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Civil aviation authorities in Brazil are warning of an “unsafe condition” on all Embraer EMB 545 and EMB 550 series business jets.
The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive Monday, flagging and restating the warning from Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) and issuing instructions to all operators of the aircraft types in the U.S.
According to the FAA, the alert is based on reports of pitch trim actuator failures on one load path.
“This failure increases the risk of failure on both load paths of the pitch trim actuator, and may leave the airplane horizontal stabilizer free to move according to aerodynamic loads, which may result in loss of control of the airplane,” the agency said.
The FAA and ANAC warnings lay out procedures for an operational check of the pitch trim actuator of the horizontal stabilizer, an option to do a pitch trim verification, and applicable on-condition actions. These include replacing the pitch trim actuator if the operational check fails or if the pitch trim verification fails, and performing an operational check on the replaced pitch trim actuator.
“Embraer is working closely with regulatory authorities following the issuance of an airworthiness directive (AD) related to the Praetor’s pitch trim actuator system,” Embraer said in a statement. “The directive stems from isolated findings identified during routine maintenance testing and is not associated with any in‑service safety events or operational disruptions. Prior to the AD, Embraer proactively issued a service bulletin to collect additional in‑service data and an operational bulletin outlining an alternative means of compliance, reflecting its disciplined approach to product monitoring and early engagement with regulators.
“The Praetor’s redundant system architecture ensures continued safe operation, and the required action involves a straightforward operational verification. The global fleet continues to operate normally, and production aircraft are not affected.”
The FAA said the AD is an interim action. The agency will wait on required reporting from operators to develop a “final action” for the problem.
