FAA Hits Cessna with $2.5 Million Fine

Bethany Whitfield

Friday, September 23, 2011 at 07:18 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The FAA is levying a nearly $2.5 million civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft after a Cessna Corvalis wing debonded during a 2010 audit test flight.
Investigators determined the wing skin separation was caused by excessive humidity exposure during production, leading to improper curing of bonded components.
The FAA alleges Cessna failed to implement appropriate quality control measures at its Chihuahua, Mexico plant, impacting the defective wings and 82 other aircraft parts.
The incident resulted in the grounding of 13 specific Corvalis airplanes, though Cessna states improvements have been made and they are working closely with the FAA.

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The FAA is levying a nearly $2.5 million civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft after an incident in which carbon composite components of a Cessna Corvalis wing debonded during an audit test flight last year.

The incident occurred in December 2010, when an FAA test pilot flying a Cessna Corvalis experienced the separation of approximately seven feet of left wing skin from the forward spar. The separation caused damage to one of the aircraft’s fuel tanks, but the pilot was able to make a safe emergency landing.