Freestream Aircraft

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

FAA extends Challenger maintenance AD to added 604 variant airframes

The FAA has extended a Challenger fleet airworthiness-limits AD. Federal Register document 2026-14110 was published on 14 July 2026 and becomes effective on 18 August. The rule supersedes AD 2025-17-12 and adds airplanes to the applicability.

The affected models are Bombardier CL-600-1A11 (Challenger 600), CL-600-2A12 (Challenger 601) and CL-600-2B16 (601-3A and 601-3R variants). The rule also covers CL-600-2B16 (604 variant) airplanes at serial numbers 5301 through 5665, 5701 through 6049 and 6050 through 6192. The FAA type certificate CL-600-2B16 covers what the market has sold as the Challenger 604, 605 and 650.

The earlier rule required operators to revise the existing maintenance or inspection programme to incorporate new time limits and maintenance checks. The FAA determined that certain 604 variant serial numbers were not captured under that earlier applicability. The 14 July rule adds those airframes to the scope. Owners of the newly-covered airframes must revise their maintenance programme to reflect the added limitations within the compliance window set by the rule.

The action adopts Transport Canada Civil Aviation AD CF-2024-16 of 23 May 2024. TCCA is the state of design authority for Bombardier's Challenger family. The MCAI states that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations have been developed since the prior programme was approved. The docket at Regulations.gov is FAA-2025-3435.

Airworthiness-limits ADs of this type revise a maintenance-programme document rather than a hardware fit. Compliance is a paperwork and scheduling task carried out with Bombardier documentation, and does not by itself trigger a shop visit. The Challenger 650 remains the sole in-production model in the Challenger family; the 604 and 605 are out of production but well-represented in the private fleet.

Source: FAA final rule, Federal Register document 2026-14110, 14 July 2026; docket FAA-2025-3435; superseded AD 2025-17-12.


Also today

NetJets tightens Citation Latitude generator inspections after Laredo

NetJets has expanded fleet-wide inspections of its Citation Latitude generators. Chief executive Adam Johnson issued the response on 11 July, after the NTSB released preliminary report CEN26FA228 on the 16 June 2026 Laredo crash of N523QS. Investigators cited a fractured right-engine fuel-tube assembly and a right-side starter generator missing outer-housing screws, with a bent shaft and fractured cooling fan. NetJets said it had coordinated with the FAA and NTSB on new operational guidance for in-flight generator failures, and had expanded inspections of DC and AC generators and fuel-line sensors across the fleet. Johnson said the new guidance 'fills in gaps created by the OEM Latitude checklist'.

Source: NetJets statement, 11 July 2026, via Private Jet Card Comparisons; Aviation International News, 13 July 2026.

ExecuJet MRO Belgium adds Falcon 6X to its capability

ExecuJet MRO Belgium has secured line and heavy Falcon 6X approvals. EASA and the FAA cleared the Dassault-owned facility for both scopes, adding to certifications from the civil aviation authorities of Bermuda, Aruba and Guernsey. Its Dassault MRO GoTeam approval has also been extended to aircraft-on-ground support for the type. Matthijs Hutsebaut, regional vice-president for Europe at ExecuJet MRO Services, said the facility is now internationally certified for line and heavy maintenance on all in-production Falcon variants. The Falcon 6X entered service in 2023; the multi-authority stack matters for owners whose 6X airframes sit on the Bermuda, Aruba or Guernsey registers.

Source: AviTrader, 13 July 2026; Business Airport International; MRO Business Today.