Cessna has rejected claims by the US Federal Aviation Administration that it failed to comply with the agency’s regulations in the manufacture last year of 42 piston-single aircraft at its Independence, Kansas facility, writes Kate Sarsfield.
The airframer also disputes the FAA’s proposed fine of $840,000.
Cessna says the FAA “has made allegations and suggested certain fines which Cessna disputes. [The company] has requested an informal meeting with the FAA to discuss our position.”
Following an inspection of Cessna’s Independence facility in February last year, the FAA found several discrepancies in flight-control rigging on 172 Skyhawks and 182 Skylanes under construction. Within weeks, the agency says, “Cessna found several more cable problems”, prompting the FAA in early March to issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD).
The AD led to the grounding of 42 aircraft, some of which had already been delivered to their owners. Subsequent inspections found 12 aircraft covered by the AD were not airworthy.
Source: Flight International
