A SumpThis General Aviation Timeline
		1975-1978 1979-1982 1983-1986 1992-1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001-2003 2004

Year

Undetermined

		SE79-45, CESSNA SINGLE ENGINE CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE INFORMATION LETTER, was issued September 10, 1979. It announced the availability of fuel quick-drain accessory kits for Cessna single engine aircraft models manufactured from 1946 through 1974.	1979		NTSB records indicate that 234 undetermined engine failures occurred in 1979.
			1981	Robert E. Scovill Jr., a general contractor and a general aviation pilot with commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings living in the Middle Tennessee area, became an aircraft owner in 1981 when he purchased a new 1981 Cessna 172P Skyhawk II aircraft equipped with Cessna's extended-range, integral wing fuel tanks. The aircraft was also equipped with one sump drain per wing, the factory standard at the time of purchase.	NTSB records indicate that 268 undetermined engine failures occurred in 1981.
		A lawyer representing a pilot involved in a crash videotaped a mock-up fuel system that replicated Gross's 1978 results. In the Spring of 1982, the lawyer then informed the NTSB of his findings. NTSB officials contacted Cessna Aircraft Company and asked the company to analyze the problem and suggest a solution. These events are mentioned in the May 1983 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.	1982		NTSB records indicate that 199 undetermined engine failures occurred in 1982.
			1982	In what appears to be a response to the NTSB's request to analyze the problem videotaped by the lawyer, Cessna Aircraft Company issued Owner Advisory SE82-36A on July 30, 1982. The problem seemed to be related mostly to Cessna bladder-tank equipped aircraft, but Cessna Aircraft Company issued SE82-36A to its entire single-engine fleet. The advisory reminds owners to perform proper preflight checks. It also advises pilots to "Gently move the wings and/or lower the tail to the ground (on nose gear aircraft) to move the contaminants to the sampling points and assure that they are drained from the fuel system." THERE WAS NO ADVISORY ISSUED REGARDING FLOAT EQUIPPED CESSNA AIRCRAFT.
		According to Aviation Safety's May 1983 issue, Atlanta NTSB investigators tested Cessna Aircraft Company's new procedures contained in Owner Advisory SE82-36A. Aviation Safety published the Atlanta  NTSB's test results with indications that the procedures are unreliable, which is consistent with Gross's 1978 experiments.	1982

		1975-1978 1979-1982 1983-1986 1992-1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001-2003 2004