- The FAA has grounded the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet.
- The agency issued an emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) on Thursday that orders the immediate replacement of the plane's angle of attack (AOA) sensors before it can fly again.
- The grounding is in response to three incidents between November 2018 and this month in which the Vision Jet's anti-stall protection system and electronic stability system engaged "when not appropriate."
- The Cirrus Vision Jet is a revolutionary single-engine, carbon composite private jet that entered production in late 2016.
- At around $2 million, the Vision Jet is the most affordable new private jet on the market.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
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The US government has grounded the Cirrus VisionJet — the cheapest private jet in the world — because of defective sensors that are 'potentially fatal'
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
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The US Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet . The agency issued an emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) on Thursday that orders the immediate replacement of the plane's angle of attack (AOA) sensors before it can fly again.
According to the FAA, the grounding is in response to three incidents between November 2018 and this month in which the Vision Jet's anti-stall protection system and electronic stability system engaged "when not appropriate."
Read more : Boeing can't deliver the 737 Max to customers, and now the planes are clogging up its storage lots .
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The agency noted that in each incident, the plane attempted to automatically pitch the nose of the plane downward while alerting the pilot of an impending stall. Fortunately, the pilots in each incident were able to stop the automatic commands by following emergency procedure. Each of the pilots were able to land safely.
Cirrus, which reported the incidents to the FAA, was not immediately available for comment.
The control issue has been attributed to a production defect in the jet's AOA sensor. As a result, the sensor can give faulty readings that may result in, "unintended automatic flight control activations; the flight crew having difficulty controlling the airplane; excessive nose-down attitude; and/or possible impact with terrain," the FAA said.
As a result, the AOA sensors on all Vision Jet must be replaced with an improved non-defective unit before it can fly again.
"The noted condition presents an immediate danger to pilots and passengers of Cirrus Design Corporation Model SF50 airplanes because an uncommanded pitch down may be difficult to recover from in some flight regimes with potentially fatal consequences," the FAA said in the directive.
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The Cirrus Vision Jet is a revolutionary single-engine, carbon composite private jet that entered production in late 2016. At around $2 million, the Vision Jet is the most affordable new private jet on the market and has been praised for its performance and ease of use.
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