Overview

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, under the authority of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), aim to ensure the safety of civil aviation within Australia. Specifically, Part 39 - 106 pertains to Airworthiness Directives which are issued to address identified safety issues with aircraft or aeronautical products. This legislative instrument, F2006B08522, was enacted to address the issue of starter failures in CFM International Turbine Engines of the CFM 56 Series, which could result in substantial damage to the starter and potentially the engine and fan cowl. The directive mandates the replacement of the engine starter magnetic plug to mitigate the risk of overtorque, which leads to oil loss and subsequent damage. The objective is to ensure compliance with the directive within specified timeframes to maintain airworthiness standards and prevent unsafe conditions in aviation operations.

Scope and Application

This legislative instrument pertains to the Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, specifically Part 39 – 106, which governs airworthiness directives issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). The Airworthiness Directive (AD) in question, AD/CFM 56/18, applies to CFM International (CFMI) CFM56-5, CFM56-5B, and CFM56-5C series engines, requiring the replacement of the engine starter magnetic plug to mitigate the risk of starter failure due to overtorque. The directive is issued under subregulation 39.1 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1998 and is effective from 9 August 2001. Compliance with this AD must occur no later than the second ‘A’ check or within six months from the date of this directive, whichever occurs first. The directive was gazetted on 11 July 2001, ensuring its formal publication and availability to the relevant industry stakeholders.

Key Provisions

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, specifically Part 39, include an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued under subregulation 39.1(1). The directive (AD/CFM 56/18) pertains to the replacement of the engine starter magnetic plug for certain CFM International (CFMI) engines, namely the CFM56-5, CFM56-5B, and CFM56-5C series (section 1). This action is mandated to address an unsafe condition that could lead to substantial damage to the starter and potential damage to the engine and/or fan cowl (section 2). The requirement is to replace the magnetic plug according to the accomplishment instructions provided in the applicable CFMI Service Bulletins (SB) CFM56-5 80-014, Revision 2; SB CFM56-5B 80-006, Revision 2; and SB CFM56-5C 80-009, Revision 2 (section 3). The AD imposes specific obligations on the parties it governs. It mandates that the action outlined in the requirement section must be taken in relation to the specified aircraft or aeronautical products under the conditions and instructions set out in the requirement section (section 4). This action must be completed in accordance with the compliance instructions, which state that the replacement must be carried out no later than the second ‘A’ check or within 6 months from the date of the directive, whichever occurs first (section 5). The AD became effective on 9 August 2001, and compliance with earlier versions of the Service Bulletins is deemed to satisfy the directive's intent (section 6). Failure to comply with the AD could result in civil or criminal consequences. While the specific penalties are not detailed in the text, non-compliance with ADs generally may lead to enforcement actions under the Civil Aviation Act 1988. This could include fines, legal penalties, or other sanctions as prescribed by the relevant authorities. Additionally, failure to adhere to the AD could result in the grounding of affected aircraft until the required actions are taken, thereby impacting operational safety and compliance (section 7).