September 16, 2026 - No. 37

In This Issue

: Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes 

: Cooling system cuts fuel-cell heat in hydrogen-electric aircraft for 800-mile flights 

: Radia showcases WindRunner as new solution for responsive space logistics

: US Air Force launches North Star Readiness Campaign to stop escalating B-52 and B-1 bomber sustainment crisis.

: Taylorcraft Crash Caused by Loose Magneto

: FAA Announces Key Demonstrations with the First Remotely-Piloted Hybrid-Electric Flight for Cargo Shipment

: Turkey’s own fifth-generation KAAN fighters.

: AerFin Taps Tarmac For A320neo, 737 MAX Teardowns

: More than 10 A320neo and 737 MAX jets earmarked for teardown at TARMAC

: Fuel-Oil Contamination Leads to Cessna 172 Engine Power Loss


 


 


 Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes


Mainline Mainframe Active NPRMs (Pending AD)

Airbus A330 and A340 Fleet (Docket No. FAA-2026-8804): Published on September 14, 2026, this active proposal seeks to supersede prior regulations regarding the Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer Actuator (THSA). 

It mandates electrical load sensing device (ELSD) modifications and wiring adjustments across widebody fleets. Public comments are being accepted through October 29, 2026. [1]




 


Cooling system cuts fuel-cell heat in hydrogen-electric aircraft for 800-mile flights

TAT Technologies is bringing its Universal Cooling System into Beyond Aero’s ONE program.


By Transportation
Sep 14, 2026 07:05 PM EST


ONE hydrogen-electric aircraft.

Beyond Aero
Hydrogen-electric aviation has a cooling problem that could prove just as important as the propulsion system itself. TAT Technologies is now working with French aerospace startup Beyond Aero to tackle that challenge on its planned hydrogen-electric business aircraft.

The companies are collaborating on the thermal-management architecture for Beyond Aero’s ONE aircraft. TAT’s Universal Cooling System, or UCS, is being integrated into the aircraft’s design as engineers work toward a compact propulsion system capable of handling demanding heat loads.

The ONE is designed to carry six passengers for roughly 800 nautical miles. That translates to about 920 miles of range, or around five times the distance targeted by comparable battery-electric aircraft.

Cooling hydrogen-electric propulsion
Fuel-cell propulsion creates a demanding thermal environment. Engineers must manage heat efficiently without adding excessive weight or consuming valuable space inside the aircraft.

That makes thermal management a key part of the aircraft architecture, rather than a secondary system added later. TAT developed its UCS as an integrated cooling platform for electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft. The system can adapt across different operating conditions while targeting the tight size and weight constraints of emerging aircraft designs.

TAT Technologies CEO Igal Zamir said hydrogen propulsion offers a promising route toward lower-emission aviation. He also pointed to flexibility, efficiency and reliability as key requirements for new aircraft platforms.

800-mile range
The range target gives the project an important distinction within electric aviation. Battery-powered aircraft face significant energy-density limits, especially when designers try to extend range without dramatically increasing battery mass.

Hydrogen can offer a different path. Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity while producing heat that the aircraft must continuously reject, making the cooling architecture particularly important as Beyond Aero moves toward a complete aircraft configuration.

Beyond Aero’s Head of Program Industrialization Yannick Schwartzenbart said TAT’s aerospace experience will help the startup develop a reliable aircraft architecture. He added that the partnership strengthens the industrial base supporting the hydrogen-electric program. The collaboration also gives Beyond Aero access to thermal-management expertise developed for demanding aerospace applications.

Thermal systems shape aircraft
The partnership illustrates how propulsion advances can reshape seemingly secondary aircraft systems. Hydrogen tanks, fuel cells, electrical equipment and cooling hardware must all fit within a tightly constrained airframe.

Engineers therefore need to consider heat rejection early in the design process. A cooling system that performs well but adds too much mass or occupies excessive space can undermine the aircraft’s overall efficiency.

Beyond Aero aims to use the ONE to bring hydrogen-electric propulsion into business aviation. The aircraft is being developed specifically around that propulsion architecture, rather than adapting an existing conventional design.

