EASA AD No.: 2013

- 0039

TE. CAP.00110

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

- Internet/Intranet. 

## EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No

. : 2013

- 0039

Date: 26 February 201 3

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 E U 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 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) :
A300

- 600 and A310 aeroplanes

TCDS Number: France n° 145

F oreign AD: Not applic able

Supersedure: None



### ATA 55 Stabilizers

– Rudder Side Panel Along the Z

- P rofile

– Inspection

Manufacturer(s): Airbus ( f ormerly Airbus Industrie)

Applicability: Airbus A 300

- 600 and A310 aeroplanes, all models

, all Manufacturer Serial Number s, exce pt aeroplanes on which mod 08827 has been embodied in production.

Reason: On e A310 operator found substantial inner skin disbond ing damage on a rudder that was previously inspected in accordance with the instruction s of Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A310

- 55

- 2044

. The results of the subsequent i nvestigation revealed that the most probable cause of this damage was a blunt impact with no visible damage from outside during the rudder handling. D amage like this might grow with pressure variation during ground

- a ir

- ground cycles, and tests performed with other rudder s showed a rapid propagation of damage during artificial pressure cycling.

This condition , if not detected and corrected, could affect the structural integrity of the rudder.
To address this potential unsafe condition, Airbus issued Alert Operator s T ransmission (AOT) A55W002

- 12

, pending Aircraft Maintenance Manual ( AMM ) 27

- 21

- 2 1 PB401 revision to update rudder handling procedures.
For the reasons described above, this AD requires ultrasonic test (UT) in spection s of the affected rudders to detect signs of disbonding and

, depending on findings

, accomplishment of applicable corrective action ( s ).

Effective Date: 12 March 2013EASA AD No.: 2013

- 0039

TE. CAP.00110

- 00 3 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All right s reserved. 2 / 3 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 accompli shed previously: (1) Within 3 months after the effective date of this AD, in accordance with the instructions of Airbus Alert Operator Transmission (AOT) A55W002

- 12

, accomplish the following actions : (1.1) Identify the P art N umber (P/N) and serial number ( s/n) of the installed rudder assembly. If the P/N and/or s/n cannot be identified

, contact Airbus for identification advice

. (1.2) For a rudder assembly having P/N A55471500, accomplish an UT inspection of the rudder side panel along the Z

- profile and in t he booster area

. ( 2 ) If

, during the inspection as required by paragraph (1.2) of this AD

, any dis bonding is detected, before next flight, differentiate the disbond ing from other possible damage by accomplishing an Elasticity of Laminate Checker I nspection to detect external and internal disbond ing, and accomplish a Woodpecker or Tap test inspection to detect external disbond ing

. If damage is confirmed as disbond ing

, accomplish corrective actions as required by paragraph ( 3 ) or ( 4 ) of this AD

, depending o n the size of the disbond ing

. If the detected discrepancies are confirmed as other type (s) of damage (e.g. liquid ingress), before next flight, accomplish a repair in accordance with the instructions as provided in the applicable Airbus Structural Repair M anual

. ( 3 ) For disbond ing, equal to or less than 50 mm width

, and equal to or less than 150 mm length, before next flight

, vent the core in accordance with an approved procedure (which must be requested from Airbus) and

, w ithin 10 days after the inspection as required by paragraph (1 .2 ) of this AD, send a detailed damage report t o Airbus

, request permanent repair instructions and

, within 100 f light c ycles after the UT inspection as required by paragraph (1.2) of this AD

, accomplish th os e instructions accord ingly

. ( 4 ) For disbond ing, exceeding 50 mm width

, or exceeding 150 mm l ength, before next flight

, send a detailed damage report to Airbus

, request approved instructions for corrective action s and accomplish th os e instructions accordingly

. ( 5 ) A r udder which has been inspected on an aeroplane , before the effective date of this AD, in accordance with the instructions of Airbus SB A300

- 55

- 6043 Revision 01 or SB A310

- 55

- 2044 Revision 01 , as applicable to aeroplane model , but which has been removed and re

- install ed on an aeroplane after this inspection , must be inspected, as require d by paragraph ( 1 ) of this AD. ( 6 ) After the effective date of this AD

, for each install ation of a P/N A55471500 rudder on an aeroplane

, before next flight after installation, inspect t he rudder as required by paragraph (1.2) of this AD and, depending on finding s, accomplish corrective actions as required by paragraph (3) or (4) of this AD

, depending o n the size of the disbond ing

.

Ref. Public ations: Alert Operator T ransmission A55W002

- 12 dated 13 December 2012 ;
Airbus SB A300

- 55

- 6043 Revision 0 1 dated 03 December 2007 ;
Airbus S B A310

- 55

- 2044 Revision 01 dated 03 December 2007 ;
The u se of later approved revisions of these documents is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of th is AD.

Remarks: 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA can approve Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD.

2. This AD was posted on 14 December 2012 as PAD 12

- 160 for consultationEASA AD No.: 2013

- 0039

TE. CAP.00110

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

- Internet/Intranet. until 11 January 2013

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

. 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 technic al conte nt of the requirements in this AD, please contact: AIRBUS SAS

– EAW (Airworthiness Office, Telephone: + 33 5 61 18 41 39, Fax: + 33 5 61 93 44 51)