A safety directive issued by the Federal Aviation Administration may ground Cessna Caravan aircraft used statewide in rural Alaska.
Called an "AD," or air worthiness directive, the FAA issued new conditions necessary for Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft to fly in conditions that cause ice to form on the aircraft.
The AD was issued over control issues during icing while in-flight, and requires the addition of de-icing equipment. The order, which goes into effect Feb. 22, may ground regional airlines statewide who are using as many as 40 of the aircraft, according to one local aircraft dealer.
"If the parts aren't available for installation, then we have a problem," said Tony Cesnick, owner of AeroTwin, a Cessna Caravan dealer located at Merrill Field in Anchorage.
Another issue is the fact that the order requires the aircraft to be retrofitted with special de-icing boots on the landing gear and belly cargo pods before the end of August.
The FAA figures that the installations will cost $14,000 per aircraft.
"This is going to cost the aircraft owner about three times what the FAA figures, and it means the airplanes will be out of service during the peak flying season," Cesnick said.
Cessna Aircraft Co., however, says that the aircraft does not have an icing problem. "The aircraft was certified by the FAA for flight into icing conditions," said Bree Cox, a Cessna spokesperson in Wichita, Kan. "If the aircraft is operated according to the operations specifications as outlined in the operators manual, there is no problem with icing."
The airworthiness directive, first revealed in May last year, also requires new in-flight procedures by pilots.
Further complicating the directive are recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, which questions the safety of the aircraft when flown into icing conditions, pilot actions during these events, and the report questions the certification of the aircraft by the FAA.
At issue is the effectiveness of the aircraft to continue controlled flight while being flown in icing conditions.
This is a non-issue, according to both Cessna and commercial air carriers in Alaska.
One of the NTSB recommendations published Jan. 17 is that the pilot is required to disengage the autopilot while flying in icing conditions.
"This is a decision and action that should be the responsibility of the pilot, not an arbitrary reaction by a bunch of bureaucrats," said David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air in Nome. "When the weather gets sour, and the pilot has his hands full with other things, that's when you need to use the autopilot the most. No, I disagree with the NTSB on this one."
Olson said that Bering Air has six of the Cessna 208s, and in the 12 years that they have been flying them they have not had one accident due to icing.
Hageland Aviation Inc., which has 11 Caravans operating statewide, however, has had accidents based on icing.
"Yes, we have had accidents that were ice related, but this was due to pilots not following our company safety policies, not the fault of the airplane," said Patrick Thurston, director of operations at Hageland Aviation.
Thurston and Olson agree that the issue here is a lack of pilot training, and awareness that the aircraft must be flown at higher speeds during flight into icing conditions.
"We think that there is little or no benefit to having the cargo pod de-icing boot, and later we hope to prove it," Thurston said.
Indicating that the airline may seek relief over the costs forced by the rule, Thurston suggested that a lawsuit might be the only way to change the directive.
"We have gathered facts and have proof that this doesn't work," Thurston said.
Bering Air's Olson said that he thinks the FAA will extend the August deadline if there are issues over parts availability.
The NTSB recommendations are based on 12 in-flight icing-related fatal accidents in Cessna 208 airplanes, resulting in 33 fatalities over a period of 15 years. Nine non-fatal, in-flight icing-related accidents and incidents also occurred during the same period nationally.
Cessna says there are 1,500 of the Caravan 208 aircraft flying worldwide. The Caravan, a single-engine turbo-prop, high-wing aircraft that carries 10 people, has 8 million fleet hours of use to date and was certified by the FAA in 1984.
Rob Stapleton can be reached at rob.stapleton@alaskajournal.com.
