Summary
The FAA is revising an earlier NPRM for an airworthiness directive (AD) that would have applied to certain Airbus Model A330- 200, A330-300, A340-200, and A340-300 series airplanes, and A340-541 and A340-642 airplanes. The original NPRM would have required inspecting to determine if certain emergency escape slides/slide rafts (referred to as slide/rafts) are installed in certain crew/ passenger doors; and, if so, performing a one-time inspection to determine if the electrical harnesses of the slide/rafts are properly routed, and rerouting the harnesses if necessary. The original NPRM resulted from a report that a slide/raft failed to deploy properly during a deployment test. This action revises the original NPRM by expanding the applicability of the proposed AD. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct improper routing of the electrical harnesses of certain slide/rafts, which could prevent proper deployment of the slide/rafts and delay evacuation of passengers and flightcrew during an emergency.