It took New Piper about two weeks to find and repair a total of 49 aircraft that contained parts made from a faulty lot of heat-treated steel. Spokesman Mark Miller told AVweb on Thursday that the last of the bad parts had been replaced earlier that day and the entire fleet was again fit to fly. Meanwhile, there’s no evidence the steel, which came from Certified Steel Treating in Los Angeles, made it into any other aircraft. Raytheon spokesman Tim Travis told AVweb it doesn’t use the LA company and Cessna spokeswoman Jessica Myers said her company didn’t use any of the steel, either. The steel in question was “normalized” a heat-treating process that makes the steel resistant to cracking from vibration. It was ordered from Wilco Inc. in Wichita but the heat treating was contracted to the LA company. The FAA continues to investigate the source and distribution of the material.
Grounded Pipers Cleared For Flight
Key Takeaways:
- New Piper successfully identified and replaced faulty heat-treated steel parts in 49 aircraft within two weeks, restoring the entire affected fleet to airworthy status.
- The defective steel, intended to be resistant to cracking from vibration, originated from Certified Steel Treating in Los Angeles and was not found in aircraft from other manufacturers like Raytheon or Cessna.
- The FAA continues its investigation into the source and distribution of the faulty material.
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