist a transient pilot that was locked
out of his plane, I found that none of my three airplane keys would
work. Just for fun, I tried the key to my office file cabinet. It
worked perfectly.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)