AOPA, CPA Meet With FAA
After months of
pressure from AOPA and the Cessna Pilots Association (CPA), the FAA
finally presented its evidence for pursuing two proposed twin
Cessna airworthiness directives during a two-day meeting between
the agency and those affected by the ADs. Prior to the meetings,
the FAA had refused to release the data, forcing AOPA to pursue a
Freedom of Information Act request to get it. The proposed ADs
require inspection of wing-spar caps for fatigue cracks, repair or
replacement of any cracked wing spars, and installation of a
Cessna-manufactured spar strap modification kit on each wing spar.
The meeting also demonstrated the FAA's growing concern about the
aging general aviation fleet and hinted at the broader future use
of engineering models to pinpoint areas of concern and possible
remedial action.
"The good news is the FAA finally showed its hand and explained
why it wants to impose the ADs on most 400-series Cessnas," said
AOPA Director of Regulatory and Certification Policy Luis
Gutierrez. "The bad news is the data made the case for potential
structural problems with the twin Cessnas' wing spars and justified
the agency's moving forward with developing the directives."
"AOPA works to prevent unnecessary regulation, but our primary
concern is always aviation safety," said Andy Cebula, AOPA's senior
vice president of Government and Technical Affairs. Once the FAA
shows that there is true cause for concern, we turn our attention
to making sure directed repairs are supported by the data."
As proposed, the ADs would require an estimated 485 man-hours
and up to $70,000 per aircraft. That could ground much of the fleet
of nearly 1,500 Cessna 401, 401A, 401B, 402, 402A, 402B, 402C, 411,
411A, and 414A aircraft and cost more than many of these aircraft
are worth.
AOPA staff members who
attended the meeting said there was good, productive dialogue
between FAA officials and the owners and operators of twin Cessnas.
As a result, both sides decided to reconvene within 60 days with
updated proposals based on the meeting discussions. And the FAA
pledged not to issue the ADs until after the next meeting, barring
any accidents between now and then.
For those interested parties who could not attend the meetings,
the FAA worked with AOPA to make the presentations from the meeting
available online.
"We'll have to see what sort of amended proposal the FAA brings
back at the next meeting," said Gutierrez. "Now our focus shifts to
making sure the specific corrective measures are supported by the
data and give pilots and owners a reasonable period to comply
without compromising safety."