# SAIB 2026-15: Forward Pressure Bulkhead - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Current - Revision: 0 - Issued: September 9, 2026 - Products: Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing SA227-AC (C-26A), SA227-AT, SA227-BC (C-26A), SA227-CC, SA227-DC (C-26B), SA227-PC, SA227-TT, SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-T(B) and SA226-TC - Product type: Aircraft, Small Airplane - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/10/09/1009917ef9bd8abad9b1de354704207d9819285b7bf9f03393ff439506d56fdb - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/DRSDOCID187987885220260909163232.0001 - DRS record last changed: September 9, 2026 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/2026-15 ## Text FAA Aviation Safety **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: Forward Pressure Bulkhead SAIB: 2026-15 Date: September 9, 2026 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) informs owners and operators of cracking and missing rivets along the forward pressure bulkhead on Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing Inc. (Ontic) SA226 and SA227 series airplanes. The type certificates for these aircraft were formerly held by Swearingen, Fairchild Aircraft, and M7 Aerospace. Some of these models are commercially referred to as Merlin, Metro, and Metroliner aircraft. At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39. Background An operator reported cracks on an SA226-TC airplane at the forward face of the fuselage station (FS) 69.31 forward pressure bulkhead around two rivet holes. During development of the repair, it was revealed that the bulkhead web was also missing several rivets when compared to the production drawing. During production build of the airplane, it appears that several rivets were not installed and this has contributed to cracking at adjacent rivets. Inspected airplanes may only have the missing rivets while other airplanes may have developed cracks. While it is unknown how many aircraft are affected, this condition is likely to exist on SA226 and SA227 series airplanes based on similar design. Recommendations The FAA recommends that operators inspect their airplane for cracks and/or missing rivets, and take corrective actions as necessary, in accordance with the following service information, as applicable to the airplane: • Ontic Service Bulletin 226-53-019. • Ontic Service Bulletin 227-53-014. • Ontic Service Letter CC7-SL-067. For Further Information Contact Lekebis Russell, Aviation Safety Engineer, 1701 Columbia Ave, College Park, GA 30337; phone: (404) 474-5510; email: Lekebis.M.Russell@faa.gov. For Related Service Information Contact Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc., 1176 Telecom Dr, Creedmoor, NC 27522; phone: (919) 956-4200; email: metroliner@ontic.com; website: metromerlin.com. ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Fairchild SA227-AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-ac): 54 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA-226T](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa-226t): 21 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA226-T(B)](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa226-t-b): 16 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-DC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-dc): 12 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA227-AT](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa227-at): 12 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA227-TT](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa227-tt): 11 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-AT](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-at): 9 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-DC (C26B)](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-dc-c26b): 8 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA226TC](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa226tc): 8 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA227-AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa227-ac): 8 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA226-T(B)](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa226-t-b): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227BC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227bc): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA-226AT](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa-226at): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA226-AT](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa226-at): 1 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA226-T](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa226-t): 1 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA226-TC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa226-tc): 1 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-CC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-cc): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-PC](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-pc): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild SA227-TT](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-sa227-tt): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Fairchild Swearingen SA227-TT](https://openairdocs.org/model/fairchild-swearingen-sa227-tt): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Swearingen SA227-PC](https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa227-pc): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.