EASA AD No : 2012-0012

EASA Form 110 Page 1/3 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2012-0012

Date: 23 January 2012

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued b y EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the European Communit y, its Member States and of the European third countries that participate in the ac tivities of EASA under Article 66 of that Regulation.
This AD is issued in accordance 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 en sured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Conseque ntly, no person may operate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordan ce with the requirements of that AD, unless otherwi se specified by the Agency [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry [EC 216/2008, A rticle 14(4) exemption]. 

### Type Approval Holder’s Name :

AIRBUS Type/Model designation(s) :
A318, A319, A320 and A321 aeroplanes

TCDS Number : EASA.A.064

Foreign AD : Not applicable

Supersedure : None



### ATA 27 Flight Controls – Flap Interconnecting Strut – Iden tification / Modification / Replacement

Manufacturer(s): Airbus (formerly Airbus Industrie)

Applicability: Airbus A318-111, A318-112, A318-121, A318-122, A319-111, A319-112, A319- 113, A319-114, A319-115, A319-131, A319-132, A319-1 33, A320-111, A320- 211, A320-212, A320-214, A320-215, A320-216, A320-2 31, A320-232, A320- 233, A321-111, A321-112, A321-131, A321-211, A321-2 12, A321-213, A321- 231 and A321-232 aeroplanes, all manufacturer seria l numbers.
Reason: The flap interconnecting strut is a safety device of the High Lift System which acts as an alternative load path from one flap surf ace to another in case of a flap drive system disconnection. In such a failure case, the installed proximity sensors provide information to the slat flap contro l computer (SFCC) and the operation of the flap drive system is inhibited. A recent engineering investigation has shown that, when a certain combination of target/sensor serial number (s/n) is installed o n a flap interconnecting strut, a "target FAR" signal cannot be detected when reachin g the mechanical end stop of the interconnecting strut. This condition, if not corrected, could cause a fla p down drive disconnection to remain undetected, due to an already-failed interco nnecting strut sensor, potentially resulting in asymmetric flap panel move ment and consequent loss of control of the aeroplane. For the reason described above, this AD requires th e identification and replacement of struts that have a certain target/se nsor s/n combination installed.

Effective Date: 06 February 2012EASA AD No : 2012-0012

EASA Form 110 Page 2/3 Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s): Required as indicated, unless already accomplished : (1) Within 8 000 flight hours (FH) after the effect ive date of this AD, accomplish the following actions in accordance with the instru ctions of Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A320-27-1206 Revision 01: (1.1) Determine the Part Number (P/N) of the Interc onnecting Struts installed on both left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH ) wings on the aeroplane. (1.2) If an interconnecting strut is installed with a P/N as listed in Table 1 of this AD, identify the P/N and the s/n of the ass ociated target and proximity sensor and, for the target and proximity sensor P/N and s/n combination as defined in Appendix 1 of this AD , within the compliance times defined in Appendix 1 of this AD, carry out the actions specified in Appendix 1 of this AD for that interconnecting strut
Table 1 Interconnecting Strut Part Numbers:

D 575-70305-000-00 D 575-70305-001-00 D 575-70305-002-00 D 575-70305-006-00 D 575-70305-008-00 D 575-70305-010-00 D 575-70305-012-00 D 575-70322-000-00 (1.3) A review of aeroplane maintenance records is acceptable to determine the P/N of the installed interconnecting struts and/or the P/N and s/n of the associated target and proximity sensor, in lieu of the instructions of Airbus SB A320-27-1206 revision 01, if the P/N of the installed interconnecting struts and the P/N an d the s/n of the associated target and proximity sensor can be concl usively identified from that review. (2) Aeroplanes on which Airbus modification (mod) 2 7956 has been embodied in production, and on which no interconnecting stru t replacement with a strut with a P/N as identified in Table 1 of this A D has been made since first flight, are not affected by the requirements of par agraph (1) of this AD. (3) For aeroplanes that have already been inspecte d, prior to the effective date of this AD, in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320-27-1206 at original issue, within the compliance time defin ed in paragraph (1) of this AD, accomplish the additional work as defined in Ai rbus SB A320-27-1206 at Revision 01, unless a review of aeroplane mainte nance records can conclusively determine that no interconnecting stru t P/N D 575-70305-010- 00 or P/N D 575-70305-012-00 is installed. (4) From the effective date of this AD, do not inst all or modify an interconnecting strut with a P/N as identified in T able 1 of this AD on an aeroplane, unless it has been determined to be in c ompliance with the requirements of this AD.

Ref. Publications: Airbus SB A320-27-1206 Revision 01 dated 10 October 2011. The use of later approved revisions of this documen t is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD.

Remarks : 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EA SA can approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD.EASA AD No : 2012-0012

EASA Form 110 Page 3/3 2. This AD was posted on 25 February 2011 as PAD 11 -025 for consultation until 25 March 2011 and republished on 28 November as PAD 11-025R1 for additional consultation until 12 December 2011. The Comment Response Document can be found at http://ad.easa.europa.eu

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

. 4. For any question concerning the technical conten t of the requirements in this AD, please contact: AIRBUS – Airworthiness Off ice – EAS, Fax +33 5 61 93 44 51, E-mail: account.airworth-eas@airbus.com

.



### Appendix 1 – Action(s) and Compliance Time(s) for Targets P/N ABS0121-13 and P/N 8-536-01

Configuration / condition Action and Compliance tim e
Target serial number Proximity sensor P/N and s/n

s/n is lower than 1600, or s/n unreadable P/N ABS0121-31

or P/N 8-372-04 s/n between

C59198 and C59435, or s/n C500000 or higher Before next flight (see exception in Note 1

below), replace the interconnecting strut with a serviceable unit (see Note 2 below) in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320-27-1206 Revision 01.

s/n is 1600 or higher All P/N All s/n Within 8 000 FH after the effective date of this AD, re-identify the interconnecting strut in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320-27-1206 Revision 01.

Note 1 : If the interconnecting strut cannot be replaced, before next flight, inspect the flap down drive in

accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320- 27-1206 Revision 01 and, if no discrepancy is found, within 50 flight cycles after the inspect ion, replace the interconnecting strut with a serviceable unit (see Note 2 below). If discrepancies are detected during the i nspection, the replacement must be accomplished before next flight

. Note 2 : For the purpose of this AD, a serviceable interco nnecting strut is a unit which has been

determined to be in compliance with the requirement s of this AD.