Lycoming Engines, Avco Corporation and Textron, Inc.

A lawsuit has been filed and is seeking class action status representing nearly 5000 owners of Lycoming Service Bulletins. The class claims Lycoming is ultimately calling for early retirement of Lycoming crankshafts within three years. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an Airworthiness Directive dictating replacement of affected crankshafts. The suit alleges the Lycoming crankshaft issue is the result of fundamental design defects caused by a series of cost cutting measures introduced by Lycoming in the mid-to-late 1990s; such measures altered the design of the engine and led to crankshaft failures and a series of prior recalls.