FAA Calls for Immediate Inspections of DHC-3 Seaplane Stabilizers

FAA's airworthiness directive for DHC-3 Otter aircraft is the second to be issued by the agency since a September crash near Seattle killed 10.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, November 03, 2022 at 01:06 PM ET

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The FAA released the emergency AD for de Havilland Canada DHC–3 Otters last week, four year after Transport Canada issued a similar AD. [Courtesy: Stephen Yeates]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) for Viking Limited DHC-3 Otter airplanes to address potential issues with the stabilizer's lock ring.
This AD is the second related to an ongoing investigation into a September DHC-3 Otter crash near Seattle that killed all 10 on board.
The NTSB found a missing lock ring on the accident aircraft, noting its absence could cause an uncommanded pitch down into an irrecoverable dive.
The directive mandates immediate visual inspections of the lock ring on approximately 63 U.S.-registered aircraft within 10 flight hours.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) for Viking Limited DHC-3 Otter airplanes to address possible issues with the lock ring on the stabilizer.

The emergency AD is the second such directive to be issued by the agency amid an investigation into the crash of the de Havilland Otter turboprop that occurred in September near Seattle killing all 10 persons on board. The AD is effective immediately.