TAT’s involvement places thermal management inside that broader engineering effort. If the ONE reaches commercial operation, its cooling system will be one of the less visible components helping determine how efficiently the aircraft can use hydrogen power.





 


Radia showcases WindRunner as new solution for responsive space logistics

WindRunner is designed to operate using standard cargo handling equipment.


By Transportation
Sep 12, 2026 01:27 PM EST


WindRunner enables a more responsive, resilient, and flexible space mobility architecture for government, allied, and commercial operators.
Radia

A Colorado-based company is showcasing how WindRunner, the world’s largest aircraft by volume, addresses one of the space industry’s most significant emerging constraints.

Purpose built around cargo volume, not simply payload weight, WindRunner enables direct delivery of outsized space systems to launch sites, manufacturing facilities, and austere or distributed locations without disassembly.

Designed to move the largest things in the world
“The rockets, boosters, and spacecraft that define the space enterprise’s ambitions keep getting larger, more capable, and more valuable. Yet we’re still relying on transportation systems designed decades ago,” said Mark Lundstrom, founder and CEO of Radia.

“WindRunner was designed to move the largest things in the world to the hardest places to reach, and that is exactly what the space community needs. Whether it’s a fully assembled booster, a recovered launch vehicle, or a next generation satellite, we can move it intact, in hours instead of days, without disassembly. With a low cargo deck height, nose door, and an innovative cargo loading system, the WindRunner will enable easier loading of outsized space related cargo. That gives the space enterprise an entirely new logistics capability.”

WindRunner enables a more responsive, resilient, and flexible space mobility
Rather than replacing today’s launch infrastructure or strategic airlift, WindRunner complements and extends both by providing a logistics capability for oversized, volume dominated payloads that no existing aircraft can transport intact. By connecting manufacturing, integration, launch, recovery, and sustainment operations, WindRunner enables a more responsive, resilient, and flexible space mobility architecture for government, allied, and commercial operators.

It’s also revealed that modern space programs increasingly run out of transport options before they run out of ambition.

Rocket stages, boosters, satellites, and other mission critical systems continue to grow in size, while the roads, ports, and aircraft available to move them have remained largely unchanged. As a result, valuable hardware is often disassembled, constrained by existing transportation limits, or routed by sea and road over several days or even weeks, adding cost, schedule risk, and unnecessary handling to some of the world’s most sensitive aerospace systems.

WindRunner can support responsive space operations and enable movement of large launch systems in hours instead of days while supporting the recovery and repositioning of reusable launch vehicles for faster turnaround.

WindRunner offers short takeoff and landing capability from approximately 1,800-meter unpaved runways enables access to emerging spaceports, distributed launch locations, and austere operating sites beyond the reach of conventional cargo aircraft.

WindRunner is designed to operate using standard cargo handling equipment and conventional airfield infrastructure, eliminating the need for specialized loading systems or bespoke facilities.

For military and commercial space operations, this could support a more distributed logistics architecture. Instead of relying exclusively on a small number of major transportation centres, oversized space hardware could potentially be moved closer to emerging spaceports, test facilities or austere operating locations.

Radia says WindRunner could accommodate satellites with roughly twice the dimensional envelope of systems that can currently be transported fully assembled. If that capability becomes practical, spacecraft designers could gain greater freedom to build larger systems without being constrained as heavily by transportation requirements.

That could have applications across communications, Earth observation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as national-security space missions. In other words, an aircraft designed to solve a logistics problem could potentially influence how future spacecraft themselves are designed.






 


US Air Force launches North Star Readiness Campaign to stop escalating B-52 and B-1 bomber sustainment crisis.

10 Sep, 2026 - 12:38
Defense News Aerospace 2026

On September 8, 2026, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command launched the North Star Readiness Campaign alongside Air Force Materiel Command and the Defense Logistics Agency to address mission-capable shortfalls across its 76 B-52H and 45 B-1B strategic bombers. The joint enterprise initiative directly targets supply chain bottlenecks, depot delays, and parts shortages to accelerate flight-line availability while legacy fleets undergo heavy modernization. By reforming cross-organizational logistics, lateral shipping times have already been reduced from seven-plus days down to 48-72 hours, cutting mission-impairing supply backlogs by over 64 percent.

