I received this from Sig this morning.
Dear Rascal 168 Owner:
You may have heard reports in recent weeks of wing failures on the Rascal 168. Please understand that SIG Manufacturing is very concerned about these failures and has conducted an investigation into the cause of the two reported failures. Based on the information we collected, we have determined that the likely cause of the wing failures was due to the one or both of the following factors:
1. Overpowering the airplane by installing a power plant that exceeds the recommended sizing found in the instruction manual.
2. Performing aggressive aerobatic maneuvers.
Sig is currently working on an upgrade kit which will add an extra layer of structural integrity to the airframe. The upgrade kit is currently being tested and will be supplied to you at no charge as soon as testing is complete. We expect this kit to be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime we are asking all Rascal 168 owners to refrain from flying their airplanes until the upgrade is available and installed. We will contact you again by email with further details once testing is complete.
While we are going to be providing this upgrade to you, we want to stress that this is not an aerobatic airplane and needs to be powered and flown following the recommendations in the instruction manual.
Regards,
Cliff Nadolna P.E.
Director of Operations