Emergency AD Affects New 172s, 182s

If you've recently taken delivery of a new Cessna 172 or 182, check the serial number against a list in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued Friday. A few dozen of the brand-new airplanes are grounded until they can be inspected for potential control rigging problems. "The FAA has been notified that inadequate or incorrect flight controls rigging may exist on recently produced Cessna Models 172R, 172S, 182T and T182T," the Emergency AD reads. It should be stressed that the affected airplanes are grounded. No ferry permits or repositioning flights will be allowed. Cessna staff discovered various problems with aircraft still in the factory. However, it's believed that some potentially flawed airplanes were delivered (i.e., flown) to their new owners, who, presumably, have also been flying them.

...Long List Of Defects

What's perhaps most disturbing about this AD is the breadth of defects discovered by Cessna technicians. Normally an AD focuses on a specific part or system in an airplane but this one identifies a Pandora's box of potentially serious issues. According to the AD, Cessna found misrigged and misaligned control surfaces, a missing bolt on a flap push/pull rod, cables chafing fuel lines (resulting in damaged fuel lines), cables routed outside cotter pins, crossed cables, cables routed outside of pulleys, cables rubbing on bulkheads and center consoles, unpinned or improperly pinned barrels on control cables and a bent flap bell crank. These are new aircraft, remember. The AD calls for an immediate, detailed one-time inspection of the flight control system and repairs, as necessary, to bring the system up to standard. Since the AD prohibits any flights before compliance, those with aircraft in places without suitable maintenance facilities are advised to phone Cessna Product Support at 316-517-5800.