Mufflers And Exhausts

The following is derived from maintenance facility submissions to the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reports database.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, September 29, 2024 at 05:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Multiple general aviation aircraft experienced exhaust system failures, predominantly due to cracks in mufflers, flanges, or ball joints.
These failures frequently caused exhaust gas leaks, leading to carbon monoxide warnings and posing a serious safety risk to occupants.
Detection occurred during scheduled inspections, after CO alerts, or during other maintenance, with some critical cracks not being externally visible.
Failures were observed across a wide range of component operating times, including relatively low hours, highlighting the need for vigilant exhaust system inspection.

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Cessna 150L

Cracked Flange

During a scheduled inspection, a crack was found at the forward muffler flange. Crack is approximately 75 percent around the circumference. There is separation along the crack. Exhaust trails were found inside shroud and well down into hot-air ducting. Muffler identified as having three small pin holes in 2008. Heat system incapacitated at that time for safety reasons; muffler remained in service.