FAA Issues Directive Targeting Lycoming Piston Pins Following Two Engine Failures

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a directive targeting piston pins used in Lycoming engines after two separate engine failures were attributed to the components.

Under the directive, operators are required to inspect their engines and replace the affected piston pins to address the identified safety risk. The action follows the two engine failures that investigators linked to the piston pins.

Component-level airworthiness directives of this kind show how a single part failure, once repeated, can trigger a mandatory inspection and replacement cycle across an entire engine line rather than a single aircraft. Piston engines used in general aviation and light training and charter fleets often share common parts across many airframes, so a defect traced to one component can reach a wide population of operators quickly.

Maintenance providers and operators flying Lycoming-powered piston aircraft will need to determine whether their engines carry the affected piston pins and schedule inspection and replacement accordingly. What remains to be seen is the compliance timeline the FAA sets and whether Lycoming issues its own service guidance identifying which engine models and serial ranges are affected.