The North Star Readiness Campaign has reduced high-priority MICAP supply cases from over 450 to approximately 160, accelerating parts delivery timelines across the strategic bomber fleet. The effort aims to stabilize operational availability as 45 B-1B bombers undergo structural sustainment and 76 B-52H aircraft absorb $21 billion in concurrent modernization programs.

Related topic: First B-52J bomber flight approaches as US Air Force completes Rolls-Royce F130 engine review


The B-52H and B-1B fleets remain at low readiness levels, with FY2024 mission-capable rates of 54% and 43%, respectively, mathematically equivalent to about 41 of 76 B-52Hs and 19 of 45 B-1Bs available for at least one assigned mission on average. (Picture source: US Air Force)

On September 8, 2026, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) announced the North Star Readiness Campaign with the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to increase the number of mission-capable B-52H and B-1B strategic bombers by reducing parts shortages, aircraft-on-ground time, and depot delays. The latest public rates date back to FY2024, when the B-52H mission-capable rate was 54% and the B-1B rate 43%, down from 59% and 55% in FY2022. Applied to inventories of 76 B-52Hs and 45 B-1Bs, FY2024 rates mathematically equal 41 and 19 mission-capable aircraft, or 60 of 121 bombers, although these annual averages are not daily combat-available counts. North Star has reduced mission-impairing capability awaiting parts (MICAP) cases from more than 450 to about 160, eliminating at least 290 cases and more than 64% of the previous backlog.

The U.S. Air Force campaign, therefore, starts at the supply level, but the underlying readiness equation is broader: 45 aging B-1Bs require increasingly intensive structural work, while 76 B-52Hs must remain operational into the 2050s while absorbing 13 concurrent modernization programs costing nearly $21 billion. The North Star Readiness Campaign's immediate objective is to shorten the interval between identifying a failure and returning an aircraft to service. AFGSC flight-line maintainers and operators are working directly with AFMC, DLA, supply chain organizations, logistics readiness squadrons, depot personnel, engineering organizations, and commercial contractors rather than allowing individual shortages to move sequentially through separate organizations.

Lateral shipments that previously required seven days or more can now reach operating units in two to three days, reducing transportation times from at least 168 hours to 48-72 hours, a cut of 57 to 71%. MICAP volume has simultaneously fallen from more than 450 cases to about 160, meaning fewer than 36 cases now remain for every 100 present at the campaign's earlier baseline. This lower workload allows personnel to move beyond immediate aircraft-on-ground cases and address high-priority backorders and components showing recurring failure patterns before they generate additional groundings. Flight-line personnel have also developed a localized phase-maintenance playbook that shortened maintenance timelines, although no quantified reduction has been released. No post-North Star mission-capable rate is available, so the campaign cannot yet be credited with increasing the B-52H above 54% or the B-1B above 43%. 

For the B-1B fleet, a 43% FY2024 mission-capable rate against 45 aircraft mathematically corresponds to 19.35 aircraft, compared with 24.75 aircraft if the same fleet had retained its 55% FY2022 rate. The 12-point deterioration therefore represents a mathematical difference equivalent to 5.4 aircraft across the annual average, potentially illustrating the scale of the readiness decline even though these figures are not daily fleet counts. The causes extend beyond missing consumables. Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) inspections and Forward Intermediate Fuselage Replacement (FIFR) address structural deterioration requiring lengthy aircraft downtime, while declining reliability and spare part availability increase Total Non-Mission Capable for Supply. Higher TNMCS drives cannibalization, in which maintainers remove usable components from one B-1B to restore another, shifting the shortage between tail numbers rather than creating another serviceable component.

Diminishing manufacturing sources, fewer qualified vendors, and long repair lead times restrict replacement throughput. The B-1 Embracing Agile Scheduling Team (BEAST) addresses structural sustainment alongside IFF upgrades, secure communications, defensive system changes, simulator modernization, and digital-twin applications. North Star consequently attacks the time lost between failure, supply action, and repair, while BEAST and structural programs address causes that cannot be eliminated through faster component movement alone. The B-52 supply chain has a different scale: 76 remaining B-52Hs, representing only 10.2% of the 744 B-52s originally produced, depend on roughly 76,000 distinct spare part types, equivalent to about 1,000 part types for every aircraft remaining in inventory. The last B-52H was delivered in 1962, creating a 64-year interval between final delivery and North Star's launch in 2026.

