More criticism was heaped on the Federal Aviation Administration yesterday as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee held hearings into the rush to certify the first very light jet, the Eclipse 500. The hearing included testimony from Department of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Sovel indicating even FAA’s own test pilots said it was premature to certificate the aircraft. It also outlined how FAA management overruled line certification employees, seemingly at the behest of a new, untried manufacturer in order to grant a production certificate in time to meet its own performance goals.
While FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nick Sabatini and John Hickey, who heads FAA’s aircraft certification directorate, defended the agency, there seemed to be little substance except they will learn from this experience and do better in the future. Similarly, Eclipse testified that much of what was said at the hearing was full of mistakes and misperceptions and the manufacturer was never asked for its input in the IG’s report. It hopes to discuss its perceptions of the certification process with the IG and clarify the record on its aircraft and production certification. An analysis will be in next week’s issue of Regional Aviation News. In the meantime, it is the lead story in Aviation Today’s VLJ Report.