Falcon 7X Fleet Remains Grounded

Dassault Falcon 7x Dassault

Dassault Aviation has grounded its entire fleet of 112 Falcon 7Xs after one airplane experienced a pitch trim issue during a descent. The crew was able to control the airplane and landed successfully. However, as a safety precaution, Dassault requested directives from EASA and the FAA for a temporary suspension all 7X operations until the cause of the failure has been established. Dassault immediately dispatched a team of experts to investigate the issue. Dassault immediately dispatched a team of experts to investigate the issue.

Initial investigations did not find the root cause of the failure, but found that the control laws on the 7X operated normally. This caused both EASA and the FAA to permit ferry flight permits to be issued.

This is the first pitch trim failure that has been reported since the 7X received EASA and FAA certification in 2007. Dassault claims the 7X is the first business jet to incorporate a digital flight control system, and its 5,950 nm range and 0.9 Mach MMO makes the airplane the fastest Falcon with the longest range. The airplane features the EASy flight deck based on Honeywell’s Primus EPIC avionics suite, also incorporated into the Falcon 900 and 2000 airplanes. The worldwide fleet of 7Xs has accumulated more than 75,000 flight hours.

Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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