Summary
This document proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) that would apply to certain Piper Aircraft Corporation (Piper) PA24, PA28R, PA30, PA32R, PA32RT, PA34-200, PA34-200T, PA39, and PA44 series airplanes. The proposed action would require repetitively inspecting the main gear side brace studs for cracks and replacing any cracked main gear side brace stud. Several reports of main gear side brace stud cracks on the affected airplanes, including seven incidents where the main landing gear (MLG) collapsed, prompted the proposed AD. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent a MLG collapse caused by main gear side brace stud cracks, which, if not detected and corrected, could result in loss of control of the airplane during landing operations.