Summary
This document revises an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain McDonnell Douglas Model DC-8 airplanes. That proposed AD would have required a one-time inspection for cracks of the aft fuselage skin panel at the longeron 28 skin splice; repair of any cracks detected; and reporting of the findings of the inspection to the manufacturer. This new action revises the proposed AD by removing airplanes from the applicability; and adds repetitive inspections for cracks in the same area, a one-time inspection for previous repairs, and repair if necessary. This new action also would require reporting the inspection findings to the manufacturer, and would provide optional actions for extending the repetitive inspection intervals. The requirements proposed by this new action are intended to detect and correct cracks in the aft fuselage skin at the longeron 28 skin splice, which could lead to loss of structural integrity of the aft fuselage, resulting in rapiddecompression of the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.