FAA Moves Quickly on Eclipse Safety Issue

Air Safety Week, June 23, 2008

After both engines on an Eclipse 500 became stuck at full power as the pilots were trying to land, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at the urging of the National Transportation Board (NTSB), issued an emergency airworthiness directive on June 12 grounding over 200 of the "very light jets" until their throttle controls were inspected.

The NTSB issued two urgent recommendations to the FAA regarding the Eclipse 500 The Safety Board said the FAA should require immediate inspection of all Eclipse 500 airplane throttle quadrants to ensure that pushing the throttle levers against the maximum power stops will not result in an engine control failure, and that the FAA should further require that all units that fail inspection be replaced and replacement parts be similarly inspected.

The Board also urged the FAA to require Eclipse to immediately develop for the Eclipse 500 airplane an emergency procedure for a dual engine control failure and incorporate the procedure into the airplane flight manual and quick reference handbook via an airworthiness directive.

On June 5, an Eclipse 500 airplane (N612KB) on approach to Chicago Midway Airport, experienced a failure that resulted in uncontrollable maximum power thrust from two Pratt and Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan engines.

After referencing the emergency procedures of the aircraft's quick reference handbook, the pilots shut down one of the engines. However, following the shutdown of the engine, the other engine rolled back to idle power and continued to be unresponsive to the throttle.

The pilots declared an emergency, were cleared to land on any runway and were able to land the plane without injury to the two pilots or two passengers.

"The Eclipse 500 is still a new aircraft model," NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said. "This incident demonstrated a technical safety-of-flight issue that we believe needs immediate attention."

The Safety Board noted that the dual-channel failure of both throttle levers occurred after the airplane had accumulated only 238 hours and 192 cycles since new. As a result, the Board is concerned about the reliability of an assembly that fails in such a short time.

Furthermore, when the failed throttle quadrant assembly was replaced on the accident airplane, pushing the throttle levers on the replacement unit against maximum power stops caused an R ENG CONTROL FAIL message to appear on the crew alerting system display.

The Board further noted that the Eclipse 500's flight manual and quick reference handbook provide an emergency procedure for a single engine control failure, but not for a dual engine control failure, such as occurred in the incident. The Safety Board is concerned that should there be another dual engine control failure aboard an Eclipse 500, pilots will be without guidance and may be unable to restore control.

In calling the NTSB's recommendation for immediate checks of throttle quadrants on Eclipse 500 jets "premature," Eclipse Aviation said all fleet operators of the VLJ have already complied with the FAA's emergency airworthiness directive.

The AD requires a pilot inspection of the thrust quadrant assembly on each Eclipse 500 in advance of the aircraft's next flight. The required inspection of the thrust quadrant assembly can be performed by any licensed pilot and noted in an aircraft logbook. This inspection can be completed in less than 10 minutes. The isolated occurrence stems from an exceedance of certified design limits and Eclipse has instituted a procedure that deals with this condition.

"From this aircraft's advanced design and development program, to the rigorous FAA certification process it underwent, to the exhaustive customer training program we deliver - the safety of the Eclipse 500 and well being of our customers is always our first priority. We are cooperating fully with the FAA investigation and have communicated everything we know and have learned about this situation to our Eclipse 500 customers and operators," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation.

This is the first report of an engine control failure on the Eclipse 500, and the first incident for an Eclipse 500 in more than 18,000 total fleet hours.

As directed by the FAA, Eclipse Aviation has updated the Eclipse 500's Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) and Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), providing pilot instruction on how to handle a similar event.

Rosenker applauded the FAA for its fast response to the urgent recommendations issued by the Safety Board on the serious airworthiness issue involving the Eclipse 500. "The quick FAA response to the urgent recommendations we issued could save lives. The NTSB is looking forward to reviewing the results of the FAA-required inspections of these aircraft."

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