Hop-A-Jet Seeks to Bolster FAA Engine Corrosion AD

Charter operator urges regulators to close critical inspection loopholes following fatal Challenger 604 accident.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 12:43 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Hop-A-Jet operates a fleet of charter jets out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [Courtesy: Hop-A-Jet]

Key Takeaways:

Hop-A-Jet is advocating for the FAA to strengthen an airworthiness directive (AD) on engine corrosion prevention following a fatal February 2024 crash where dual-engine failure was caused by corrosion in GE CF34 engines.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found the corrosion, which blocked airflow, was visible in archived borescope imagery from prior inspections but was not reported to the operator because manufacturer inspection programs did not explicitly require its identification or escalation.
The company is calling for the AD to mandate visual borescope inspections for corrosion, require reporting of all findings, and revise maintenance manuals to ensure operators and technicians are clearly instructed on how to detect, report, and act upon this critical safety condition.

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Hop-A-Jet is calling on the FAA to strengthen an airworthiness directive (AD) on engine corrosion prevention. The private charter jet operator submitted comments in response to the agency’s release of a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM), Docket No. FAA-2026-3875, for certain GE CF34 engines.

The AD was created in response to the investigation of a February 9, 2024, fatal accident involving a Hop-A-Jet-operated Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft. The aircraft was on a 5-mile final to Runway 23 at Naples Airport (KAPF) in Florida when both engines began to lose power. The aircraft came down on a freeway at rush hour, struck a road sign and a retaining wall, then caught fire.