Last October, an FAA certification engineer and a flight-test pilot filed a grievance against their managers at the Fort Worth, Texas FAA Aircraft Certification Office, complaining that the certification of the Eclipse 500 very light jet was granted despite “several outstanding safety/regulatory issues.” The two employees, who were not named in the grievance, are represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (natca). Their grievance was filed against Michele Owsley, manager of the Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office, and John Hickey, head of the FAA Aircraft Certification Service.
The grievance claims that the FAA awarded the type certificate for the Eclipse 500 to Eclipse Aviation on Sept. 30, 2006, “without allowing the aircraft certification engineers and flight-test pilots to properly complete their assigned certification/safety responsibilities. This is in violation of Federal Aviation Regulations 21 and 23, Order 8110.4 and other related FAA regulations, orders and policies.”
