Cessna puts diesel airplane line on ice
By Alton K. Marsh
Cessna Aircraft Company has decided not to deliver any Cessna 172TD aircraft powered by the German-built Thielert diesel engine, following the bankruptcy of Thielert Aircraft Engines.
None had been delivered, and the type certificate was still pending.
“At this point we have decided that we will not deliver 172TD aircraft during 2008, and we have informed our customers accordingly,” said a Cessna spokesman.
The company continues to watch the situation closely. Cessna pointed out that it does not see this as the death knell for the diesel program. More than 100 airplanes with the option are on order.
Thielert has appointed a new CEO, lawyer Marcel Kleib, who is now the sole CEO of the company. Another attorney, Achim Ahrendt of Hamburg, Germany, has been appointed to administer the insolvency proceedings. The company also has delayed its annual report because of probable inaccuracies in the reports for 2003, 2004, and 2005 and has postponed the May board meeting.
May 1, 2008
Alton K. Marsh
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