# SAIB CE-05-29: - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Historical - Revision: 0 - Issued: February 1, 2005 - Products: Piper Aircraft, Inc., The New PA-28-140, -150, -160, -180, PA-28-235, PA-32-260 and PA-3 - Product type: Aircraft, Small Airplane - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/b5/3a/b53a716e96ace7c4ff3de619ba392c5be6bb880a3a1cabca91ba1500946d3ed4 - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/ACA66A706EB4F6468625721F0052EAF8.0001 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-05-29 ## Text **SPECIAL** **AIRWORTHINESS** **INFORMATION** **BULLETIN** Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration CE-05-29 February 1, 2005 www.faa.gov/certification/aircraft This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you, owners and operators certain The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. models and serial numbers listed below, of information to help determine if AD 72-08-02 applies to your airplane. AD 72-08-02 mandates periodic inspections of certain configurations of the four main landing gear (MLG) torque link assemblies to detect cracks adjacent to the 2.5-inch diameter machined boss. Model Number Serial Number PA-28-140 28-20000 and up PA-28-150/-160/-180 28-01 and up PA-28-235 28-10000 and up PA-32-260 32-01 and up PA-32-300 32-40000 and up Note: Serial Numbers prefixed by model year, such as 28-7120000, are included in the effectivity of AD 72-08-02. Background There are two different configurations for the MLG torque link assemblies. They are part number (P/N) 65691-00 (or 65691-00V) and P/N 72032-00. They can be identified by the differences in cross section as shown in the following sketches: Cross Section P/N 65691-00 or 65691-00V (Made from 66306-2 forging) Cross Section P/N 78032-00 (Made from 78031-0 forging) P/N 65691-00 (or 65691-00V) also has the 63306-2 forging part number embossed in it. P/N has a 78031-0 forging number embossed. 2 You must inspect Piper P/N 65691-00 (or 65691-00V), the ones with the oval crosssection, periodically per AD 72-08-02. Piper P/N 72032-00, the ones with the rectangular cross section and channels, do not require inspection. Piper Service Letter 621 announces the availability of the 72032-00 torque links assemblies as replacements for the 65691-00 (or 65691-00V). This SAIB is a result of FAA Safety Recommendation 99.004 that arose from an investigation of an accident that occurred on October 31, 1998. In the accident, the lower MLG torque link broke during the landing roll out. The investigation revealed that the AD inspection had not been done because the P/Ns listed in the AD were not visible on the part. The embossed forging number was presumed to be the P/N, and since it did not match the P/Ns in the AD, it was thought that the AD did not apply. Recommendation After reviewing the data from the safety recommendation, we recommend that you, an owner or operator, verify the MLG torque link assembly P/N installed on your aircraft and verify that you are in compliance with AD 72-08-02. For Further Information Contact William O. Herderich, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Central Region, Atlanta ACO, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 450, Atlanta, GA 30349; phone: (770)-703- 6082; fax: (770) 703-6097; email: william.o.herderich@faa.gov ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Piper PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140): 4,258 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235): 859 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32-260](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260): 650 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper/Valdes-Ervin PA-28-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-valdes-ervin-pa-28-235): 1 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper / Beaumont PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-beaumont-pa-28-140): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper/Miller PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-miller-pa-28-140): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.