SAIB CE-06-24

SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

CE-06-24 January 26, 2006 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/SAIB/ This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin alerts you, owners and operators of Slingsby Aviation Ltd. T67A, T67B, T67C, T67M, T67M-MkII, T67M200, T67M260, and T67M260-T3A airplanes, of an airworthiness concern.

Background

We received reports of cracked tailplane brackets on the above-referenced airplanes.

Slingsby Service Bulletin (SB) No. 179, Issue 3 details inspection of the aft tailplane attachment brackets in order to discover similar cracks. Issue 3 specifies a continuation of repetitive inspections already set out in Issue 1 and 2 of SB 179 pending definition of Mod M988 as termination action. Issue 3 differentiates between the pre- and post-Mod M520 aircraft tailplane re-fitting instructions.

The SB specifies the following:

• Upon receipt of this Issue 3, if Issue 1 and /or 2 of this SB 179 have not been complied with, compliance is to be:

“Prior to next flight”.

• If Issue 1 and/or 2 of this SB 179 have been complied with and if the original brackets were not replaced, then compliance is to be “at the next 150 flying hours, or next Annual, whichever is soonest, from receipt of Issue 3 of this SB”.

Recommendation

We are recommending that you inspect the tailplane attachment brackets for cracks. You should refer to Slingsby’s SB No. 179, Issue 3, January 20, 2005, for inspection instructions.

For Further Information Contact

Gunnar Berg, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Small Airplane Directorate, ACE-112, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; phone:

(816)-329-4141; fax: (816)-329-4090.

For Service Bulletins Contact

Slingsby Aviation Ltd., Kirkbymoorside, York, United Kingdom, YO62 6EZ; phone:

01751 432474; fax: 01751 431173; email:

SAL5@Slingsby.co.uk