Garmin: G1000 Still Safe To Fly

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Garmin is aggressively working with suppliers and OEM partners to resolve an issue with the G1000 unit and resume deliveries, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The problem stems from a sudden increase in failure rates during recent flight tests of new GRS 77 AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System) units used in G1000 installations, the company said. A component failure in the GRS 77 results in a continual “red-x” of attitude information on the primary flight display. “After communication with Garmin’s OEM partners and the FAA, it was determined that in all G1000 installations, continued safe flight can be conducted with the stand-by attitude indicator and other available instruments,” the company said in a statement. “If pilots should experience a failure of the GRS 77 AHRS, they should follow standard procedures and refer to the standby attitude indicator.” At Cessna, production has continued despite the G1000 problems, director of corporate communications Doug Oliver told AVweb on Tuesday. “We anticipate a resolution from Garmin literally any minute,” he said. Nonetheless, deliveries of single-engine piston aircraft are suspended until the issue is resolved. “Mustang deliveries were originally suspended as well,” Oliver said, “but due to its lower production rate, its avionics systems were installed some time ago, before the suspect batch was produced. This has, of course, been confirmed through testing and approved by the FAA.” He said he doesn’t anticipate the G1000 problem to have any impact on aircraft production at Cessna.

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