Overview

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, specifically within Part 39, includes provisions for Airworthiness Directives aimed at ensuring the safety of civil aviation. Enacted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), these regulations address safety gaps and ensure compliance with safety standards across the aviation sector. This legislative instrument, F2006B10562, was introduced to address a safety issue identified in the HS 748 series aeroplanes, namely the potential for flying control restrictions due to a foreign object hazard. The directive mandates specific modifications to the elevator primary stop lever to mitigate this risk, ensuring the continued airworthiness of these aircraft and ultimately safeguarding the public. The policy objective behind these regulations is to maintain and enhance the safety standards of civil aviation through timely and precise directives.

Scope and Application

This Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) applies to all British Aerospace (Hawker Siddeley) HS 748 series aeroplanes, which are registered within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Australia. The AD mandates specific actions to be taken to address a safety concern identified by CASA following an incident report involving flying control restriction. The directive requires compliance with British Aerospace (BAe) Regional Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin HS748-27-125 Revision 1, which includes a modification to the elevator primary stop lever under the flight deck floor, identified as a potential foreign object hazard. The compliance deadline is set before 31 January 2001, and the directive became effective on 20 April 2000. This AD does not specify any exclusions or exemptions, and its scope is limited to the specific action outlined in the requirement section to ensure the safety of the aircraft in question.

Key Provisions

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, Part 39 – 105, issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) under subregulation 39.1(1), details an Airworthiness Directive (AD) specifically for the British Aerospace (Hawker Siddeley) HS 748 Series Aeroplanes. This AD, numbered AD/HS 748/27, mandates that all HS 748 series aircraft must undertake a specific action to rectify a potential safety issue identified by the manufacturer. The action required is detailed in the BAe Regional Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin HS 748-27-125 Revision 1, which references Modification No. 7669. This modification addresses the potential for a flying control restriction caused by a foreign object hazard related to the elevator primary stop lever located under the flight deck floor. The directive applies to all HS 748 series aircraft and requires compliance with the instructions in the BAe Regional Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin HS 748-27-125 Revision 1. The compliance date for implementing the required action is set before 31 January 2001. This Airworthiness Directive became effective on 20 April 2000, establishing a clear timeline for the necessary modifications to ensure the safety of these aircraft. The directive's background highlights that it was issued following an incident report of a flying control restriction, which prompted a zonal survey by the manufacturer. The survey identified an area of potential restriction, leading to the issuance of this directive to mitigate the identified safety risk. The obligations imposed by this Airworthiness Directive include ensuring that all HS 748 series aircraft are modified according to the specified instructions in the BAe Regional Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin HS 748-27-125 Revision 1. Operators and owners of these aircraft must take the necessary steps to implement the modification of the elevator primary stop lever to prevent any potential foreign object hazards that could lead to flying control restrictions. This involves adhering to the detailed instructions provided in the referenced service bulletin and ensuring the modification is completed before the specified compliance date. Failure to comply with this directive may result in serious safety implications for the aircraft and could potentially lead to regulatory enforcement actions. The consequences for non-compliance with the AD/HS 748/27 are significant, as it is designed to address a potential safety hazard. While the specific penalties for non-compliance are not detailed in the text provided, non-compliance with an Airworthiness Directive typically results in severe consequences, including the potential grounding of the aircraft until the required modifications are completed. Additionally, operators and owners could face enforcement actions by CASA, which could include fines, legal action, and other regulatory penalties. The severity of these consequences underscores the importance of adhering to the directive to maintain the airworthiness and safety of the aircraft.