FAA asked to review certification of Eclipse 500 VLJs

Washington: Federal Aviation Administration officials have said they are conducting a 30-day review of the Eclipse 500 very light jet in response to complaints that there were safety problems when the planes were originally certified in 2006.

A union representing aircraft certification engineers at the Federal Aviation Administration has complained that FAA managers came into work on 30 September 2006, a Saturday that was the last day of the federal budget year, and ordered the Eclipse jets be certified for flight over the objections of engineers still testing the high-tech plane.

The FAA said it had put together a review team to look at the jets' safety and certification.  It will look at issues such as aircraft trim, flaps and stall speeds, which were the areas of complaints from aircraft operators.

Over the last 10 years, the agency has conducted only six similar special reviews of a particular model of aircraft, FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said.

Meanwhile, Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, NM, the aircraft's manufacturer, said it welcomes FAA's review.

"Without a doubt, this special review will uncover what we already know -- that the Eclipse 500 marks the safest new airplane introduction into service in 20 years," said Roel Pieper, Eclipse's chief executive. "Customer safety has always been a priority at Eclipse, and we look forward to this investigation dispelling any inaccuracies about the certification of this airplane for once and for all."

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents FAA certification engineers, filed a  complaint after the jets were certified, saying that the model was approved despite outstanding safety and regulatory issues. Union officials also said that several of the engineers who objected to the Eclipse certification were denied pay raises.

The Eclipse uses "fly-by-wire" technology, which has long been used in military aircraft but is relatively new to commercial aviation.

On 12 June, the National Transportation Safety Board sent FAA an urgent recommendation that it inspect all Eclipse 500 throttles and require the company to immediately develop an emergency procedure for dual engine control failure on the aircraft. The warning came after a near-disaster with an Eclipse aircraft over Chicago, which developed a problem after only 238 hours of flight. The two pilots and two passengers were unhurt, though its landing gear tyres burst.

FAA ordered the throttle inspections, but union officials described these as perfunctory at best.

Eclipse Aviation was formed in 1998 with the aim of producing light, inexpensive jets carrying a maximum of five passengers that could become an air-taxi service for the masses.