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EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2008-0026 

Date: 12 February 2008

No person may operate an aircraft to which an Airworthiness Directive applies, except in accordance with the 

requirements of that Airworthiness Directive unless otherwise agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry.

Type Approval Holder’s Name : 

AIRBUS 

Type/Model designation(s) : 

A330 and A340 aircraft 

TCDS Number: EASA A.004, EASA A.015 

Foreign AD: Not applicable 

Supersedure: This AD supersedes EASA EAD 2007-0222R1-E dated 24 September 2007. 

ATA 27 Flight Controls – Flap Down Drive Shaft – Inspection 

Manufacturer(s): AIRBUS (formerly AIRBUS INDUSTRIE) 

Applicability: AIRBUS aircraft A330-200, A330-300, A340-200, A340-300, A340-500 

and A340-600 series, all certified models, all manufacturer serial 

numbers. 

Reason: Several cases of corrosion and damage on the Down Drive Shafts 

(DDS), between the Down Drive Gear Box (DDGB) and the Input Gear 

Box (IPGB), on all 10 Flap Tracks (5 per wing), have been reported by 

AIRBUS Long Range Operators. 

Investigations have revealed that corrosion and wear due to absence of 

grease in the spline interfaces could cause down drive shaft 

disconnection which could result in a free movable flap surface 

potentially leading to aircraft asymmetry or even flap detachment. 

Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) 2007-0222-E mandated on all 

aircraft older than 6 years since AIRBUS original delivery date of the 

aircraft an initial inspection of all DDS and IPGB for corrosion and wear 

detection in order to replace any damaged part. 

Revision 1 of the EAD 2007-0222-E aimed for clarifying the compliance 

instructions. 

The present AD supersedes the EAD 2007-0222R1-E and mandates 

repetitive inspections every 6 years for all the fleet. 
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Effective Date: 26 February 2008 

Compliance: Section A : applicable to AIRBUS A330 aircraft, all certified models, 

all manufacturer serial numbers (MSN) up to MSN 0420 

inclusive and AIRBUS aircraft A340-200 and A340-300 

series, all certified models, all manufacturer serial 

numbers up to MSN 0415 inclusive, except MSN 0385, 

0395 (see note below): 

1. Unless already accomplished, within 24 months following 16 August 

2007 [the effective date of EAD 2007-0222-E], 

In accordance with instructions of the relevant AIRBUS Service 

Bulletin (SB) A330-27-3151 or SB A340-27-4151, perform 

simultaneously detailed visual inspections of the Input Gear Boxes 

(IPGB) and of the Down Drive Shafts (DDS) on all flap tracks on both 

wings for corrosion and wear detection and apply the associated 

corrective actions, within the compliance time defined in the relevant 

SB. 

2. On 16 August 2007 [the effective date of EAD 2007-0222-E], for 

aircraft which had 10 years or more since AIRBUS original delivery 

date (see note below) : 

Unless already accomplished, within 4 months following 16 August 

2007 [the effective date of EAD 2007-0222-E], 

In accordance with instructions of the relevant AIRBUS SB A330-27-

3151 or SB A340-27-4151, perform simultaneously detailed visual 

inspections of the Input Gear Boxes (IPGB) and of the Down Drive 

Shafts (DDS) on flap tracks 2 and 4 on both wings for corrosion and 

wear detection and apply the associated corrective actions, within 

the compliance time defined in the associated SB. 

3. The inspection results, whatever they are, must be reported to 

AIRBUS. 

4. Within 6 years from the inspection performed as per SB A330-27-3151 

or SB A340-27-4151, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 6 years, 

perform simultaneously detailed visual inspections of the IPGB and of 

the DDS on all flap tracks on both wings in accordance with 

instructions of the relevant AIRBUS SB A330-27-3152 or SB A340-27-

4152 and apply the associated corrective actions, within the 

compliance time defined in the associated SB. 

Section B : applicable to all aircraft part of the applicability except 

those part of Section A; 

Within 6 years after the original delivery date of the aircraft (see note 

below) or within 20 months following the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 6 

years: 

In accordance with instructions of the relevant AIRBUS SB A330-27-

3152 or SB A340-27-4152 or A340-27-5040, perform simultaneously 

detailed visual inspections of the Input Gear Boxes (IPGB) and of the 

Down Drive Shafts (DDS) on all flap tracks on both wings for 

corrosion and wear detection and apply the associated corrective 

actions, within the compliance time defined in the associated SB. 
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Note: AIRBUS must be contacted in order to get appropriate information 

for aircraft on which AIRBUS original delivery date of the aircraft is 

unknown to the operator. 

Ref. Publications: AIRBUS Service Bulletin A330-27-3151 Original issue; 

AIRBUS Service Bulletin A330-27-3152 Original issue; 

AIRBUS Service Bulletin A340-27-4151 Original issue; 

AIRBUS Service Bulletin A340-27-4152 Original issue; 

AIRBUS Service Bulletin A340-27-5040 Original issue. 

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 accept 

Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD. 

2. This AD was posted on 04 January 2008 as PAD 08-003 for 

consultation until 01 February 2008. The Comment Response 

Document can be found at http://ad.easa.europa.eu/. 

3. Enquiries regarding this Airworthiness Directive should be referred to 

the AD Focal Point - 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 SAS – 

Airworthiness Office – EAL. Fax: + 33 5 61 93 45 80 or 

+ 33 5 61 93 44 51, E- mail: airworthiness.A330-A340@airbus.com.