AD/A320/153 Amdt 2 MLG Shock Absorber Sliding Tube (Cth)

AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

On the effective date specified below, and for the reasons set out in the background section, the CASA delegate whose signature appears below revokes Airworthiness Directive (AD) AD/A320/153 Amdt 1 and issues the following AD under subregulation 39.001(1) of CASR 1998.  The AD requires that the action set out in the requirement section (being action that the delegate considers necessary to correct the unsafe condition) be taken in relation to the aircraft or aeronautical product mentioned in the applicability section: (a) in the circumstances mentioned in the requirement section; and (b) in accordance with the instructions set out in the requirement section; and (c) at the time mentioned in the compliance section.

Airbus Industrie A319, A320 and A321 Series Aeroplanes

AD/A320/153 Amdt 2 MLG Shock Absorber Sliding Tube 9/2005

Applicability:

Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 aircraft, equipped with a MLG sliding tube with the serial number containing four (4) digits ranging between 4001 through 4317.

The serial number of the sliding tube manufactured by Messier-Dowty between 1988 and 1993 can be written as one of the four following arrangements: SN 4xxxAB, SN AB4xxx, SN ABC4xxx, SN A4xxx -5678.  The important part is the four digit coding “4xxx” provided in the given samples.

Requirement:

Action in accordance with the requirements of DGAC AD F-2005-115.

Note:  Airbus Service Bulletin A320-32A1273 Revision 2, or later EASA approved revision, refers.

Compliance:

As specified in the Requirement document, with a revised effective date of 1 September 2005.

This Amendment becomes effective on 1 September 2005.

Background:

A routine visual check of an in-service main landing gear shock absorber sliding tube revealed a linear crack approximately 6-inches in length at the intersection of the cylinder and the axle.  Investigation revealed that the cause of the crack was the presence of non-metallic inclusions in the sliding tube base metal.

Amendment 1 introduced a revision of the Requirement document, which extended main landing gear sliding tube applicability.

Amendment 2 is issued in response to a new DGAC AD, which requires a detailed visual inspection and a magnetic particle inspection; and requires the removal of the main landing gear shock absorber whose sliding tube serial number is part of the batch defined in the applicability part of this Directive.

David Villiers
Delegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority

20 July 2005