EASA AD No : 2012-0006

EASA Form 110 Page 1/2 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2012-0006

Date: 12 January 2012

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is i ssued by EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the European Community, its Member States and of the European third countries that participate in the activities of EASA under Article 66 of that Regulation.

This AD is issued in accor dance with EC 1702/2003, Part 21A.3B. In accordance with EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.301, the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft shall be ensured by accomplishing any applic able ADs. Consequently, no person may opera te an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that AD, unless otherwise specified by the Agenc y [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry [EC 216/2008, Article 14(4) exemption].



### Type Approval Holder’s Name :


### AIRBUS Type/Model designation(s) : A310 and A300-600 aeroplanes

TCDS Number : France TCDS No 145

Foreign AD : Not applicable

Supersedure : None



### ATA 55 Stabilizers – Vertical Stabilizer / Rudder – Replacement

Manufacturer(s): Airbus (formerly Airbus Industrie)

Applicability: Airbus A310 and A300-600 aeroplanes, all certified models, all serial numbers, except those aeroplanes on which Airbus modification 08827 has been incorporated in production.

Reason: Following in-service findings reported by an operator, rudder laboratory investigation revealed the existence of a crack through the honeycomb core closed with phenolic resin. This conditi on if not detected and corrected, could result in extended de-bonding, which w ould adversely affect the structural integrity of the rudder. The loss of t he rudder could lead to degradation of the handling qualities and reduces the co ntrollability of the aeroplane. Further investigations identified a batch of five affected rudders. For the reasons described above, this AD requires the replacement of the five affected rudders with serviceable ones.

Effective Date: 26 January 2012EASA AD No : 2012-0006

EASA Form 110 Page 2/2 Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s): Required as indicated, unless previously accomplished: (1) Within 3 months after the effect ive date of this AD, accomplish the following actions: (1.1) Inspect to determine the serial number (S/N) of the rudder Part Number (P/N) A55471500 which is installed on the aeroplane. Instead of inspecting the rudder, a review of the aeroplane maintenance records along with any other applicable data is acceptable, provided the P/N and S/N of the rudder can be positively determined from that review. (1.2) If the S/N of the rudder, identif ied as required by paragraph (1.1) of this AD, is HF1010, HF1036, HF1059, HF1061 or HF1064, replace it with a serviceable rudder in accordance with the instructions of Airbus Aircraft Maintenance Manual task No. 27-21-21. (2) After the effective date of this AD, do not install on any aeroplane a rudder P/N A55471500 with S/N HF1010, HF1036, HF1059, HF1061 or HF1064.
Note : For information purposes only and according to the latest but nonetheless outdated data in Airbus’ posse ssion at the date of publication of this AD, the five rudders mentioned in pa ragraph (2) of this AD were known to have been installed on aeroplanes having the following Manufacturer Serial Numbers: 0297, 0295, 0355, 0500 and 0321. Since then, each rudder may have been moved to another aeroplane.

Ref. Publications: Airbus Aircraft Maintenance Manual task No. 27-21-21.

Remarks : 1. If requested and appropriately subs tantiated, EASA can approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD. 2. This AD was posted on 30 November 2011 as PAD 11-129 for consultation until 28 December 2011. The Comment Response Document can be found at http://ad.easa.europa.eu/

. 3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Safety Information Section, Executive Directorate, EASA. E-mail: ADs@easa.europa.eu

. 4. For any question concerning the tec hnical content of the requirements in this AD, please contact: AIRBUS SAS – EAW (Airworthiness Office, Telephone: + 33 5 61 18 41 39, Fax: + 33 5 61 93 44 51)