E AS A AD No.: 2013

- 0149

TE. CAP.0011 0

- 003 © 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 1 3

- 0 1 49

Date: 16 Ju ly 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 Eur opean 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 operate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that AD, unless otherwise specified by the Age ncy [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, P art 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: N one



### ATA 57 Wings

– Centre Wing Box Struts

– Inspection / Repair

Manufacturer(s): Airbus ( formerly Airbus Industrie )

Applicability: Airbus A320

- 111, A320

- 211, A320

- 212 and A320

- 231 aeroplanes, all manufacturer serial numbers (MSN) up to MSN 0136 incl usive

.

Reason: Two cases of broken Centre Wing Box (CWB) struts have been reported on A320 aeroplanes. Investigation result s indicated that strut thickness in the crack initiation area was lower than specified in the production drawings. Only a limited ba tch of aeroplanes is affected by this manufacturing defect.
This condition, if not corrected, could result in strut failure, reducing the residual life of the remaining struts to below the initial Design Service Goal, which would deteriorate the structural integrity of the aeroplane

. For the reasons described above, this AD require s repetitive Detailed Visual Inspections (DVI) of the lower and upper ends of the CWB struts to detect cracks and, depending on findings, accomplishment of associated corrective a ctions.

Effective Date: 30 July 2013E AS A AD No.: 2013

- 0149

TE. CAP.0011 0

- 003 © 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 threshold indicated in Ta ble 1 of this AD, as applicable, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 16 8 00 flight cycles (FC) or 33 6 00 flight hours (FH) , whichever occurs first, accomplish a DVI of the 38 struts of the CWB to detect any crack, in accordance with the instructions of Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A320

- 57

- 1149 Revision 01

.

Table 1

– Inspection Threshold
Compliance Time, whichever occurs later, A, B or C :

A Before accumulating 31 700 FC or 63 400 FH, whichever occurs first since aeroplane first flight

B Before accumulating 16 800 FC or 33 600 FH, whichever occurs first since last inspection p er Airbus SB A320

- 57

- 1149 original issue or Revision 01

C Within 1 250 FC or 2 500 FH, whichever occurs first after the effective date of this AD

(2) If, during any inspection as required by paragraph (1) of this AD, discrepancies (as defined in Airbus SB A320

- 57

- 1149 Revision 01 ) are detected, before next flight, contact Airbus to obtain approved repair instructions and accomplish those instructions , including any follow

- on actions, as applicable, accordingly

.
Ref. Public ations: Airbus SB A320

- 57

- 1149 at original issue dated 01 April 2008 , or Revision 01 dated 12 February 2013

. The use of later approved revisions of thi s document is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD.

Remarks: 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA c an approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD.
2. This AD was p osted on 22 August 2011 as PAD 11

- 0 91 for consultation until 19 September 2011 and republished on 13 June 2013 as PAD 11

- 0 91R1 for additional consultation until 11 July 2013 . No comment s were received during the additional 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 this AD, please contact: AIRBUS

– Airworthiness Office

– EIAS, Fax +33 5 61 93 44 51, E

- mail: account.airworth

- eas@airbus.com

.