The FAA has adopted a new airworthiness directive requiring operators of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Model GVI airplanes to update their maintenance or inspection programs. It’s to incorporate more restrictive airworthiness limitations, citing the need to protect the aircraft’s long-term structural integrity.
The directive takes effect Feb. 24 and applies to all Gulfstream GVI aircraft certified in any category. The FAA said the action is intended to prevent failure of principal structural elements over the service life of the airplane.
Under the rule, which was published in the Federal Register, operators must revise their existing maintenance or inspection programs within 30 days of the directive’s effective date to incorporate updated airworthiness limitations contained in specific sections of the Gulfstream’s G650 and G650ER maintenance manuals.
The FAA said later revisions of those manual sections may be used if the information is identical to the referenced versions.
The FAA first proposed the directive in a notice published May 19, 2025. The agency received one public comment in support of the proposal without change, as well as several comments from Gulfstream.
Gulfstream first requested that the FAA allow the use of later revisions of the aircraft maintenance manuals and clarify that only the airworthiness limitations section, not the entire manual, must be incorporated. The FAA agreed in part, stating that the later manual revisions are acceptable if the information is unchanged. However, the FAA rejected the manufacturer’s interpretation that the rule would require adoption of the full manual.
The aerospace company also asked the FAA to revise background language describing errors in airworthiness limitations sections. The FAA declined and said the term error was an accurate description of the need to revise the ALS of the AMMs.
The FAA estimates the directive will affect 428 U.S.-registered airplanes and averages the total cost per operator at $7,650, based on 90 labor hours at $85 per hour.
The FAA said the directive is not a significant regulatory action, will not have federalism implications, will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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