Airworthiness Concern Sheet

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U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Concern Sheet Date: December 14, 2020 Reply to: Name: Bobbie Kroetch Title: Aerospace Engineer Office: Wichita ACO Branch Street Address: 1801 Airport Road, Room 100 City, State, ZIP: Wichita, KS 67209 Telephone: (316) 946-4155 Electronic Mail: bobbie.kroetch@faa.gov Make: Textron Aviation, Inc. (formerly Cessna Aircraft Company) Model / Series: Cessna 120 and 140 Serial Numbers: 8000 through 15075 Reason for Airworthiness Concern: Overload Failure of Aluminum Seat Belt Mounting Brackets Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Description of Airworthiness Concern On July 5, 2014, an accident occurred in Parma, New York where the aluminum seat belt mounting bracket, part number 0425132, failed after the Cessna 140 overturned. Per design, the brackets were manufactured via aluminum for early model Cessna 120 and 140 airplanes. Cessna Aircraft Company changed the design to steel for later model Cessna 120 and 140 airplanes and now only provides steel brackets as a replacement part for the aluminum bracket. In response to the accident, Textron Aviation issued Cessna Single Engine Service Bulletin SEB-25-03, dated February 17, 2015 (SEB-25-03). The FAA issued Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-15-13, dated April 15, 2015. SAIB CE- 15-13 recommended that owners, operators, and maintenance personnel of the affected airplanes replace aluminum brackets with steel brackets following SEB-25-03. Since the publication of SAIB CE-15-13, a second fatal accident occurred where the aluminum seat belt mounting bracket was found failed. Review of National Transportation Safety Board records and Service Difficulty Reports identified an additional three instances of failed aluminum seat belt mounting brackets. Request for Information The FAA is interested in receiving any information on damage or known failures observed on the seat belt mounting brackets common to Cessna 120 and 140 airplanes. Please provide information including description of damage, available photos, airplane serial number, type of seat belt installed, and details of failure discovery. Please provide any other information you feel may be helpful for us to consider as part of our evaluation. This Airworthiness Concern Sheet (ACS) is intended as a means for FAA Aviation Safety Engineers to coordinate airworthiness concerns with aircraft owners/operators through associations and type clubs. At this time, the FAA has not made a determination on what type of corrective action (if any) should be taken. The resolution of this airworthiness concern could involve Airworthiness Directive (AD) action or a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB), or the FAA could determine that no action is needed at this time. The FAA’s final determination will depend in part on the information received in response to this ACS. The FAA endorses dissemination of this technical information to all manufacturers and requests association and type club comments. Attachments: Service Difficulty Report Accident/Incident Data System Service Letter / Bulletin Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin Federal Aviation Administration or National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendation Airworthiness Directive Alternate Means of Compliance Risk Analysis Transmittal: Federal Aviation Administration Airplane Owners and Pilots Association Experimental Aircraft Association Type Club Type Certificate Holder Other: Response Requested By: Emergency (10 days) Alert (30 days) Information (90 days)