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FAA lifts flight restriction on Tamarack-fitted Cessna Citations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) clearing Cessna Citation aircraft equipped with Tamarack winglets to fly again in the U.S.

The AMOC lifts the airworthiness directive issued in May to all Cessna Citation jets fitted with Tamarack Aerospace active load alleviation (Atlas) winglets, following reported malfunctioning of the feature causing difficulty for pilots.

The move from the FAA mirrors an earlier action by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), approving Cessna Citation jets which deactivated the active load-alleviation system (Atlas) installed by Tamarack.

The slightly unconventional load-alleviation tabs on the Atlas winglets – dubbed Tamarack Active Camber Surfaces (TACS) – had caused “occurrences…in which Atlas appears to have malfunctioned, causing upset events where, in some cases, the pilots had difficulty to recover the airplane to safe flight,” according to an EASA emergency directive in April.

The flight clearance announcements are a step forward for Tamarack, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in June as a direct result of the airworthiness directives issued against it.

“I offer my sincere thanks to our loyal and supportive customers. They have been our staunchest advocates despite the inconvenience and hardship of having the use of their aircraft restricted,” said Tamarack founder and CEO Nicholas Guida.

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