The concern sheet
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Airworthiness Concern Sheet
Full Name Gregory K. (Keith) Noles Title Engineer Organization Atlanta Aircraft Certification Department Airframe, ACE-117A Address 1985 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 450 City State ZIP Atlanta, GA 30349 Telephone Number 770-703-6085 E-mail gregory.noles@faa.gov Date: March 16, 2009 Make, Model, Series, Serial No.:
Piper, PA-28 Series, PA-32 Series with Main Landing Gear (MLG) torque link P/N 65691-00 or P/N 65691-00V Reason for Airworthiness Concern:
Main Landing Gear Torque Link failure FAA Description of Airworthiness Concern
In December, 2007, a Piper PA-28-140 had a failure of one of the main landing gear torque links. This failure resulted in one of the main landing gear struts departing the airplane following a failed landing attempt. The airplane did execute a successful landing and investigation revealed that the torque link had broken which allowed the strut and wheel assembly to depart the airplane.
Piper has previously issued Service Letter (SL) 600 and the FAA has previously issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) 72-08-06. The AD requires repetitive inspections not to exceed 500 hours. The required inspection was completed on the subject aircraft approximately 200 hours prior to the failure. Further investigation verified the torque link failure mode to match that of the AD. It has been recommended to reduce the repetitive inspection interval to 100 hours, and require replacement at 5,000 hours.
Request for Information (Proposed Alternate Inspection/Repair Procedures, Cost Impact, etc.):
The FAA is soliciting additional information from Associations and Type Clubs in accordance with the Small Airplane Directorate AD Manual Supplement. Any additional information such as service problems, proposed alternate inspection/repair procedures, cost impact, etc. should be returned in writing to the FAA (address listed above). All comments or replies need to be as detailed as possible and include specific examples to illustrate the comments/concerns.
Revised 1/24/02
This Airworthiness Concern Sheet (ACS) is intended as a means for FAA Aviation Safety Engineers to coordinate airworthiness concerns with aircraft owner/operators through associations and type clubs. At this time, the FAA has not made a determination on what type of corrective action (if any) should be taken. The resolution of this airworthiness concern could involve an AD action or an SAIB, or the FAA could determine that no action is needed at this time. The initial Risk Assessment for this concern does not indicate that an Airworthiness Directive would be considered, however, the existing AD would require revision to ensure safety and proper compliance. The FAA's final determination will depend in part on the information received in response to this Airworthiness Concerns Sheet.
The FAA endorses dissemination of this technical information to all manufacturers and requests association and type clubs comments.
*Service Difficulty Reports (SDRs); Accident/Incident Data System (A/IDS); Service Letter (SL); Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB); Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation (FAASR/NTSBSR); Airworthiness Directive (AD); Alternate Method of Compliance (AMOC); Risk Assessment (RA); Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA); Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA); Type Certificate (TC)
Attachments:
• FAA Safety Recommendation 08.026 through 028
• Risk Assessment
• Airworthiness Summary
• Piper Service Bulletin 1199
• Safety Recommendation 99.004 and SAIB CE-05-29 PA-28/-32 MLG Torque Links
Attachments: *SDR(s) *A/IDS *SL(s) *SAIB *FAASR/*NTSBSR *AD *AMOC *RA
Notification: FAA *AOPA *EAA Type Club *TC Holder O t h e r :
Response Requested __/__/__: Emergency (10 days) Alert (30 days) Information (90 days) (Space Bar Adds “X” to Check Boxes)