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 urging the FAA to strengthen a proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF34 engines, in response to a fatal February 2024 crash involving one of its aircraft.
The NTSB determined the crash resulted from dual-engine failure caused by corrosion in the engines' variable geometry system, which blocked airflow.
Crucially, this corrosion was visible in prior manufacturer-conducted borescope inspections but was not reported to the operator, revealing a significant gap in current inspection, reporting, and escalation protocols.
Hop-A-Jet advocates for a stronger AD that mandates visual borescope inspections for corrosion, requires reporting of findings, adds sea/salt environment as a risk factor, and revises maintenance manuals to explicitly address these issues.

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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.