Summary
The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain McDonnell Douglas airplanes, as listed above. The existing AD currently requires an initial general visual or dye penetrant inspection, repetitive dye penetrant inspections, and replacement, as necessary, of the rudder pedal bracket. This proposed AD would also require, for certain airplanes, replacing the rudder pedal bracket assemblies with new, improved parts, which would terminate the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD is prompted by a report of numerous cracked rudder pedal brackets found during inspections of certain affected airplanes. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the rudder pedal bracket assembly, which could result in the loss of rudder and braking control at either the captain's or first officer's position.