# SAIB CE-13-27R1: Flight Controls Frayed Flap Extend Cables - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Current - Revision: 1 - Issued: January 5, 2022 - Products: Textron 310, 310A, 310B, 310C, 310D, 310E, 310F, 310G, 310H, 310I, 310J, 310J-1 and 40 more - Product type: Aircraft, Small Airplane - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/68/68/686807778797441968f1997df6d12255dbcfc02da052365dde078733b6d7cb46 - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/DRSDOCID756048930202201051931500.0001 - DRS record last changed: November 21, 2025 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-13-27R1 ## Text FAA Aviation Safety **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: TE FLAP CONTROL SYSTEM, Flight Controls – Frayed Flap Extend Cables SAIB: CE-13-27R1 Date: January 5, 2022 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) is intended to remind owners and operators of any airplane with cable-driven flight controls of the importance of adhering to existing inspection procedures in the applicable maintenance or shop manuals. The FAA is issuing this revision to list additional models with characteristics similar to those originally listed. 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 The FAA recently received a report of a failed flap extend cable. The failure occurred on approach when the flaps were deployed to 45 degrees. The sudden retraction of the right flap caused the airplane to roll about 80 degrees to the right. The pilot was unable to retract the left flap, but was able to maintain control with the assistance of a passenger, divert to another airport, and land safely by utilizing almost full left aileron control. The report stated the cable was original (over 4,800 flight hours), and the most recent 100-hour inspection had been completed approximately 10 flight hours prior to cable failure. A search of the FAA’s service difficulty report (SDR) system revealed numerous events of a similar nature over a 20 year period. Most reports of fraying occurred near pulleys, and some included comments such as “failure occurred behind a pulley and is not easily inspected without the use of a mirror.” If the cable is not properly inspected, it can appear to be acceptable when it really is not. This SAIB focuses on the condition of the flap extend cables as they route around pulleys on all Textron Aviation, Inc. (formerly Cessna) 310, 310A, 310B, 310C, 310D, 310E, 310F, 310G, 310H, 310I, 310J, 310J-1, 310K, 310L, 310N, 310P, 310Q, 310R, 320, 320-1, 320A, 320B, 320C, 320D, 320E, 320F, 321, 335, 336, 337, 337A, 337B, 337C, 337D, 337E, 337F, 337G, 337H, 340, 340A, 401, 401A, 401B, 402, 402A, 402B, 402C, 411, 411A, 414, 414A, 421, 421A, 421B, 421C, and 425 airplanes. However, it also applies to the entire flight control system on any airplane model with cable-driven flight controls. Inadequate inspection of the flight control cables may result in undetected wear and/or corrosion that could lead to cable failure. Recommendations The FAA recommends the following: 1. Follow the existing maintenance manual instructions and inspection intervals. For the Textron Aviation airplanes listed above, this typically is a visual inspection of each flight control cable every 200 hours or 12 months, and an expanded inspection of each flight control cable every 2 600 hours. These intervals may vary slightly depending on model and use of the airplane, so please reference the appropriate airplane maintenance manual. 2. For both the visual and expanded inspections, operate the flight controls through their full travel so that all portions of the cable are exposed for inspection. This may require one person to cycle the controls and a second person to inspect the cables. If this is not possible, maintenance personnel may find it necessary to remove the cable to get access to the entire length of the cable. 3. For maintenance personnel, review AC 43.13-1B, Chapter 7, paragraph 7-149., “Cable System Inspection.” For Further Information Contact Adam Hein, Aviation Safety Engineer, Wichita ACO Branch, FAA, 1801 Airport Rd, Wichita, KS 67209; phone: (316) 946-4116; fax: (316) 946-4107; e-mail: adam.hein@faa.gov. For Related Service Information Contact Textron Aviation Customer Service, P.O. Box 7706, Wichita, KS 67277; phone: (316) 517-5800; fax: (316) 517-7271; email: customercare@txtav.com; website: www.txtav.com. ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Cessna 340A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340a): 543 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 421C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421c): 496 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 414A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-414a): 363 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310R](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310r): 361 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310Q](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310q): 277 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 414](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-414): 242 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 421B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421b): 225 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 340](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-340): 164 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 425](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-425): 161 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 402C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402c): 115 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310): 103 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337g): 96 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310k): 78 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310L](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310l): 62 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310P](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310p): 61 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310I](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310i): 60 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310J](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310j): 59 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310c): 58 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310D](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310d): 56 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310N](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310n): 55 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337a): 55 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337): 50 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310b): 45 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337D](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337d): 42 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310f): 41 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310g): 41 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337b): 40 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 336](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-336): 35 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310h): 33 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337c): 33 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 421](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421): 28 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320E](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320e): 27 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 335](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-335): 26 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337f): 24 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320C](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320c): 23 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320b): 21 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337E](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337e): 21 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 401](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-401): 21 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 421A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-421a): 20 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320): 17 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 401A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-401a): 15 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 401B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-401b): 15 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310a): 14 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320f): 12 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 337H](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-337h): 9 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 310E](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-310e): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320a): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 411](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-411): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 411A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-411a): 4 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Cessna 320-1](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-320-1): 1 registered aircraft (airframe model) All 54: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-13-27R1/models.md --- 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.