11th Hour FAA action on Nose Plate AD

[StuOstrander]

All Grob owners,

AD 2012-10-11 issued on Grob G109 and G109B aircraft initially called for an inspection plate to be installed in the vertical stabilizer, no later than October 9^th, 2012. Jim Rutherford, the designated FAA contact just called me to alert me that they are in the process of reviewing that AD and expect to reach a conclusion this Friday, October 5^th on whether or not that inspection plate will be required.

Jim asked me to get the word out to as many of my fellow G109 (and friends to stay posted for further, late breaking developments. If you have already installed a plate, disregard this email. If you have yet to take action, hold your breath.

Since this is very much an eleventh hour situation, Jim is unable to anticipate which way the outcome will go. Much to the FAA’s credit, and specifically, Jim Rutherford and Earl Lawrence, they have jumped through hoops in just two days.

I am emailing directly to all owners for which I have email addresses. I will also post this on the TMGA web site and the Grob Yahoo Group web site in order to notify as many people as possible.

More explanation will follow.

Stu Ostrander

[StuOstrander]

All Grob owners,

AD 2012-10-11 issued on Grob G109 and G109B aircraft initially called for an inspection plate to be installed in the vertical stabilizer, no later than October 9^th, 2012. Jim Rutherford, the designated FAA contact just called me to alert me that they are in the process of reviewing that AD and expect to reach a conclusion this Friday, October 5^th on whether or not that inspection plate will be required.

Jim asked me to get the word out to as many of my fellow G109 (and friends to stay posted for further, late breaking developments. If you have already installed a plate, disregard this email. If you have yet to take action, hold your breath.

Since this is very much an eleventh hour situation, Jim is unable to anticipate which way the outcome will go. Much to the FAA’s credit, and specifically, Jim Rutherford and Earl Lawrence, they have jumped through hoops in just two days.

I am emailing directly to all owners for which I have email addresses. I will also post this on the TMGA web site and the Grob Yahoo Group web site in order to notify as many people as possible.

More explanation will follow.

Stu Ostrander

[StuOstrander]

The FAA has issued an extension to the Nose Plate AD pertaining to that portion requiring installation of an inspection port. The extension is to Jan 9, 2013. This will provide time for the FAA to communicate more with EASA (their European equivalent), and Grob. This is time that all Grob owners should use to compile data pertinent to the issue, how many inspection ports have been installed, what was observable through the port, how many cases of observed corrosion on the exposed portion of the plate, how many plates have been replaced, what was the condition of any replaced plates. The more we know, the safer will be the outcome, in terms of our aircraft structural integrity and AD initiatives.

Stu Ostrander

[StuOstrander]

The FAA has issued an extension to the Nose Plate AD pertaining to that portion requiring installation of an inspection port. The extension is to Jan 9, 2013. This will provide time for the FAA to communicate more with EASA (their European equivalent), and Grob. This is time that all Grob owners should use to compile data pertinent to the issue, how many inspection ports have been installed, what was observable through the port, how many cases of observed corrosion on the exposed portion of the plate, how many plates have been replaced, what was the condition of any replaced plates. The more we know, the safer will be the outcome, in terms of our aircraft structural integrity and AD initiatives.

Stu Ostrander

[Steve Sliwa]

I asked Stu Ostrander to summarize the situation for posting her in the forums and I will included in the Knowledgebase as well. Here is his summary:

About a year ago, an English mechanic, discovered a potential issue on the Grob G109 and G109B. He maintains about 30 of them and is an obvious expert on the model. He described the issue, and also wrote up the repair procedure he used when a defect was found. He submitted his findings, pictures, and written procedure to Grob.

Grob misinterpreted his data and subsequently issued a bulletin which ultimately found its way to the FAA. The FAA, working with its European counterpart and Grob, properly issued an “Airworthiness Directive” on all Grob G109’s with a compliance date of tomorrow, Oct 9th.

Several of us were unhappy with the recommendation (based on Grob’s faulty information) which seemed to gloss over common sense. Last Monday, several critical bits of information were uncovered which compelled me to call the head of the FAA department that had issued the AD. Not only was he very congenial, he was also quite enthusiastic to correct a potential error and promised me he would get an individual assigned to work with me. One day later, I was contacted by the assigned technical guy. By Friday, an amendment to the original AD was issued giving us an incremental 3 months to develop a more correct approach to the concern.

There is still a concern about the outcome of this issue because the FAA must once again, in lieu of any other input, rely on Grob and EASA (European equivalent of the FAA). US owner participation is essential at this time to preclude Grob getting the solution totally wrong for us. It would be a travesty if Grob and EASA were to blandly recommend replacement of all nose plates instead of correctly correlating no corrosion on the exposed portion to no action required.

Attached is the letter from the FAA.

FAA_Approval_G109_Time_Extension.pdf

[Steve Sliwa]

I asked Stu Ostrander to summarize the situation for posting her in the forums and I will included in the Knowledgebase as well. Here is his summary:

About a year ago, an English mechanic, discovered a potential issue on the Grob G109 and G109B. He maintains about 30 of them and is an obvious expert on the model. He described the issue, and also wrote up the repair procedure he used when a defect was found. He submitted his findings, pictures, and written procedure to Grob.

Grob misinterpreted his data and subsequently issued a bulletin which ultimately found its way to the FAA. The FAA, working with its European counterpart and Grob, properly issued an “Airworthiness Directive” on all Grob G109’s with a compliance date of tomorrow, Oct 9th.

Several of us were unhappy with the recommendation (based on Grob’s faulty information) which seemed to gloss over common sense. Last Monday, several critical bits of information were uncovered which compelled me to call the head of the FAA department that had issued the AD. Not only was he very congenial, he was also quite enthusiastic to correct a potential error and promised me he would get an individual assigned to work with me. One day later, I was contacted by the assigned technical guy. By Friday, an amendment to the original AD was issued giving us an incremental 3 months to develop a more correct approach to the concern.

There is still a concern about the outcome of this issue because the FAA must once again, in lieu of any other input, rely on Grob and EASA (European equivalent of the FAA). US owner participation is essential at this time to preclude Grob getting the solution totally wrong for us. It would be a travesty if Grob and EASA were to blandly recommend replacement of all nose plates instead of correctly correlating no corrosion on the exposed portion to no action required.

Attached is the letter from the FAA.