EASA AD No : 2009-0070R1

EASA Form 110 Page 1/3 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2009-0070R1

Date: 02 July 2010

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued b y EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the Europe an Community, its Member States and of the European third countries that participate in th e 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 en sured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Conseque ntly, no person may operate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accor dance with the requirements of that AD, unless othe rwise specified by the Agency [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry [EC 216/200 8, Article 14(4) exemption].


### Type Approval Holder’s Name :

BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd Type/Model designation(s) :

BAe 146 and AVRO 146-RJ aeroplanes

TCDS Number: EASA.A.182

Foreign AD: Not applicable

Revision: This AD revises EASA AD 2009-0070 dated 26 March 2009, which superseded

United Kingdom (UK) CAA AD G-2005-0002 dated 12 Jan uary 2005, EASA approval number 2005-313.



### ATA 53 Fuselage – External Forward Fuselage – Inspe ction / Repair

Manufacturer(s): BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, British Aerospace plc , British Aerospace (Commercial Aircraft) Ltd, British Aerospace (Opera tions) Ltd, British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Ltd, British Aerospace Regional Aircraft trading as Avro International Aerospace.

Applicability: BAe 146 and AVRO 146-RJ aeroplanes, all models, all serial numbers.

Reason: During the period 2001/2002, skin cracking was foun d adjacent to the butt joint forward of frame 19 when unrelated in-service maintenance inspections of the forward fuselage structure were being completed. The cracks emanated from chemically-etched pockets on t he internal surface of the skin. The then current MRB inspection requir ements were not adequate to address cracking in multiple adjacent b ays, which could compromise the structural integrity of the fuselage in the event that the multiple cracks joined into a single crack. Investi gations resulted in the publication of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Ins pection Service Bulletin (ISB).53-167 in June 2003, which was made mandatory by CAA UK AD 007-06-2003. The ISB was subsequently re-issu ed at Revision 1 during 2004 to clarify the inspection requirements and provide an improved inspection procedure. CAA UK AD G-2005-000 2 (EASA approval number 2005-313) was issued to require acc omplishment of the improved inspections. During 2008, a further report was received at BAE S ystems of a 13.78 inch crack in an AVRO 146-RJ that occurred 514 flig ht cycles (FC) short of the next 4 000-FC repetitive inspection interval. A reassessment of ISBEASA AD No : 2009-0070R1

EASA Form 110 Page 2/3 instructions and its supporting data concluded that these original inspection periods were too long, and the method fo r defining the areas requiring inspection could be open to misinterpreta tion. In response, BAE Systems has updated the ISB to Revision 2 to reduce the inspection intervals, introducing different inspection interva ls associated with specific areas of the forward fuselage skins and instruction s to inspect additional areas of the forward fuselage skin.
For the reasons described above, this AD retains th e requirements of CAA UK AD G-2005-0002, which is superseded, and requires t he implementation of revised repetitive inspections, including inspectio n of additional areas of the forward fuselage skin panels for cracking and follo w-on repair action(s), depending on findings.
This AD is revised to acknowledge the issuance of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited ISB.53-167 Revision 3, which allows the rep etitive inspection intervals to be extended and introduces grace periods to carr y out the initial inspections. In addition, this AD at Revision 1 ack nowledges the issuance of BAE Systems ISB.53-167 Revision 4 which corrects th e grace period for the initial inspections on BAe 146 aeroplane types.

Effective Date: Revision 1: 16 July 2010 Original issue: 09 April 2009

Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s): Required as indicated, unless accomplished previous ly: Restatement of AD G-2005-0002 requirements: For BAe 146 aeroplanes: (1) Within 4 000 FC or prior to accumulating 16 000 FC since new, whichever occurs later after 27 June 2003 [the effective date of CAA UK AD 007-06-2003] and thereafter at intervals not to exc eed 8 000 FC, accomplish an eddy current inspection of the forwar d fuselage skin in accordance with the instructions of BAE Systems (Op erations) Limited ISB.53-167 (the ISB). For AVRO 146-RJ aeroplanes: (2) Within 2 000 FC or prior to accumulating 10 000 FC since new, whichever occurs later after 27 June 2003 [the effective date of CAA UK AD 007-06-2003] and thereafter at intervals not to exc eed 4 000 FC, accomplish an eddy current inspection of the forwar d fuselage skin in accordance with the instructions of the ISB. New requirements of this AD: (3) After the effective date of this AD, within the thresholds and thereafter within the intervals defined in Drawing 1 (for BAe 146) or Drawing 2 (for AVRO 146-RJ) of the ISB at Revision 4, as applicabl e to aeroplane model, accomplish the initial and repetitive inspec tions in accordance with the instructions of paragraph 2.B. of the ISB at Re vision 4. (4) If defects are found during any inspection as r equired by this AD, before next flight, accomplish a repair in accordance with the instructions of paragraph 2.B.(4) of the ISB. Repair of an aeroplan e in accordance with paragraph 2.B.(4) of the ISB does not constitute te rminating action for the inspection requirements of this AD. (5) Inspections and corrective actions accomplished prior to the effective date of the original issue of this AD in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited ISB.53-167 at original issue o r Revision 1 are acceptable to comply with the requirements of parag raphs (1) and (2) this AD. After the effective date of the original issue of this AD, initial and repetitive inspections and corrective actions as re quired by paragraph (3) of this AD must be accomplished in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited ISB.53-167 at Revision 2, Revi sion 3 or Revision 4.EASA AD No : 2009-0070R1

EASA Form 110 Page 3/3 (6) The ISB at Revision 4 includes grace periods fo r aeroplanes that have already exceeded the inspection threshold for the n ew skin areas or exceeded the reduced inspection interval. Aeroplane s are allowed a one-time period of 2 000 FC for BAe 146 or 1 000 FC for AVRO 146-RJ to exceed the new limit(s), in which to schedule the a dditional work. This information is defined in the ISB in separate logic diagrams for the two aeroplane variants. The starting point for the grac e periods is the effective date of this revised AD and not the issue date of t he ISB at Revision 2.

Ref. Publications: BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-167 Revision 2 dated 17 November 2008, Revision 3 dated 17 June 2009 and Revision 4 dated 10 June 2010.
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
2. The original issue of this AD was published on 0 9 February 2009 as PAD 09-030 for consultation until 09 March 2009. The Co mment Response Document can be found at http://ad.easa.europa.eu/

. 3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred t o the Airworthiness Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, C ertification 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: BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, Customer Information Department, Prestwick International Airport, Ayrshire, KA9 2RW, Scotland, United Kingdom; Telephone +44 1292 675207, Facsimile +44 1 292 675704 E-mail: RApublications@baesystems.com

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