Textron Aviation Safety Initiative

January 21, 2017

Company Private
Company Private
 Cessna 172 Skyhawk Beech Bonanza Cessna 208 Caravan

Textron Aviation is the

company formed from
Cessna and Beechcraft in
March 2014 – together
250,000+ airplanes have
been delivered
Beechcraft 1900D Cessna
CessnaO-2
O-2Skymaster
Skymaster

Beechcraft T-6A Texan II Cessna Latitude Hawker 4000

Company Private
Textron Aviation Piston Engine Airplanes

• 205,000+ produced since 1946

• Of which 190,000 produced before 1987

• Average age is 43 years old

• Certified CAR 3

• Made of Aluminum

• Single Engine Airplanes flown 100-150 hours annually

Company Private
Textron Aviation Piston Engine Airplanes

Over sixty-five percent of

active piston engine
airplanes are Cessna or
Beechcraft

2015 Piston Engine Usage - Active US Aircraft

Total of 141,141 Airplanes Representing All Manufacturers
Company Private
Textron Aviation Safety Initiative

• Between 2000-2011 Cessna Aircraft developed new structural inspection

programs to assure the continued safe operation of piston engine airplanes

• For single engine airplanes, visual inspection techniques are utilized to detect
– Corrosion
– Cracks caused by metal fatigue

• New structural inspection programs for Beechcraft airplanes are in work

Company Private
Textron Aviation Safety Initiative

• Why Inspect?

– Corrosion (rust) and metal fatigue are inevitable

– Corrosion and metal fatigue reduce the load carrying capability of the airframe
– Like people, airplanes age, and more frequent and intrusive inspections are
required to maintain health (safety)

Company Private
Textron Aviation Safety Initiative

• Cessna SID Implementation in New Zealand

– Mandatory compliance
– 90 to 95% of inspected airplanes required maintenance action
– 20% of those which required action needed major repair
– 80% of the findings were corrosion and 20% cracking
– Most common cracking area is around front and rear door posts
– Another common area of cracking is at lower strut fuselage attachments

Company Private
Corrosion Prevention

• The key to corrosion prevention is to keep the airframe free of moisture

• A major contributing factor to corrosion is the environment

– Aircraft that operate in coastal environments are more susceptible to metal
corrosion
– While water vapor already has a corrosive effect, the water vapor and salt
combination found in coastal environments creates a powerful corrosive
agent
– Aircraft that operate in areas that contain high amounts of industrial particles
and fumes in the atmosphere also are more susceptible to corrosion
– Aircraft that operate in areas where “environmentally friendly” runway deicers
are used (i.e., potassium formate, potassium acetate, etc.) are more susceptible
to corrosion

Company Private
Corrosion Severity Map

Company Private
Corrosion Prevention

• There are several common options available to shield the aluminum from
electrolytes including:
– Cladding
– 2024 sheet can be coated ("clad") with very thin layers (.001”) of pure
aluminum to protect from corrosion, known as 2024-T3 AlClad
– The sheet material is vulnerable when the cladding is compromised at
edges, drilled rivet holes, or if it is scratched
– Most airframe corrosion occurs at seams and joints, which is why cladding
alone is not sufficient
– Additional steps are necessary to protect seams, holes, and un-clad parts
from exposure to electrolytes

Company Private
Corrosion Prevention

• There are several common options available to shield the aluminum from
electrolytes including:
– Chemical Treatments
– Alodine or other chemical treatments are used to enhance the corrosion
resistance of the pure aluminum cladding

Company Private
Corrosion Prevention

• There are several common options available to shield the aluminum from
electrolytes including:
– Sealants
– Paint is the most commonly used sealant for corrosion protection and is the
best defense against airframe corrosion
– Modern polyurethane aircraft paints create a thick, impenetrable barrier
that effectively keeps moisture away from the metal, and lasts a long time -
- 10 years or more
– Paint only protects the exterior of the airframe
– Cessna airframe interiors of most pre-1986 airframes were not
painted (primed)
– Many Beech airframe interiors were only partially painted (primed)

Company Private
Corrosion Prevention

• There are several common options available to shield the aluminum from
electrolytes including:
– Corrosion Preventative Compounds (CPCs)
– Effective means for protecting those parts of an airframe that were not
originally protected from corrosion
– Guidelines for application and use of CPCs are provided in the revised
Service Manual
– CPCs must be reapplied periodically
– The following CPCs are recommended for use on Textron Aviation
airplanes

Dry film compounds: ARDROX AV-8* and AV-15

Cor-Ban 23* and Cor-Ban 35

Non-dry grease: Cor-Ban 27L

Non-dry oil: Corrosion X

* Preferred where high penetration of corrosion inhibiting compound is required.

