The US Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a US$2,425,000 civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft after carbon composite parts of the wing of one of its aircraft came apart during flight.
On December 6 last year an FAA test pilot performing a production audit test flight in a Cessna Corvalis experienced a failure of the skin on the left wing. About seven feet of the left wing skin separated from the forward spar and damaged a fuel tank. The pilot made an emergency landing at the Independence Municipal Airport in Kansas.
Subsequently, the FAA issued emergency airworthiness directives grounding 13 specific Corvalis aircraft that used wings and parts produced in Cessna’s Chihuahua, Mexico, plant between December 17 2009 and December 16 2010. FAA investigators determined that the wing skin separated from the spar due to excessive humidity in the factory that prevented the bonded materials from curing properly.
The FAA alleges that Cessna failed to follow its FAA-approved quality control system when it manufactured the wings on the damaged aircraft, as well as 82 additional parts, in the Chihuahua factory. The manufacturer has since made improvements to the plant.
“Safety is our highest priority,” US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “We want to ensure that manufacturers are vigilant when it comes to aviation safety. There can be no exceptions.”
“Quality control is a critical part of the aircraft manufacturing process and has to detect problems before planes leave the factory,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt added. “Manufacturers have to ensure that all the details are followed all of the time.”
Cessna has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond.
Cessna Corvalis TT. (Cessna)
