Louis Todd House

Gentlemen and Ladies, I am the operator of a Diamond DA42 Twin Star with Thielert Centurion 2.0 engines for which you issued an emergency AD to take effect 19 November 2008. I am the founder of the Thielert Engine Owners' Group (THENOG) established in the wake of the Thielert insolvency in Germany to represent owners of these engines and the Centurion 1.7 engines and the chief executive of a startup air taxi company, YourJet. Since we have over one hundred members of our group, THENOG, who operate nearly 200 of the 486 DA42's worldwide, we are directly connected and familiar with the engine operating history of each of these nearly 200 engines. No one has reported an engine shutdown caused by a failed clutch. No one. It is our opinion that Thielert has been gaming the EASA system for their own self-serving purposes creating a monopoly of supply for engine parts and repairs to maintain cash flow for their ailing company so that they will be attractive to a purchaser of the company. They have submitted several different mechanical issues for these engines to EASA which resulted in "European AD's". In turn, many owners had to spend thousands of dollars unexpectedly. I would like to know on what basis the FAA has decided to follow suit with this EASA directive. It is very expensive to adhere to Thielert's Life Extension Program (LEP) since they have withdrawn funding for it. To issue AD's to an already exhaustive and expensive process is adding much insult to injury. Since their LEP is really a continuing provisional certification program and not a warranty, safety of flight should dictate that they cannot abandon their funding of the LEP program without a concomitant voiding of their engines' certification. This is the very core of the issue--certification of an engine that must be inspected on 100 hour intervals until 1200 hours at which time it must be discarded--it cannot even be overhauled! I recommend a moratorium on further sale or operation of Thielert engines in the United States until an investigation determines both how Thielert was able to get this unprecedented engine certification from EASA and why they have been allowed to jeopardize the flying public by abandoning funding of the ongoing process, the LEP, that demonstrates the safety of their engines. In addition, Thielert has not even made available enough parts to complete this directive as clutches and kits are scarce and hard to find. There should be more time granted to study this situation and to allow for more parts to be manufactured. Thank you, Todd House CEO YourJet 502.693.2037