UPDATE: Continental Engine Issue Drives Grounding of Cirrus SR22s, Other Aircraft

The voluntary pause in operations continues until the specific serial number range can be determined.

Julie Boatman

Thursday, February 09, 2023 at 11:10 AM ET

Verified

[Courtesy: Cirrus Aircraft]

Key Takeaways:

Continental Aerospace Technologies recommends the immediate grounding and inspection of certain new or rebuilt piston engines (360, 470, 520, 550 series) due to an issue with the crankshaft counterweight retaining ring.
Cirrus Aircraft has proactively paused all internal flight operations for its SR22 and SR22T models manufactured between June 1, 2021, and February 7, 2023, which are equipped with the affected Continental engines.
A formal service bulletin from Continental detailing the root cause, specific scope, and corrective actions is anticipated soon, which will be accompanied by a Cirrus service advisory.

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An urgent notification to customers and operators of Cirrus SR22 series airplanes powered by certain piston engines manufactured recently by Continental Aerospace Technologies suggests an immediate grounding would be prudent.

On Friday, Continental Aerospace sent out its own updated recommendation, shared with FLYING, broadening the scope of the recommended grounding to encompass a wide range of powerplants and to call for a specific inspection of the crankshaft counterweight retaining ring within 5 hours for those new or rebuilt engines with less than 200 hours in operation since installation. Models include those in the 360, 470, 520, and 550 series.