An independent review team tasked by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review key aspects of the Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) certification has concluded that the agency properly approved the twinjet in 2006 and that no safety issues exist in the four areas studied.
However the seven-man review team, headed by former Boeing executive, Jerry Mack and comprised of FAA employees not involved in the certification of the aircraft, issued six recommendations to improve the certification process including better guidance for how inspectors and the aircraft builder should prove that an aircraft meets certification rules.
FAA Associate Administration for Aviation Safety, Nicholas Sabatini, launched the 30-day special certification review on 11 August “based on a number of concerns raised by FAA employees following the issuance of the type certificate,” the agency says.
The analysis, which was based largely on 85 service difficulty reports filed by Eclipse 500 air taxi operator, DayJet, focused on four areas – trim, flaps, cockpit displays that “blank” and stall speeds. The team found that none of the post-certification issues had been flagged up before certification was granted.
The review came a little more than a month after congressman James Oberstar asked the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General to investigate formal complaints that the aircraft was certified despite objections from FAA pilots and engineers working on the program, an allegation the review team did not find evidence of.
The IG report will be presented on 17 September at a special House aviation subcommittee hearing discussing the Eclipse 500 certification.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