Unplanned depot findings can leave an aircraft waiting 80 to 100 days at Tinker Air Force Base specifically for replacement parts, equivalent to 24 to 29% of the FY2025 average 340-day depot cycle. Engine logistics are particularly restrictive because the legacy engines contain more than 6,000 unique parts and many manufacturing sources no longer exist, forcing maintainers to cannibalize other B-52 engines. A 2017 Air Force assessment determined that continued engine sustainment would become unsustainable after FY2030 without replacement due to obsolescence and insufficient manufacturing capacity. Establishing production for a newly manufactured B-52 component requires a minimum of two years, so a shortage identified in 2026 may not be resolved before 2028, even before additional delays associated with re-establishing tooling or qualifying a supplier.

With only 76 aircraft, low-volume demand further limits the commercial case for maintaining dedicated production capacity. This supply problem has already translated directly into longer depot cycles. Average B-52 depot flow increased from 219 days in FY2020 to 340 days in FY2025 (55.3%); this means a B-52 in FY2025 occupied a depot capacity for almost four additional months compared with FY2020. Unexpected wing corrosion, discovered in FY2022, added another average penalty of about 58 days per affected depot cycle, equivalent to 17.1% of the current 340-day average. Each B-52 generally enters programmed depot maintenance once every four years and requires about 40,000 labor hours before modernization work is added. With a planned throughput of 17 aircraft annually, cycling 76 aircraft through the depot mathematically requires 4.5 years.

The modernization plan requires average depot flow to fall from the FY2025 level of 340 days to 301 days, a 39-day or 11.5% reduction. If replacement engines arrive late, however, continued work on the increasingly difficult legacy engines could push depot flow more than 50% above that target, exceeding 452 days per aircraft. The difficulty is that this depot workload is scheduled to increase at the same time the U.S. Air Force needs depot flow to decrease. As of March 2026, the B-52 portfolio contained 13 modernization programs, of which 10 had cost, schedule, or performance problems: three had experienced cost growth, seven were behind schedule, and eight had performance problems, with three affected in all three categories.


The Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CEPR) adds 23,345 hours; the Radar Modernization Program (RMP) another 10,000 to 15,000; the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) 5,000; the Crypto/MUOS 5,000; the Tactical Data Link 935; the Quad Crew about 900; the Military Code about 900, the VLF/LF 420; the Mission Data Recorder 220; and the VINSON cryptographic modernization 10. Using the 15,000-hour upper estimate for RMP, those modifications total roughly 51,730 additional installation hours per aircraft, equal to 129% of the labor required for an ordinary 40,000-hour depot-maintenance package. For 17 aircraft, that would mathematically represent about 1.56 million labor hours if all listed work were concentrated in the same annual cohort, compared with 680,000 hours for baseline depot maintenance alone.

Tinker capacity analysis found that the depot could not maintain the planned 17-aircraft annual throughput and install CERP simultaneously with existing resources, leaving three basic options: reduce annual completions, reduce modification work, or add personnel, parts and facilities. CERP and RMP also concentrate the financial exposure. Together they account for about $18.3 billion of nearly $21 billion in B-52 modernization acquisition costs (88%), leaving less than $2.7 billion for the other 11 programs combined. CERP alone increased more than 38% from its 2018 estimate to over $15.4 billion in 2025, and its planned development start moved 32 months from FY2023 Q4 to FY2026 Q3. Developmental flight testing shifted to FY2029 Q1, four years later than previously planned, while initial operational capability moved to 2033, nearly five years later.

