FAA to order immediate inspection of Eclipse 500 aircraft

by Stevie Smith - Jun 13 2008, 10:16

A June 05 emergency landing made by a private twin-engine jet plane in Chicago has led to calls for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement the immediate inspection of all Eclipse Aviation 500 Series aircraft.

The formal inspection request has been submitted to the FAA by safety investigators representing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has also advised Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation to develop an emergency safety procedure to specifically address instances of control failure for the 500 Series.

The NTSB carried out its inquiry into the aircraft after the pilots of a six-seat Eclipse 500 were forced to perform a rapid emergency landing at Chicago’s Midway Airport.

According to the board’s incident findings, while on a scheduled approach to Midway the small business aircraft was struck by sudden downward windshear, which sent it into a dive.

Acting fast, the controlling pilot was able to cancel the dive by throttling up on both of the plane’s side-mounted Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines. However, once back under flight control, the engines failed to return from full throttle as the pilot prepared to resume the landing.

Choosing to abort the descent, the pilot then completely shut down one of the malfunctioning engines, while also dropping the landing gear and applying the plane’s flaps to help decrease speed. With only one functioning engine, the pilots then hurriedly made an emergency landing as the second engine began to idle ahead of a potentially fatal stall.

The pilots and two passengers aboard the light aircraft were unhurt during the landing, while the Eclipse 500 suffered two destroyed landing gear tyres during the swift but controlled contact.

NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker commented that the incident had revealed a worrying safety issue connected with the Eclipse 500 that requires “immediate attention.” The plane involved in the emergency scare had only logged a mere 238 hours of flight time ahead of the engine malfunction.

Rosenker also added that “completion of this flight would have been unlikely” if it hadn’t been for “the resourcefulness of the pilots,” along with clear weather conditions and the fact that the flight was closely situated to Midway at the time of the emergency.

A spokeswoman for Eclipse Aviation has said the company believes the Eclipse 500 to be a safe and serviceable aircraft but is offering its full cooperation to the NTSB as it continues its inquiry.

Around 200 Eclipse 500s have been delivered to customers following the aircraft’s official unveiling on December 31 of 2006.

Around the Web