Company Private
Corrosion Results

• Corrosion is responsible for approximately:

– 7% of the airworthiness directives 1
– 20% of service difficulty reports (SDRs)

• Corrosion can be deadly

– Corrosion contributed to 91 accidents/incidents in the United States between
1983 and 1994 2
3
– These and other accidents have resulted in hundreds of fatalities

• As airplanes continue to age, these numbers are likely to increase

1 Swift, S., “Rusty Diamond”, 24th ICAF Symposium, May 2007.

2 Hoeppner D,, Chandrasekaran V., Taylor A., “Review of Pitting Corrosion Fatigue Models”, 20th ICAF Symposium, 1999.
3 Aviation Safety Network Database, http://aviation-safety.net/index.php

Company Private
Corrosion and Metal Fatigue

• Corrosion and metal fatigue both reduce the load carrying capability of the
airframe

• Corrosion and fatigue are not entirely independent processes - corrosion

affects the expected fatigue life of airframe parts
– Corrosion pitting creates a stress concentration which leads to crack initiation
and potentially faster crack
– Corrosion reduces the thickness of a part and therefore increases the stress in
the part

View of Spar Cap Fracture Surface View of Spar Cap Lower Surface

Company Private
Corrosion Examples

• Beech 18 Wing Front Spar

• Beech Bonanza/Baron Control Surfaces

• Beech Bonanza/Baron Front Spar Leading Edge Lower Hinge-Pin

Attachment

• Cessna 177 Wing Spar

• Cessna 200 Series Wing Spar

• Cessna 182 Lower Strut Fitting

• Cessna Single Engine Wing Spar

• Cessna Single Engine Rudder Pedal

• Cessna Single Engine Main Landing Gear

Company Private
Beech Bonanza/Baron Control Surfaces

Company Private
Beech Bonanza/Baron Front Spar Leading
Edge Lower Hinge-Pin Attachment

Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin

(SAIB) CE-15-22

Company Private
Cessna 177 Wing Spar

177B
Found as a result of SEB-57-03

Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin 177RG

(SAIB) CE-16-16
Company Private
Cessna 200 Series Wing Spar

Found as a result of SID

Inspection 57-11-01

Company Private
Cessna 182 Lower Strut Fitting

Found as a result of SID

Inspection SID 57-40-01

Company Private
Wing Spar Corrosion

Found as a result of CPCP

Inspection

Company Private
Cessna Single Engine Rudder Pedal

Fractured Pedal Arm Tube

SID 27-20-01
Company Private
Cessna Single Engine Main Landing Gear

• Made from 6150M High-

Strength Steel

• A pit as small as .005” can

initiate a fatigue crack which will
result in fracture of the gear

• Keep surface painted with

polyurethane paint and blend
out pits per Service Manual

Rust

Model 182 Flat Spring Gear

SID 32-13-01

Company Private
Cessna Single Engine Main Landing Gear

.017” Pit

Company Private
Metal Fatigue

• Aviation has had to address metal fatigue in the design and inspection of
airframes since 1954

• Fatigue can be deadly

– Metal fatigue contributed to 2240 deaths in 1885 airplane accidents between
1927 and 1980 1
– The five most common fatigue crack initiation sources in these accidents
were: (1) bolt, stud or screw; (2) fastener or other hole, (3) fillet, radius or
sharp notch; (4) welds and (5) corrosion
2
– Over 700 people have died in fatigue related accidents since 1980

1 Campbell and Lahey 1984, ‘A Survey of Serious Aircraft Accidents Involving Fatigue Fracture’, International Journal of
Fatigue, January 1984

2 ‘Investigation into Ansett Australia Maintenance Safety Deficiencies and the Control of Continuing Airworthiness
of
Class A Aircraft’, Appendix 8 from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s web site, www.atsb.gov.au.

Company Private
What is Metal Fatigue?

