Tamarack Aerospace has voluntarily filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The company said it made the move as a direct result of the EASA and FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued against the Tamarack ATLAS Active Winglet system, which has effectively grounded the fleet of CitationJets with the Active Winglets installed.
The decision to enter Chapter 11 allows Tamarack to continue to operate and focus all activities on supporting the ATLAS winglet customers and to support EASA and FAA as they consider the proposal for lifting the restrictions imposed by the ADs.
Tamarack said it is committed to the safety of its products and has offered ATLAS upgrades free of charge in the form of two Service Bulletins prior to the Ads and these upgrades improve the reliability and safety of the ATLAS winglet modification.
These solutions have been proposed as the resolution of the ADs. Tamarack is working with all ATLAS-equipped CJ owners to arrange for upgrades.
Currently, 73 per cent of the ATLAS fleet is upgraded with more upgrades happening daily. The aircraft involved in the April 2019 incident that precipitated the EASA EAD was not upgraded, and there have been no reported incidents in those aircraft with the latest upgrades. Tamarack believes these upgrades will be considered the Terminating Action for these ADs.
EASA and FAA have been reluctant to provide an estimated timeframe; but we are keenly sensitive to the day-by-day impact that this situation has imposed upon our customers. We are committed to continue working hard with EASA and FAA to enable them to have all the data they need to approve a resolution at the earliest possible hour.
“Our goal is to complete the retrofit of the fleet with both upgrades as soon as possible, in anticipation that EASA and FAA will concurrently agree that these upgrades are considered the Terminating Action for these ADs,” the company said.
Tamarack believes that Chapter 11 will be a temporary state, and it is meant to ensure the long-term viability of the company.