COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY
SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE
For the reasons set out in the background section, the CASA delegate whose signature appears below issues the following Airworthiness Directive (AD) under subregulation 39.1 (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.
Boeing 737 Series Aeroplanes
AD/B737/213 Fuselage Lap Joints 7/2003
Applicability: Model 737-200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series aircraft, line numbers 292 through 2552; and on which the modification specified in Boeing Service Bulletin 737- 53A1177 Revision 6, dated 31 May 2001, has not been accomplished.
Requirement: Inspect in accordance with the technical requirements of FAA AD 2003-08-15 Amdt 39-13128.
Note: Detailed inspections required by this Directive do not replace, but are in addition to the repetitive inspections required by AD/B737/87 Amdt 2 (FAA AD 2002- 07-08 Amdt 39-12702).
Comp liance: As specified in the Requirement document, with a revised effective date of 10 July 2003.
This Airworthiness Directive becomes effective on 10 July 2003.
Background: The FAA received a report that, during a walk-around inspection on a Model 737-200 series aircraft with 60,333 total flight cycles, a 23- inch long crack was found in the lower row of the stringer S-4L lap joint between body stations 616 and 639. The crack was noticed above the over-wing exit because the lower skin was pushed outward approximately 1- inch with the crack ends turning downward at the tear straps. Further external and internal non-destructive testing methods for cracking of the lap joint revealed additional cracking.
David Villiers
Delegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority 27 May 2003
The above AD is notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 18 June 2003.
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