Grounded presidential jet may fly again

Posted by admin Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), Presidency Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

THE Nigerian government’s Falcon 7X, caught in the web of worldwide grounding of the brand late last month may resume operation any moment from now.

Reason: The jet’s maker, Dassault Aviation, announced yesterday that the first Falcon 7X with an “approved” modification to its pitch trim system has returned to operational status.

The Falcon 7X in the presidential fleet of the Federal Government was also caught in the worldwide ban, leading to its temporary grounding.

The Federal Government is the only operator of the Falcon 7X in the country.

One of the two aircraft bought for N7.65 billion was delivered to the government two and half months ago.

The Federal Executive Council had on August 12, 2010 approved $102 million for the purchase of two Falcon 7X and $53.3 million for one Gulfstream G550 aircraft to beef-up the presidential fleet.

The approved modification has also been sent to all operators and civil aviation regulatory agencies across the globe, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

This development followed an intensive effort by Dassault to create a solution that addresses a pitch trim incident experienced by a Falcon 7X on May 25th.

Dassault Aviation has developed a modification kit that, when installed, adds additional layers of protection to the Falcon 7X horizontal stabiliser pitch trim system.

After series of rigorous tests assured Dassault that it met all requirements, the kits went into production and shipped to approved service facilities. In parallel, the modification was being reviewed with aviation authorities.

On June 15, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved the modification. Last Sunday, it released a new Airworthiness Directive (AD), which allows the aircraft to resume flights with passengers.

The FAA is expected to follow the decision shortly. Dassault Aviation has been in almost daily contact with Falcon 7X operators providing step by step progress reports on the situation since the company initiated the suspension of flying by EASA and the FAA May 26th.

Since that time, every available resource was directed toward finding the cause of the pitch trim event and developing a solution. Dassault’s target is to have the whole fleet operational no later than early July.

On May 25, 2011, a Falcon 7X experienced a pitch trim event during descent. The crew successfully recovered the aircraft to a stable flight profile and performed an uneventful landing.

At Dassault’s request, the EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive to prohibit Falcon 7X operations on May 26 and the FAA followed on May 27. The request to stop flight operations immediately was the result of a conservative assessment by Dassault.

-Guardianwp_posts