EASA AD No : 2010-0102 

EASA Form 110 Page 1/3 

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2010-0102 

Date: 08 June 2010 

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 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 ensured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may operate 

an aircraft to which an Airworthiness Directive applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that Airworthiness Directive 

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]. 

Type Approval Holder’s Name : 

AIRBUS SAS 

Type/Model designation(s) : 

A300 aeroplanes 

TCDS Number : France No.145 

Foreign AD : Not applicable 

Supersedure : This AD supersedes EASA AD 2006-0075R2 dated 04 January 2007. 

ATA 32 Landing Gear – Main Landing Gear (MLG) Retraction Actuator 

Sliding Rod – Inspection / Replacement 

Manufacturer(s): Airbus (formerly Airbus Industrie) 

Applicability: 

A300B4-103, A300B4-120, A300B4-203, A300B4-2C, A300C4-203 and 

A300F4-203 aeroplanes, all manufacturer serial numbers, if MLG retraction 

actuators Part Number (P/N) C23129 are installed, fitted with sliding rod P/N 

C69029-2 or P/N C69029-3. 

Reason: 

One operator reported a failure of the MLG retraction actuator sliding rod. This 

incident occurred at a number of operating flight cycles lower than the limit 

value imposed by the MLG manufacturer. 

This condition, if not detected and corrected, results in undampened extension 

of the MLG, leading to higher than usual loads on the MLG attachment. 

Higher loads affect the structural integrity of the MLG and could lead to MLG 

failure. 

To address and correct this unsafe condition, EASA issued AD 2006-0075 

(now at Revision 2) to require repetitive inspections of the retraction actuator 

sliding rod as installed on A300, A300-600 and A300-600ST aeroplanes and, 

depending on findings, repair or replacement of the affected parts. 

Since this event, studies have been performed by Airbus, the consequences 

of which are that for A300 aeroplanes, a new inspection program (new 

threshold and interval) has been established. 

For the reason described above, this new AD retains the requirements of AD 

2006-0075R2, which is superseded and requires the accomplishment of the 
EASA AD No : 2010-0102 

EASA Form 110 Page 2/3 

repetitive inspections and associated corrective actions at the new intervals. 

In addition, the Airbus A300 Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) Chapter 12-

22-32 (associated to Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) task 321112-

0505-1) has been revised to introduce a greasing action at the level of the 

pick-up jack fitting. Consequently, this AD also requires the repetitive 

lubrication task. 

For A300-600 and A300-600ST aeroplanes, the analyses have shown that, 

due to design differences, the loads induced on the MLG attachments are 

within acceptable margins. For that reason, this AD does not apply to those 

aeroplanes which were previously included in the applicability of EASA AD 

2006-0075R2. 

Effective Date: 22 June 2010 

Required Action(s) 

and Compliance 

Time(s): 

Required as indicated, unless already accomplished: 

PART A: MLG retraction actuator inspection. 

(1) At the time indicated in Table 1 of this AD, as applicable, remove the MLG 

retraction actuator P/N C23129 from the aeroplane and inspect the 

affected retraction actuator sliding rods P/N C69029-2 or C69029-3 in 

accordance with instructions of AIRBUS Service Bulletin (SB) A300-32-

0450 Revision 2 and Messier-Dowty SB 470-32-806. 

Table 1 

Flight Cycles (FC) accumulated 

by the retraction actuator

sliding rod since first 

installation on an aeroplane 

Compliance Time 

Between 12 000 and 22 000 FC Within 2 000 FC or 24 months 

after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs first, but not 

exceeding 23 000 FC. 

More than 22 000 FC Within 1 000 FC or 12 months 

after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs first. 

(2) The MLG retraction actuator sliding rods already inspected before the 

effective date of this AD in accordance with EASA AD 2006-0075R2, 

without evidencing any discrepancy, are compliant with requirements of 

paragraph (1) of this AD. 

(3) Thereafter, at intervals not to exceed 12 000 FC, repeat the inspection as 

defined in paragraph (1) of this AD. 

(4) When, during any inspection as required by paragraphs (1) and (3) of this 

AD, defects are detected that exceed the criteria as established in 

Messier-Dowty SB 470-32-806, before re-installation of the MLG 

retraction actuator P/N C23129 on an aeroplane, replace the affected 

sliding rod with a serviceable unit. 

(5) Each retraction actuator sliding rod must be replaced with a serviceable 

unit when the limit threshold of 32 000 FC is reached. Units removed from 

an aeroplane as required by this paragraph should be returned to 

Messier-Dowty. 

(6) After the effective date of this AD, do not install any MLG retraction 

actuator sliding rod P/N C69029-2 or C69029-3 on an aeroplane unless in 

compliance with the requirements of this AD. 
EASA AD No : 2010-0102 

EASA Form 110 Page 3/3 

PART B: MLG Cleaning and Lubrication. 

(7) Within 1 500 Flight Hours (FH) after the effective date of this AD, and 

thereafter at intervals not to exceed 1 500 FH, perform the MLG cleaning 

and lubrication tasks in accordance with the instructions of Airbus A300 

MPD task 321112-0505-1 (Reference AMM 12-22-32). 

Ref. Publications: 

AIRBUS Service Bulletin A300-32-0450 Revision 02. 

Messier-Dowty SB 470-32-806 dated 27 October 2005. 

Airbus A300 Aircraft Maintenance Manual Chapter 12-22-32. 

The use 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 09 April 2010 as PAD 10-032 for consultation 

until 30 April 2010. The Comment Response Document can be found at 

http://ad.easa.europa.eu/. 

3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Airworthiness 

Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, Certification 

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 – EAS Fax +33 

5 61 93 44 51, E-mail: account.airworth-eas@airbus.com.