The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is reporting that the FAA has issued an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring repetitive inspections of Ameri-King Corp.Model AK-450- and AK-451-series emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) in response to multiple reports of ELT failures and a report of “noncompliance to quality standards and manufacturer processes.”
The AD, which takes effect Oct. 24, affects an estimated 14,500 ELTs installed in a wide variety of aircraft.
According to the AOPA report, the ELTS must be inspected within 12 months after the effective date with corrective actions taken as specified in the AD that was published in the Federal Register Sept. 19.
It’s just such a great process!
Ameri-King Corp. produces a cheap piece of junk; the FAA approves it; Ameri-King sells it to aircraft owners for a small fortune; the approval process turns out to be useless as the ELT eventually proves to be a piece of junk; the FAA revokes the approval and issues an AD (but of course the FAA is never responsible for anything); aircraft owners get to foot the bill.
Summary: Two parties provide the blunders while the third and innocent party provides the money.
Are all you FAA defenders and apologists OK with this??