Fatigue Under Microscope Typical Fatigue Failure

Company Private
 FAA Regulations Through the Years
High-Profile Accidents

Dan Air
Comet 1977
1954 Aloha Airlines Beech T-34
1988 1999-2004
F111
1969

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

CAR FAA
Part 23 Regs

Wing Fatigue
& Policies
CAR/FAA

Evaluation 1969
AC91-82 Fatigue
Instructions for Management
Beech 23 Continued Program 2008
Certified 1962 Airworthiness 1980
Textron Aviation

Cessna 172 Fuselage Fatigue

Certified 1955 Evaluation 1965 Empennage
Fatigue
Beech 35 Cessna 206 Evaluation 1989
Certified 1947 Certified 1963

Company Private
Key Lessons Learned From High Profile Accidents

• Comet – Fatigue must be considered in design, not just static strength

2,703 & 3,680 total hours

• F111 - Manufacturing or accidental damage must be considered

105 total hours

Company Private
Key Lessons Learned From High Profile Accidents

• Boeing 707-321C - Fail-safe alone doesn’t work, need inspections

47,621 total hours

Company Private
Key Lessons Learned From High Profile Accidents

• Boeing 737 - Inspection programs do not keep airplanes safe indefinitely.

Eventually there needs to be a terminating action of modification or
retirement.

35,496 total hours

Company Private
Key Lessons Learned From High Profile Accidents

• Beech T-34 – Detailed inspection programs are needed for the entire
airframe, not just for known areas of cracking

3200, 8257 & 9316 total hours

Company Private
Case Study – Cessna 402C

• Model 402C designed in 1979

• Twin-Engine unpressurized airplane
• Seats up to 9 passengers
• Often used for cargo hauling or scheduled airline passenger service

Company Private
Case Study – Cessna 402C

• Wing spar cracking discovered in 1999 led to

addition of wing spar strap (SID 57-10-16)

• Engine beam cracking discovered in 2015 led

to life limit of engine beams (SID 54-10-01)

• Nacelle fitting (engine beam to wing

attachment) cracking discovered in 2016 led
to life limit of nacelle fittings

• Carry-thru forward spar cracked in 2017 (SID

57-10-14)

Company Private
Case Study – Cessna 210

• Model 210 with cantilevered wing designed in 1967

• Single-Engine unpressurized high performance airplane
• Seats up to 6 passengers
• Used for a variety of missions including cargo hauling, geophysical
survey, sight seeing as well as private usage

Company Private
Case Study – Cessna 210

• Eight reports of wing spar cracking

reported in 2012 (SID 57-11-03)

• Horizontal stabilizer aft attachment

fitting cracking discovered in 2011

• Horizontal stabilizer forward spar

cracking discovered in 2011 (SID
55-10-01)

Company Private
Metal Fatigue Examples

• Beech Bonanza/Baron Rudder Brake Pedal Pivot Hole

• Beech Bonanza/Baron Flight Control Cables

• Cessna 180/185 Tailcone Stringer

• Cessna 172 (Restart) FS 108 Bulkhead

• Cessna 172/182/206/210 Forward Doorpost at Strut Attachment

• Cessna 150/152 Vertical Stabilizer Attach

• Cessna 177 Lower Wing Spar

Company Private
Beech Bonanza/Baron Rudder Brake Pedal Pivot Hole

Fractured Rudder Brake

Pedal Pivot Hole

Company Private
Beech Bonanza/Baron Flight Control Cables

Beech V35A Aileron Control Cable

CASA AD/GENERAL/87 - primary flight control cable assemblies using terminals

constructed of SAE-AISI 303 Se or SAE-AISI 304 stainless steel must be replaced
after 15 years

Company Private
Cessna 180/185 Tailcone Stringer

Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin

(SAIB) CE-16-16

SID 53-10-01

AD under consideration
Company Private
Cessna 172 (Restart) FS 108 Bulkhead

Found as a result of SID Inspection SID

53-12-03

Company Private
Cessna 172/182/206/207/210 Forward Doorpost at
Strut Attachment

AD or SAIB under FAA consideration Crack

SID 53-12-01

Company Private
Cessna 150/152 Vertical Stabilizer Attach

Crack

Special Airworthiness Information

Bulletin (SAIB) CE-16-03
SID 55-11-02
Company Private
Cessna 177 Lower Wing Spar

Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin

(SAIB) CE-16-16

SID 57-11-03

Company Private
SID Inspections

• Inspections
– Based on field history
– Reviewed by customer focus group

• Inspection Details
– Corrosion prevention and control program
– Directed visual inspection for corrosion
– ~15-20 visual inspections to look for cracks
– Boroscope and magnifying glass required to complete inspections

• SID inspections are designed to be accomplished at an annual when

airplane is opened up

• Anticipated cost is dependent on flight hours and overall airplane condition

– Approximately 10 hours for low time airplane maintained per service manual
– Approximately 25 hours for high time airplane maintained per service manual
– Any required repairs are additional cost

Company Private
Summary

• Safety is a partnership between owners (maintainers), manufacturers and

the FAA

• Comply with airworthiness directives

• Report anomalies

• Send Pictures!!

Company Private