AVIATION/ EASA GROUNDS ALL DASSAULT FALCON 7X AIRCRAFT

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD), prohibiting flight operations of all Dassault Falcon 7X jets. The AD is considered to be an interim measure pending the outcome of an investigation into a serious incident currently carried out by the manufacturer. Further AD action is expected to follow when additional information is available. The incident involved a Falcon 7X which experienced an uncontrolled pitch trim runaway during descent into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 4:08am. The crew succeeded in recovering a stable situation and performed an uneventful landing. Analysis of the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Fault History Database (FHDB) confirmed the event, but did not allow explaining the origin of the pitch trim runaway. Few other details, including the date of the incident, were released. "If this situation occurs again it could lead to loss of control of the aeroplane," the AD said. To address this potential unsafe condition, Dassault Aviation proposed to EASA to prohibit, from the effective date of the AD, any flight operations of Falcon 7X aircraft, to which EASA agreed by issuing the AD.