Revised AD Adds Steps To Cessna Seat Checks

[hharney]

Owners of 36,000 Cessna aircraft will be required to add more steps to their inspections of seat rails to ensure they are secure, the FAA said in a notice of proposed rulemaking released this week. The proposal applies to 18 models, including the 150, 152, 172, 182, and 210 single-engine aircraft, as well as several twins, including the T303 Crusader and the 337 Skymaster. The new directive aims to update an earlier AD issued in 1987. Since then, the FAA says, it has received several reports of accidents, some fatal, in Cessna aircraft where the primary latch pin for the pilot or co-pilot seat was not properly engaged in the seat rail or track. The new AD adds steps to the inspection procedures and clarifies some of the existing steps. The cost to comply is estimated at $85 per airplane for the inspection. If parts are found to need replacement, the estimated cost is about $775.

The inspections must be done within 100 hours time-in-service since the last inspection completed under the old AD, or within 12 calendar months of the effective date of the new AD, whichever comes first, the FAA said. The inspection then must be repeated at intervals not to exceed 100 hours or every 12 months, whichever comes first. The AD proposal describes in detail the inspection procedure. Comments will be accepted until December 23.

By Mary Grady, Contributing editor for AvWeb