An extraordinary confluence of events has embroiled Eclipse Aviation in intense scrutiny, all without a single fatal accident to act as a catalyst. During the past few months, the manufacturer has witnessed the departure of company founder Vern Raburn, an FAA special certification review of the Eclipse 500 very light jet, a congressional hearing on the Eclipse 500 certification program, airworthiness directives on important systems, layoffs of large numbers of employees, the shutdown of its largest customer, lawsuits stemming from customers demanding refund of deposits, delayed payments to suppliers, delays in upgrading in-service airplanes to the latest configuration, delays in receiving European certification and delays in certifying the Garmin 400W navigator upgrade.
The latest challenges facing Eclipse began on August 11, when the FAA launched a special certification review (SCR) of the Eclipse 500. This review was prompted by a high number of service difficulty reports (SDRs) submitted by charter operator DayJet and focused on four specific areas: cockpit displays/screen blanking, stall speeds, trim and flaps. Lasting just 30 days, the SCR was not a full review of the Eclipse 500’s certification, although it was unusual in that the FAA chose to initiate the SCR process so soon after the VLJ was certified on Sept. 30, 2006, and without fatal accidents to spur the examination.