For instance, a June 2023 wind-tunnel test found an inlet-flow distortion capable of causing an in-flight engine fan stall; the verification of the redesigned inlet was only completed in June 2025. For its part, the RMP increased by more than 30% to over $2.9 billion; production slipped by more than two years to FY2026 Q3; IOC moved about 3.5 years to FY2030 Q3, and performance requirements were reduced from 25 to 20, a 20% reduction. After a significant Nunn-McCurdy breach in May 2025, RMP is scheduled to begin production after only two months of an 18-month developmental flight-test period, leaving 16 months, or 88.9% of planned developmental flight testing, to occur after production has begun. 


The constraint extends to the equipment and infrastructure needed to turn parts and labor into completed aircraft. As of July 2025, the B-52 enterprise possessed 72% of authorized common support equipment, leaving a 28% deficit, and 63% of B-52-specific equipment, leaving a 37% deficit. When Tinker's jet analyzer used to verify repaired-engine speed and thrust failed, no local spare was available, and another analyzer had to be borrowed to prevent engine testing from stopping. Tinker originally had six B-52 hangar bays, but two were internal "locked-in" positions, so aircraft in those bays could remain unable to exit for days or weeks until another B-52 was moved.

A temporary two-bay facility increased usable flow capacity, while a four-bay Agile Common Hangar is being accelerated toward construction beginning in FY2026 for CERP work from about FY2031, before later supporting the B-21. Supply measures include ordering parts years before aircraft induction, monthly prioritization of shortages, DLA incentives for low-volume suppliers, and limited in-house manufacturing such as left-hand engine cowls and partial engine rebuilds. Each partial rebuild saves about $4 million relative to a complete engine overhaul and consumes fewer scarce components, although the repaired engine returns with a shorter remaining service life.





 


Taylorcraft Crash Caused by Loose Magneto


The pilot reported that, while en route, the Taylorcraft BC12-D's engine sustained a partial loss of power.
He attempted to restore power by applying carburetor heat, adjusting the mixture, and checking the fuel control valve. The troubleshooting efforts were unsuccessful, and the airplane was unable to maintain altitude.
He descended into a wooded valley near Trojan, South Dakota, and conducted a forced landing into the treetops. The airplane came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot and his passenger were not injured in the crash.
A post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed that the hold-down nuts on the right magneto were loose, and the magneto could rotate freely by hand.
A lead deposit was noted in the No. 1 cylinder top spark plug, however it was not found to inhibit the function of the spark plug. No other pre-impact mechanical malfunctions were identified.
A review of the airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the last 100-hour inspection of the engine occurred on Oct. 6, 2023. The logbooks stated that during this inspection, the magnetos were timed, and the spark plugs were cleaned and gapped.
The last annual inspection was on Sept. 1, 2024, six days before the accident. According to the mechanic who conducted the last annual inspection, the ignition timing was checked, but he did not recall if he adjusted the magnetos. He also stated that the airplane had operated about five to 10 hours between the completion of the last annual inspection and the time of the accident.
Probable Cause: The partial loss of engine power due to a loose magneto and subsequent impact with terrain.
NTSB Identification: 195074 
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device. 
This September 2024 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.






 


FAA Announces Key Demonstrations with the First Remotely-Piloted Hybrid-Electric Flight for Cargo Shipment

Monday, August 31, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that Elroy and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development conducted a hybrid-electric demonstration flight to test cargo deliveries using remotely piloted aircraft at Houma-Terrebonne Airport in Louisiana. This is the first remotely piloted aircraft test flight under the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).

This flight is part of a series of demonstrations as the U.S. Department of Transportation works to safely integrate Advanced Air Mobility aircraft into the National Airspace System.

“This demonstration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development provides data to help turn these concepts from trial to deployment.” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “These test flights demonstrate how these new aircraft can expand cargo delivery options to communities nationwide and improve our logistics infrastructure.”

"Louisiana has always been willing to take on big challenges and help move the country forward," said Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Glenn Ledet. "This partnership gives our state a meaningful role in shaping the next chapter of American aviation. DOTD is grateful for the FAA's confidence in Louisiana and proud of the opportunities this work can create for our industries, workforce and communities."

