Piper Malibu Tailfin Problems & Modifications

[cate]

Last night I went to the airport to hang out. It was a dead night and nothing at all was happening so one of the guys there, a mechanic and helicopter pilot, took me out to the hangars and let me look at the planes. While we were looking at a Piper Malibu, he told me they hate those planes because the tail has fallen off IN FLIGHT 8 or 9 times in the history of the plane. I am curious why this problem has been repeated so many times and if the FAA or some other entity like the NTSB has the right to demand the problem be fixed before the plane can continue to be produced.
Apparently the owner of the Piper Malibu is a bit of a risk taker anyway. He modified the 2 steel blade propeller to 4 composite blades and has had various small modifications done to his instrumentation. Is it just me or does that sound unnecessarily dangerous? FWIW, the guy has a reputation for being a terrible pilot, unsafe and generally reckless.

Any thoughts on the tail problem and modifying your aicraft are appreciated.

cheers,

cate

[wxwatcher]

cate,

It is possible to have some modifications done to an aircraft, but they have to be approved by an FAA FSDO inspector. There is a process refered to as S.T.C. I think it amounts to a waiver of the standard technical certicifate of the specific aircraft. This applies to the airframe and powerplant, including the props. Some companies have gone through the process and have a preapproved certificate for various models. They are authorized to make specific modifications to based on the engineering data and flight tests they provided to the FAA. An example would be the Robertson STOL kit for the Cessna 337 aircraft. Anyone with the money can contact Robertson and have their C337 modified to the STOL standard.

As for the tail problem, I haven't personally heard of that one. However, the NTSB does have a web page and has some accident statistics there. There are also sites that have a listing of Airworthyness Dirrectives (A/D's) that the FAA has issued for various aircraft. If there is a problem identified with the Malibeu, then there may be a A/D out to fix it. These are required modifications to fix problems identified as affecting flight safety and must be complied with.

Jerry

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Comments and opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.