SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

AIR-21-16

August 26, 2021

This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) informs owners and operators of an airworthiness concern for Textron Aviation (formerly Cessna Aircraft Company) 172K, 172L, 172M, 172N, 172P, 172Q, F172H, F172K, F172L, F172M, F172N, F172P, FR172K, R172K, 177, 177A, 177B, 177RG, F177RG, 180H, 180J, 180K, 182M, 182N, 182P, 182Q, 182R, F182P, F182Q, A185E, A185F, 188, 188A, 188B, A188, A188A, A188B, T188C, P206D, P206E, TP206D, TU206D, TU206E, U206D, U206E, U206F, U206G, 207, 207A, T207, T207A, 210K, 210L, 210M, 210N, 210R, T210K, T210L, T210M, T210N, T210R, 337, 337A, 337B, 337C, 337D, 337E, 337F, 337G, 337H, F337G, F337H, F337E, F337F, FT337E, FT337F, FT337GP, FT337HP, M337B, P337H, T337B, T337C, T337D, T337E, T337F, T337G, and T337H model airplanes. Specifically, this SAIB notifies owners and operators of updates to Textron Aviation service and maintenance manuals for the affected airplanes to include detailed inspections for the bolts that attach the seat back to the seat base of the pilot and copilot seats for all airplanes using seat part numbers 0515001-20, -25, -26, -208, -209, -210, and -211.

At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.

Background

The FAA received a safety recommendation regarding a Cessna 172K landing accident. During application of the brakes on landing, the pilot’s seat back collapsed, contributing to the pilot losing line-of-sight of the runway. The airplane departed the runway and collided with the airport’s segmented circle. The pilot and passenger were not injured; however, the airplane suffered substantial damage. The left-hand bolt attaching the seat back to the seat base had failed. The airplane’s most recent 100-hour inspection was completed two months prior to the accident. Review of service difficulty reports identified additional reports of damaged or suspected incorrect hardware installed in the seat back to seat base connection.

Recommendations

The FAA recommends that owners and operators of the affected airplanes with seat part numbers 0515001-20, -25, -26, -208, -209, -210, and -211 installed perform a repetitive 200 hour visual inspection of the bolts that attach the seat back to the seat base of the pilot and copilot seats, as detailed in the updated service and maintenance manuals listed in the table below. Bolts should be inspected for poor condition and apparent defects and replaced if poor condition or apparent defects are found.

Manual P/N	Title	Years	Temporary Revision (TR) Number
	170 Series
CD972	Model 172 Skyhawk Series Service Manual	1969-1976	D972-4TR7
CD2065	Model 172 Series Service Manual	1977-1986	D2065-3TR9
CD2027	Model R172 Series Service Manual	1977-1981	D2027-1TR9
CD841	Model 177 Service Manual	1968-1978	D841-8TR12
CD991	Model 177RG Maintenance Manual	1971-1975	D991-3TR11
CD2009	Model 177RG Series Service Manual	1976-1978	D2009-4TR14
	180 Series
CD2000	Model 180 and 185 Service Manual	1969-1980	D2000-9TR10
CD2067	Model 180 and 185 Service Manual	1981-1985	D2067-1TR10
CD2006	Model 182 Series Service Manual	1969-1976	D2006-4TR7
CD2068	Model 182 and T182 Series Maintenance Manual	1977-1986	D2068-3TR7
CD2054	Model 188 and T188 Series Service Manual	1966-1984	D2054-1TR8
	200 Series
CD2007	Model 206 and T206 Series Service Manual	1969-1976	D2007-3TR11
CD2070	Model 206 and T206 Series Service Manual	1977-1986	D2070-3TR12
CD2060	Model 207 and T207 Series Service Manual	1969-1984	D2060-1TR10
CD2004	Model 210 Centurion Series Service Manual	1970-1976	D2004-5TR16
CD2057	Model 210 and T210 Series Service Manual	1977-1984	D2057-3TR16
CD2073	Model 210 and T210 Series Service Manual	1985-1986	D2073-2TR14
	300 Series
CD2500	Model 337, T337, F337 and FT337 Super Skymaster Series Service Manual	1965-1973	D2500-2TR11
CD2506	Model 337 and Turbo Series Service Manual	1974-1980	D2506-8TR11
CD2516	Model 337 Pressurized Series Service Manual	1973-1980	D2516-9TR10

For Further Information Contact

Bobbie Kroetch, Aerospace Safety Engineer, 1801 Airport Road, Room 100, Wichita, KS 67209; phone: (316) 946-4155; fax: (316) 946-4107; e-mail: bobbie.kroetch@faa.gov or Wichita-COS@faa.gov.

For Related Service Information Contact

Textron Aviation Inc., One Cessna Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67215; phone: (316) 517-6061; e-mail: structures@txtav.com.