Fri, Jul 03, 2009
Issues Concerning Horizontal Stabilizers
The FAA has issues a Special
Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) for owners and operators
of True Flight Aerospace LLC (Grumman American) Model AA-5
airplanes (Traveler, Cheetah, Tiger), of an issue concerning the
horizontal stabilizer forward spar attachment and surrounding
structure in the aft fuselage area.
At this time, this airworthiness concern is not an unsafe
condition that would warrant AD action.
During a routine inspection, maintenance personnel found cracked
and deformed structure in the aft fuselage area including
horizontal stabilizer forward spar attachment structure, spar
support angles, and stiffeners. While there are no previous reports
of similar damage in the AA-5 airplanes, there have been reports
for the AA-5A and AA-5B models. In 2003, the FAA issued SAIB
CE-04-34 to inform owners of this potential issue on the AA-5A and
AA-5B models and the SAIB included an inspection of this area of
the airplane. In 2003, the type certificate owner issued an update
to the maintenance manual to add instructions for this inspection
for the AA-5A and AA-5B airplanes.
There are currently no clear instructions in the
maintenance manual for inspecting this area of the AA-5 model.
The FAA encourages owners and
maintenance personnel to perform detailed visual inspections of the
horizontal stabilizer forward spar attachment structure, and
surrounding area, of the AA-5 airplanes at the following times:
- At every annual/100 hour inspection.
- After hard landings, tail strikes, or any other notable impact
or force in tail area.
The FAA recommends that the maintenance manuals for the airplane
be consulted for more information. True Flight Aerospace informed
the FAA that the basic inspection points should be applicable to
all of the AA-5 series models.
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]