FAA mandates seaplane inspections after Whidbey crash
SEATTLE — Federal regulators Wednesday ordered seaplanes like the one that crashed off Whidbey Island be inspected for a flaw that likely caused the deadly September crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive mandates that operators of all the DHC-3 Otter seaplanes in the United States — 63 of about 160 operating worldwide — examine the stabilizer to confirm the condition of an actuator piece missing from the Friday Harbor Seaplanes aircraft that fell into Mutiny Bay over Labor Day weekend. Ten people were killed in the crash.
According to the directive, operators must confirm that the stabilizer actuator lock ring is correctly installed and report back to the FAA by Dec. 19. The order does not ground the aircraft. Kenmore Air, the largest Otter operator on Puget Sound, said previously that its aircraft have passed inspection.
On Oct. 24, the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Sept. 4 crash, urged operators to ground all the planes in the fleet until the part is inspected, noting that it would be up to the FAA to issue any order to ground the plane. Last week, they doubled down, officially calling for the FAA to require inspection of the planes.
https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/faa-mandates-seaplane-inspections-after-whidbey-crash/