The concern sheetOCR
This is OCR from the scanned FAA concern sheet. OCR can misread letters and numbers.
Airworthiness FAA Concern Sheet Date: June 19, 2008 Full Name William O. Herderich Title Engineer Organization Atlanta Aircraft Certification Department Airframe, ACE-117A Address 1985 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 450 City State ZIP Atlanta, GA 30349 Telephone Number 770-703-6082 E-mail william.o.herderich@faa.gov FAA Description of Airworthiness Concern Make, Model, Series, Serial No.:
Piper, PA-23 Series, PA-31 Series, PA-42 Series All Serial Numbers Reason for Airworthiness Concern:
Fatal Accident-Forward Baggage Door Opening in Flight On Saturday, January 5, 2008, a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain crashed just after takeoff in Kodiak, Alaska. Of the ten persons on board, six died and four were injured. The aircraft is registered in the U.S. as N509FN.
Investigation by the FAA and Piper indicates that the baggage door did not conform to type design and was not in a condition for safe operation. A cover on the inside of the door was not found and indications are that it was not present before the accident. This cover would prevent inadvertent actuation of the door lock mechanism from shifting baggage. The key lock had been replaced with a non-conforming lock that does not require a key, but rather utilized a thumb tab. This eliminated a critical safety feature because the conforming lock only allows rotation when the key is installed, and the key can only be removed when in the locked position.
Investigation of other PA-31 aircraft by the FAA and Piper has found that most, if not all, are non-conforming and/or not in a condition for safe operation. Examples of problems discovered are; key locks have been replaced with nonconforming locks, bent, corroded, worn, and broken parts; parts installed backwards, inoperative warning systems, and the installation of secondary latches that aren't strong enough and only serve to provide a false sense of security. The baggage door installation on the PA-31 is similar to that used on the PA-23 and PA-42 aircraft.
It is of critical importance to keep the forward baggage door closed in flight. Past accident reports suggest that the performance and handling of these aircraft are significantly affected when the forward baggage door opens in flight.
Evaluation of these characteristics has not been made, nor is it required to be made under either past or current certification regulations.
Request for Information (Proposed Alternate Inspection/Repair Procedures, Cost Impact, Etc. Note: Any comments or replies to the FAA need to be as specific as possible. Please provide specific examples to illustrate your comments/concerns.):
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). Note: Any comments or replies to the FAA need to be as specific as possible. Please provide specific examples to illustrate your 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 indicated that a potential routine Airworthiness Directive might be considered. 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 08.018
• NTSB Preliminary Report ANCO8MA038
• SAFO 08013
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Assessment Worksheet
• Airworthiness Summary
• NTSB Recommendation A-78-004 Baggage Door Lock Piper Service Bulletin 604A Attachments: *SDR(s)X *A/IDS *SL(s)L *SAIBL*FAASR/*NTSBSRY *ADL *AMOCL *RAX Notification: FAA X *AOPA X *EAA X Type Club L *TC Holder X Other:
Response Requested //: Emergency (10 days) - Alert (30 days) X Information (90 days) L (Space Bar Adds "X" to Check Boxes)