The sorry tale of the Cessna 162 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) has finally concluded. The remaining 80 airplanes have been crushed with a backhoe outside the the Chinese factory, including the installed engines and avionics.
It’s believed that liability insurance and parts support didn’t pencil out for the accountants. Crushing solved the liability problem, and also any agreements with suppliers like Continental and Garmin prohibiting resale.
Kind of a shame they couldn’t have sold them to the Chinese government for $1 for use in flight training in exchange for indemnity from lawsuits.
Of the original 1,000 projected orders, 200 were actually delivered and 80 crushed.
There were many problems with the 162:
- capabilities were Day and Night VFR, not IMC.
- 1,320 pounds gross weight only left room for one American after full fuel with this design
- flight schools required a separate check-out, even if you had 152 and 172 experience. This involved additional expense and searching for a slender CFI.
- price was high for flight schools given the above limitations. The 162 had teething problems, and some owners had to replace the ADHARS twice
- assembled in China, unlike most trainers.
Cessna Scraps Unsold Skycatchers
Crushing More Than Airplanes
Skycatcher’s Demise: Barely a Ripple [2013]
W: ADHARS