E ASA AD No.: 20 13

- 0 203

TE. CAP.0011 0

- 00 3 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 1 / 2 Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA

- Internet/Intranet. 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No

. : 20 13

- 0 203

Date: 0 6 September 2013

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 participate in the activities of EASA under Article 66 of that Regulation.

This AD is issued in accordance with EU 748/2012, Part 21

. A.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 applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may ope rate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requ irements of that AD, unless otherwise 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, Article 14(4) exemption]

. 

### Design Approval Holder’s Name:
AIRBUS Type/Model designation(s): A320 aeroplanes

TCDS Number: EASA.A.064

F oreign AD: Not Applicable

Supersedure: None



### ATA 53 Fuselage

– Frame 47 Splice Plate Butt Joint Crossing Area

– Inspection / Repair

Manufacturer(s): Airbus ( formerly Airbus Industrie )

Applicability: Airbus A320

- 211, A320

- 212, A320

- 214, A320

- 215, A320

- 216, A320

- 231, A320

- 232 and A320

- 233 aeroplanes , all manufacturer serial numbers , except those on which Airbus Modification (Mod) 31012 ha s been embodied in production

.
Reason: During the full scale fatigue test on A320

- 200, cracks were reported at the
s plice p late of the frame (FR) 47 b utt j oint c rossing a rea, both sides. This condition, i f not detected and corrected, could affect the structural integrity of the aeroplane. Promp ted by these findings, Airbus developed Mod 31012 and introduced this on the production line to modify the current 2 fastener row butt joint in to a 3 fastener row butt joint to prevent further damage. For in

- service aeroplanes, a corresponding modification w as developed and published as Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A320

- 53

- 1271.
For the reason de scribe above
, this AD requires repetitive s pecial d etail ed i nspection s (SDI) of the s plice p late of the FR47 b utt j oint c rossing a rea and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective action(s).
This AD also introduces an optional modification, which constitutes terminating action for the repetitive SDI required by this AD

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Effective Date: 20 September 2013E ASA AD No.: 20 13

- 0 203

TE. CAP.0011 0

- 00 3 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 2 / 2 Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA

- Internet/Intranet. Required A ction(s) and Compliance Time(s) : Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously: (1) Within the compliance times defined in Table 1 of this AD, as applicable, and
, thereafter
, at intervals not to exceed 14 800 f light c ycles (FC) or 29 600 f light h ours (FH), whichever occurs first
, accomplish a SDI of the
s plice p late of FR 47 butt joint crossing area (both sides) in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320

- 53

- 12 60

.

Table 1

- Initial inspection

Time accumulated , on the effective date of this AD (whichever occurs first since aeroplane first flight) Compliance time (whichever occurs first)

Equal to or more than 44 000 FC or 88 000 FH W ithin 1 500 FC or 3 000 FH after the effective date of this AD Equal to or more than 27 700 FC or 55 400 FH, but less than 44 000 FC or 88 000 FH Within 3 000 FC or 6 000 FH after the effective date of this AD , without exceeding 45 500 FC or 91 000 FH since aeroplane first flight
Less than 27 700 FC or 55 400 FH Before exceeding 30 700 FC or 61 400 FH since aeroplane first flight

(2) I f, during any SDI as required by paragraph (1) of this AD, damage is detected
, before next flight, contact Airbus for approved repair instructions and accomplish th ose instructions accordingly. (3) Modification of an aeroplane in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A320

- 53

- 1 2 7 1 constitutes terminating action for the repetitive SDI requir ed by paragraph ( 1 ) of this AD

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Ref. Public ations: Airbus SB A320

- 53

- 1260 o riginal issue
, dated 19 December 2012

. Airbus SB A320

- 53

- 12 7 1 o riginal issue
, dated 18 December 2012

. The u se of later approved revisions of these documents is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD.

Remarks: 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA can approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD.
2. This AD was posted on 02 July 2013 as PAD 13

- 0 91 for consultation until 30 July 2013. No comments were received during the consultation period

. 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 technical content of the requirements in t his AD, please contact: AIRBUS

- Airworthiness Office

– EIAS
, Fax +33 5 61 93 44 51. E

- mail: account.airworth

- eas@airbus.com

.