FAA Hits Cessna with $2.5 Million Fine

Bethany Whitfield

Friday, September 23, 2011 at 07:18 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has levied a nearly $2.5 million civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft due to a 2010 incident where a Cessna Corvalis wing debonded during a test flight.
Investigations concluded the wing failure was caused by excessive humidity exposure during production, preventing proper curing of the carbon composite components.
The FAA alleges Cessna failed to implement appropriate quality control measures at its Chihuahua, Mexico plant, leading to the grounding of 13 Corvalis airplanes, though Cessna states improvements have been made and they are cooperating.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The FAA is levying a nearly $2.5 million civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft after an incident in which carbon composite components of a Cessna Corvalis wing debonded during an audit test flight last year.

The incident occurred in December 2010, when an FAA test pilot flying a Cessna Corvalis experienced the separation of approximately seven feet of left wing skin from the forward spar. The separation caused damage to one of the aircraft’s fuel tanks, but the pilot was able to make a safe emergency landing.