“Chaparral was built to move heavy cargo autonomously in the places that need it most including offshore energy platforms, industrial supply chains, disaster response, and communities beyond the reach of traditional infrastructure. The eIPP gives us a clear, collaborative path for safely bringing uncrewed, autonomous cargo aircraft into the National Airspace System. This week’s series of uncrewed, autonomous flights in Houma, Louisiana are the first step in that process, and we're grateful to the FAA,

The State of Louisiana, Secretary Duffy, USDOT, and the White House for their leadership in making it possible. We're ready to deliver." said Andrew Clare, CEO of Elroy Air.

Elroy used its Chaparral aircraft, a highly automated hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (vTOL) system designed to move heavy cargo by air between non-traditional sites.

The eIPP is a first-of-its-kind initiative outlined in President Trump’s Unleashing Drone Dominance Executive Order. It creates one of the nation’s largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft with the potential to create jobs, connect communities, and strengthen American leadership in aviation.

Additional Information
In March 2026, the Department of Transportation selected eight projects across 26 states to participate in the eIPP. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is one of the eight participants.

The FAA will use what it learns from these demonstrations to identify gaps, improve procedures, and support the safe integration of advanced air mobility into the National Airspace System. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and other eIPP participants are planning additional test flights throughout the rest of the year.







 


Turkey’s own fifth-generation KAAN fighters. 

Turkey has just signed its first order for 20 KAAN fighters. This is Turkey’s own fifth-generation fighter, designed to augment and eventually replace its F-16 fleet. 

Right now, the KAAN flies with GE F110 engines, the same basic powerplant used by Turkish F-16s, but the indigenous TF35000 is targeted for integration around 2032. 

It's a huge achievement for a program that has gone from a paper concept to a flying fighter in just a few years.





 


AerFin Taps Tarmac For A320neo, 737 MAX Teardowns

James Pozzi 
September 14, 2026
Credit: Tarmac Aerosave

Tarmac Aerosave will dismantle more than 10 aircraft for AerFin over the coming months, including Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

As demand picks up for material from new-generation narrowbodies, the France-headquartered storage and recycling specialist has established a dedicated line for the program, covering cabin and landing gear removal as well as the management of priority and standard parts lists.

The arrangement will look to speed up the recovery of components for AerFin, a supplier of used service material that also manages aircraft and engine assets on behalf of airlines, MROs and lessors. Last month, Wales-based AerFin was acquired by Japanese conglomerate ORIX.

In a statement released Sept. 11, AerFin Chief Operating Officer Simon Bayliss said the latest program reflects increasing customer demand for material from newer-generation aircraft. Despite the relatively young age of the A320neo and 737 MAX programs, which have just reached 10 years and nine years of service respectively, there is a growing demand for materials from both aircraft constrained by the limited number of teardown candidates in the market. 

“With more than 10 aircraft projects again this year for AerFin, this collaboration confirms our position as a leading player in the dismantling and recycling market,” said Tarmac Aerosave chief commercial officer Christian Ceruti.

Both parties have worked together for 10 years and said they are preparing additional projects for 2027. Tarmac Aerosave, jointly owned by Airbus, Safran and environmental services company SUEZ, operates facilities in Tarbes and Toulouse-Francazal in France and in Teruel in Spain.

Since commencing operations in 2007, the company said it has received more than 2,000 aircraft, redelivered 1,450 and dismantled 450 aircraft and 255 engines.







 


More than 10 A320neo and 737 MAX jets earmarked for teardown at TARMAC

By Ian Molyneaux

Edited By Andy Murray

Airbus A330 outside TARMAC Aerosave's facility in Teruel, Spain (credit: Sendo Serra / Shutterstock.com)

More than 10 Airbus A320neo and Boeing737 MAX family aircraft have been earmarked for teardown before the end of the year through an agreement between TARMAC Aerosave and AerFin.

On September 11, 2026, aircraft dismantling and recycling specialist TARMAC Aerosave announced that over 10 next generation aircraft will be processed for recycling over the coming months, on behalf of its long-term partner.

There is strong demand for next generation aircraft engines and parts, resulting in increasing numbers of A320neo and Boeing737 MAX family aircraft being identified for teardown.

Earlier this year, two Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neos, aged just three and four years old, were recycled, with highly valued components and parts prized over the young aircraft itself.

