The Federal Aviation Administration in late December issued an emergency airworthiness directive ordering immediate functional tests on fuselage draining holes of the Piaggio P180 Avanti II twin-engined turboprop.
"The AD was prompted by three incidents of the flight controls jamming on the P180," says the FAA, which blames an accumulation of water in the belly of the fuselage.
All owners and operators "are required to perform a functional test of the fuselage drain holes and a report of the results to the FAA", it adds. The agency is working concurrently with Piaggio and the European Aviation Safety Agency "to solve the problem".
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Source: Flight International
