Washington, United States: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive targeting all Embraer Model EMB-545 and EMB-550 aircraft, citing a potentially catastrophic failure risk involving the aircraft’s pitch trim system.
The directive, which became effective immediately upon receipt, follows reports of in-service failures in one load path of the pitch trim actuator, a critical component that controls the horizontal stabilizer. According to the FAA, such failures, if unaddressed, could escalate into a dual load-path failure, potentially allowing the stabilizer to move freely under aerodynamic forces and resulting in loss of control of the aircraft.
The action stems from an earlier emergency directive issued by Brazil’s aviation authority, the Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), under Emergency AD 2026-04-02, which identified the unsafe condition during scheduled maintenance checks. Specifically, failures were observed during operational checks of pitch trim actuator irreversibility, raising concerns over the system’s redundancy.
Under bilateral aviation safety agreements, ANAC notified the FAA of the issue, prompting the U.S. regulator to determine that the same unsafe condition is likely to exist or develop in aircraft operating under U.S. jurisdiction.
The FAA directive mandates operators to carry out operational checks of the pitch trim actuator, with an option to perform a pitch trim verification, in accordance with the ANAC procedures. If the system fails, defined as a “TEST FAILED” status after five minutes or repeated “TEST ABORTED” results after five attempts operators must replace the actuator before further flight.
Additionally, if a replacement is required, a subsequent operational check must be performed on the new actuator to ensure airworthiness before the aircraft returns to service.
The directive also requires operators to report inspection and verification data within 10 days, either after completing the checks or from the date of receiving the directive, depending on when the inspection was conducted.
Citing an urgent safety risk, the FAA bypassed the standard notice-and-comment rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act, invoking “good cause” to enforce the directive immediately. The agency stated that the short compliance window and the severity of the potential failure made prior public consultation impractical and contrary to the public interest.
“The risk to the flying public justifies forgoing notice and comment,” the FAA noted, emphasizing that unresolved actuator failures could lead to uncontrolled stabilizer movement and loss of aircraft control.
The FAA described the directive as an interim action, noting that the required reporting will help manufacturers better understand the root cause, scope, and frequency of the failures. Based on the findings, further rulemaking or permanent corrective measures may follow.
The directive applies to all EMB-545 and EMB-550 aircraft, regardless of certification category, and falls under ATA Chapter 27 (Flight Controls). No previous airworthiness directives are superseded by this action.
The FAA issued the directive under its statutory authority outlined in Title 49 of the United States Code, which mandates the agency to ensure safe flight operations by prescribing necessary regulations and procedures.