AerFin buys, sells, leases and repairs aircraft, engines and parts. Due to the company’s specific needs, TARMAC has set up a dedicated organization structured around a dedicated line.

The line will cover several specialized needs, including cabin and landing gear removal. There will also be a team in charge of priority and standard parts lists.

“This organization enables TARMAC Aerosave to respond to market demand for spare parts with precision and speed, while ensuring AerFin optimal responsiveness towards its own customers,” TARMAC said.
More projects expected in 2027
The partnership between TARMAC and AerFin spans 10 years and the two organizations are already preparing for new projects in 2027.

“With more than 10 aircraft projects again this year for AerFin, this collaboration confirms our position as a leading player in the dismantling and recycling market,” Christian Ceruti, CCO at TARMAC Aerosave said. “Our dedicated organization allows us to respond with the responsiveness that this high-demand market requires today.”

In February 2026, aviation asset management firm EirTrade claimed that there are over 4,400 Airbus A320neos currently in service and over 7,000 on order, along with 6,500 operating CEO aircraft for which many of the components are interchangeable.
Simon Bayliss, CCO at AerFin, said: “Our long-standing relationship with TARMAC Aerosave is built on trust, expertise and a shared commitment to supporting the aviation aftermarket. This latest program reflects the strength of our partnership and the value it continues to create for customers as demand for new-generation aircraft material grows.”

Founded in 2007, TARMAC is jointly owned by Airbus, Safran, and SUEZ.





 


Fuel-Oil Contamination Leads to Cessna 172 Engine Power Loss

The flight instructor and student were performing touch-and-go landings on Runway 17R at Centennial Airport (KAPA) in Englewood, Colorado. On climbout for the traffic pattern, when the Cessna 172S was about 200 feet AGL, they noticed a partial loss of engine power.

The CFI, who reported the tachometer read 2,100 and then 1,600 rpm, performed a forced landing on a golf course. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest inverted.

The flight instructor was not injured, while the stude
nt pilot sustained minor injuries.

A review of maintenance logbook entries found that on Sept. 5, 2024, about a week before the accident, another pilot reported that the airplane “was only getting 2,000 rpm at max power and was backfiring constantly in the run-up.”

However, maintenance personnel found that the engine operated satisfactorily during a subsequent ground run-up. The airplane was then flown daily without any reported engine problems until the accident takeoff.

A post-impact examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

However, during a bench test of the engine’s fuel injection servo (AVStar part number LFR-NNSS5), fuel flow was below the minimum service limit at most test points. When the servo was disassembled, a thick blue liquid consistent with a fuel-oil mixture was found in the venturi chambers. Oil residue was noted in the hex plug and air diaphragm, the spring and stem assembly, and the air passage to the air diaphragm.
The venturi and air diaphragm. (Photos courtesy FAA)

The AVStar LFR-NNSS5 is a variant of the RSA-5AD1 fuel injection servo and was mounted in an updraft configuration on the airplane. AVStar service bulletin AFS-SB10, Fuel Servos Installed in an Updraft Configuration, which is applicable to RSA-5AD1 servos, states: There have been occasional reports of servo-equipped engines that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics — gradually deteriorating idle, 

difficulty starting and/or cold engine acceleration performance. These engines may have the servo mounted in an updraft or nearly updraft configuration. Close inspection of the servo may reveal oily contaminant in the bore of the servo that is green/blue in color. It is also possible for this contaminant to migrate into the air section of the regulator.

The Precision Airmotive service information letter SIL RS-40, Service Information For RSA-5 Series Fuel Injection Servos Installed in Updraft Configuration, similarly notes reports of reduced engine performance and recommends inspection of fuel injection servos for contamination if these problems are experienced.

The flight school’s maintenance personnel stated they were aware of AVStar AFS-SB10 and Precision Airmotive SIL RS-40 and routinely inspected their airplanes that had any symptoms listed in AFS-SB10.

In addition, they reported that they caution their pilots against over-priming the engine during engine starts.

Probable Cause: A partial loss of engine power due to fuel-oil contamination of the fuel injection servo.

NTSB Identification: 195102

To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.



 
Curt Lewis