# SAIB CE-03-59: 

- Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory)
- Status: Historical
- Revision: 0
- Issued: September 26, 2003
- Products: Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau Discus b, Discus bT and Discus CS
- Product type: Aircraft, Glider
- PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/ff/a1/ffa112b702762ed66227a4ae19256e29f703cc0bbb87ea9f752a7412d974f53f
- FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/56140AA900A17AAB8625721F0052EBC9.0001
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-03-59

## Text

**SPECIAL**

**AIRWORTHINESS**

**INFORMATION**

**BULLETIN**

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

No. CE-03-59 September 26, 2003 We post SAIBs on the internet at www.airweb.faa.gov This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.

Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you, an owner or operator of the SCHEMPP-HIRTH models listed below, that Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) has issued Airworthiness Directives (AD) 2003-265 and 2003-266, both dated September 16, 2003. These ADs call for the immediate grounding of the indicated sailplanes until further notice. Currently, no technical notes have been developed to address required actions.

Model Serial Number Discus b 551 up to 554, 568, 569, 571 up to 573, 575 and 577 Discus bT 77, 106, 146, 151 up to 154, 156, 158, 161 and 162 Discus CS 1CS up to 308CS

Note: The Discus CS and Discus bT sailplanes are not type certificated in the U.S.

Background The LBA has reported an in-flight failure of a Discus CS wing structure. Initial analysis indicates failure in the bonding of the wing spar cap and spar web. In addition, SCHEMPP-HIRTH has identified potential bonding concerns of the wing spar cap and spar web on specified Discus b and Discus bT sailplanes. Failure of the bonding, if not detected and corrected, could result in an in-flight separation of the wing from the glider. A production defect cannot be excluded as a probable cause.

Recommendation The FAA strongly recommends that, effective immediately, registered owners of SCHEMPP-HIRTH Models Discus b, Discus bT, and Discus CS with above stated serial numbers ground their sailplanes until further notice. Contact Schempp-Hirth at the address stated in this bulletin.

We are providing this information as a courtesy to owners and operators as we do not issue ADs for gliders that do not have a U.S. type certificate.

For Further Information Contact Gregory Davison, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, Room 301, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; phone: (816) 329-4130; fax: (816) 329-4090; email gregory.davison@faa.gov

SCHEMPP-HIRTH Flugzeugbau GmbH, Postfach 1443, 73222 Kircheim/Teck, Federal Republic of Germany; phone: 49 7021 7298-0; fax: 49 7021 7298-199.

## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs)

Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first.

- [Schempp-Hirth DISCUS CS](https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-discus-cs): 36 registered aircraft (airframe model)
- [Schempp-Hirth DISCUS B](https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-discus-b): 29 registered aircraft (airframe model)
- [Schempp-Hirth DISCUS BT](https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-discus-bt): 2 registered aircraft (airframe model)

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