Cessna plans to complete a review of the design of its SkyCatcher light sport aircraft within 60 days, to determine the cause of the unrecoverable spin that led to the crash of the prototype on September 18.

"We are still committed to the program, and hope there won't be a large schedule slip, " says Jack Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO. Deliveries of the $115,000 two-seater are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.

Pelton says the Model 162 SkyCatcher had completed all flight testing except power-on spins with full flaps and crossed controls, which were being conducted when the accident occurred. "Power off it doesn't want to spin," he says.

The pilot had competed seven recoverable spins, but the eighth was unrecoverable. The BRS airframe recovery parachute was activated, but did not deploy as intended, and the pilot had do bail out. He was not injured. "We are in a design review now, to figure out what happened," Pelton says.

Work on another new light-aircraft program at Cessna, the Next Generation Piston to replace the 172, 182 and 206, has slowed since the company acquired Columbia Aircraft's high-high piston singles in November 2007. "The momentum was going strong until we acquired Columbia, then our single-engine strategy changed," Pelton says.

"It's becoming very evident that we need to let technology drive this," he says. "Avionics are clearly evolving and we want to launch with something unique." Propulsion advances will also play a part. "We need an engine for the future."