EASA AD No.: 2008-0140

EASA Form 110 Page 1/3 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2008 - 0140

Date: 28 July 2008

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued 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 partic ipate in the activities 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 ens ured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may operate an aircraft to which an Airworthiness Directive app lies, except in accordance with the requirements of that Airworthiness Directive unless otherwise specified by the Ag ency [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) :

A340-200/-300 aircraft

TCDS Number : EASA A.015

Foreign AD : Not applicable

Supersedure : None



### ATA 54 Nacelles/Pylons – Pylon Pyramid Attachment Areas aft of Rib1 - Inspection

Manufacturer(s): AIRBUS (formerly AIRBUS INDUSTRIE)
Applicability: AIRBUS A340 aircraft, models -211, -212, -213, - 311, - 312 and -313, all serial numbers except those on whic h AIRBUS Modification 49203 has been embodied in production.
Reason: Further to accomplishment of A340 ALI tasks 545104, which require a rototest inspection as per Non Dest ructive Testing Manual (NTM) 54-51- 04 of engine pylon pyramid attachment areas at aft end of lower arms between Rib1 and Rib2 (2 fastener lo cations/pylon), four findings have been reported and repaired. Further investigations made on pe rformances of High Frequency Eddy Current (HFEC) inspection techniques in steel led to the conclusion that existing NTM procedure 54-51-04 by rototest is not reliable because this method is not adapted to the ferromagnetic materials and therefore findings reported up to now using this procedure can be considered as uncertain. Therefore, a new inspection procedur e using Ultra Sonic (US) testing without fastener removal has been developed. In order to comply with certificat ion requirements, this Airworthiness Directive (AD) requires performing the new US inspection on all A340- 200/-300 pre-modification 49203 (reinforcements of pylon primary structure for enhanced A340).EASA AD No.: 2008-0140

EASA Form 110 Page 2/3 Effective Date: 11 August 2008

Required action(s) and Compliance Time(s): Required as indicated: 1. Unless already accomplished, perform a special detailed inspection of pylon pyramid attachment areas at aft end of lower arms between Rib 1 and Rib 2 without fastener removal (2 fastener locations/pylon) in accordance with instructions given in AIRBUS Service Bulletin (SB) A340- 54-4010, with the following threshold :

• Pending on Weight Variant (WV), before accumulation of threshold X1 Flight Cycles (FC) or X2 Flight Hours (FH), whichever occurs first:

Threshold X1 FC Threshold X2 FH WV

13 000 60 000 000 thru 004

11 470 77 400 020, 021, 023 thru 026, 028 thru 030, PRE 49203

11 000 30 000 027

• For aircraft belonging to WV 000 thru 004 already inspected in accordance with ALI task 545104-01-01 (using rototest procedure): within 2 680 FC or 19 200 FH from this rototest inspection, whichever occurs first, without exceeding 15 280 FC or 76 400 FH since first flight whichever occurs first. 2. If any fatigue crack has been detected, before next flight contact AIRBUS to get the repair instructions and apply the associated corrective actions. 3. If no fatigue crack has been detected, repeat this inspection at interval not exceeding Y1 FC or Y2 FH whichever occurs first, pending on WV:

Interval Y1 FC Interval Y2 FH WV

1 900 9 500 000 thru 004

1 700 8 500 020, 021, 023 thru 026, 028 thru 030, PRE 49203

1 700 8 500 027

Note: This AD cancels A340 ALI tasks 545104-01-01 and 545104-01-02 and 545104-01-06.

Ref. Publications: AIRBUS Service Bulletin A340-54-4010 at original issue. The use of later approved revisions of this document is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD.
Remarks : 1. If requested and appropriately subst antiated, EASA can approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD. 2. The required actions and the risk allowance have granted the issuance of a Final AD with Request for Comments, postponing the public consultation process after publication.EASA AD No.: 2008-0140

EASA Form 110 Page 3/3 3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Airworthiness Directives, Safety Management & Re search Section, Certification Directorate, EASA. E-mail ADs@easa.europa.eu 4. For any question concerning the te chnical content of the requirements in this AD, please contact: AIRBUS SAS – Airworthiness Office - EAL Fax: +33 5 61 93 45 80.