Federal Aviation Administration
42 Bombardier jets face a mandatory seat-frame fix
The FAA says operators of certain Bombardier BD-700 business jets must fix seat-frame joints that may have been built without Loctite. It puts the U.S. fleet cost at up to $127,008, before any warranty help.
The FAA is ordering a modification to non-locking fastener joints in the seat frame assembly on certain Bombardier airplanes. The rule takes effect July 20, 2026, and the agency says the missing Loctite could weaken parts tied to seat-belt anchoring and backrest locks.
- Covers certain Bombardier BD-700-1A10, BD-700-1A11 and BD-700-2A12 airplanes
- FAA says some seat frames were built without Loctite at certain joints
- Directive becomes effective July 20, 2026
- Agency estimates 42 U.S.-registered airplanes are affected
- The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering a seat-frame modification on certain Bombardier, Inc
The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering a seat-frame modification on certain Bombardier, Inc. BD-700-1A10, BD-700-1A11 and BD-700-2A12 airplanes. The agency says some seat frames were assembled without Loctite, the thread-locking compound used to keep fasteners from loosening, on non-locking fastener joints.
The rule takes effect July 20, 2026, and the FAA estimates it affects 42 airplanes on the U.S. registry. For operators, that means a required maintenance stop and a bill the agency puts at as much as 34 labor hours and up to $3,024 per airplane before any warranty offset.
Inside the seat frame
This is the kind of problem passengers never see until a regulator turns it into a mandatory repair. The missing compound leaves a weak point inside the seat frame assembly, and the FAA says the directive is meant to address that unsafe condition before it becomes a larger failure in service.
For maintenance crews, the fix is specific rather than broad. The rule does not rewrite the whole airplane, only the non-locking fastener joints in the seat frame assembly that need to be modified to meet the agency’s standard.