Updated to note that the EASA AD hit this morning.
BLOG:
With everyone from Boeing to Koito Industries to Continental Airlines begging more time, and some - like the Association of European Airlines (AEA) and the Association for Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) - suggesting the measure is unwarranted, the US FAA has issued its airworthiness directive (AD) to operators with seats manufactured by Koito Industries.
You'll recall that Koito did the dastardly deed of fabricating test data on some 150,000 seats in the world fleet, going so far as to rubber stamp documents with a fake Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) seal of approval.
Read the FAA's AD here. As expected - and underscored by the mass of opposing viewpoints - the AD impacts a heck of a lot of folks, and could cost hundreds of millions of dollars (so the little RWG estimate was on target eh?)
And how about the impact of retrofitting new in-flight entertainment and in-seat power? I'd love to see some estimates for that.
(P.S. Page 38 addresses the Bunsen Burner test, which caught my eye because I used to be good at science! Well, I liked to play with the flame. P.P.S. Koito seats are naturally also subject to an EASA AD, which doesn't completely mesh with the FAA's AD. Hello confusion.)
Related links:
Koito aircraft seat mess gets even messier
VIDEO: Boeing still offering Koito seats
Recent Comments