Summary
This document revises an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to all of the airplanes identified above. That proposed AD would have required repetitive inspections to detect breaks in the bottom flange fitting of the ram air turbine (RAT); and corrective actions, if necessary. This new action revises the proposed AD by proposing to remove the requirement to repeat the inspections and, instead, revising the FAA-approved maintenance program to include a new Airplane Maintenance Manual task that specifies a detailed inspection after each RAT extension. This new action also proposes to require, for certain airplanes, an adjustment of the ejection jack; and, for certain other airplanes, replacement of the aluminum part with an improved steel part; these actions would terminate the inspection requirements of the earlier proposed AD. The actions specified by this new proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the RAT yoke fitting, which could result in the loss of RAT function and possible loss of critical flight control in the event of certain emergency situations. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition.