FUSELAGE Seat Belt Mounting Bracket

SAIB CE-15-13 Current Issued 04/15/2015 Cessna Aircraft Company 120 | 140

What is a SAIB?

A Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is an FAA-issued advisory — not mandatory like an AD, but worth knowing about. SAIBs typically flag service bulletins, manufacturer recommendations, or emerging issues that don't (yet) rise to AD level.

Bulletin text

Verbatim from the FAA-published PDF. 13 paragraphs · 301 words.

FAA Aviation Safety SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: FUSELAGE – Seat Belt Mounting Bracket SAIB: CE-15-13 Date: April 15, 2015 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to alert owners, operators, and maintenance technicians of an airworthiness concern with aluminum seat belt mounting brackets affecting all Cessna Models 120 and 140 airplanes. Textron Aviation has issued Service Bulletin SEB-25-03, dated February 17, 2015, to address this concern.

At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.

Background

On July 5, 2014, an accident occurred in Parma, New York where the pilot seat belt mounting bracket, part number (p/n) 0425132, failed after the airplane overturned following departure from the runway. Although cause of the failed bracket has not been determined and the investigation is ongoing, it was noted that the original Cessna seat belt installation had been replaced with a four- point Aero Fabricators harness per Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA1429GL in 2003. The failed bracket was made of aluminum. However, Cessna now only provides steel brackets as a replacement part for the aluminum brackets.

Recommendations

The FAA recommends that owners, operators, and maintenance personnel of the affected airplanes replace aluminum brackets with steel brackets following Cessna Service Bulletin SEB-25-03 dated February 17, 2015. To make the determination as to whether the bracket is made of aluminum or steel, a magnet may be used or look for evidence of iron oxide (rust).

For Further Information Contact

Gary D. Park, Aerospace Engineer, ACE-118W phone: (316) 946-4123; fax: (316) 946-4107; e-mail: [email protected].

For Related Service Information Contact

Cessna Aircraft Company, Customer Support Service, P.O. Box 7706, Wichita, Kansas; telephone: (316) 517-5800; fax: (316) 517-7271.

The FAA-published PDF is the authoritative source. Open on drs.faa.gov ↗