SAIB CE-06-43

SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

CE-06-43 May 5, 2006 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/ This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin advises you, owners and operators of the following Schempp-Hirth sailplanes, of an airworthiness concern:

Model Serial Number Ventus-2c 1 – 51 Ventus-2cT 1 – 49 Ventus-2cM 1 – 73

Background

Three separate horizontal stabilizers that were damaged during landing accidents revealed hollow areas on the upper side of the leading edge. The German airworthiness authority has issued Airworthiness Directive D-2005-136 requiring a check and reinforcement of any hollow sections found for airplanes registered in Germany.

Technical Note Numbers 349-29 and 825-34.

These Technical Notes includes procedures for a check of the horizontal stabilizer for hollow sections of the leading edge on airplanes. If you find hollow areas, they should be reinforced as specified per the Appendix to the above-stated technical notes.

Note: The Ventus-2c, -2cT, and -2cM are not type certificated in the United States and therefore do not meet the criteria for mandatory action. We do not issue ADs for sailplanes without U.S. type certification.

However, these models are currently operating in the United States with an experimental airworthiness certificate.

Recommendation

We recommend you do the actions stated in the Technical Notes.

For Further Information Contact

Gregory Davison, Glider Program Manager FAA Small Airplane Directorate 901 Locust Street, Room 301 Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Phone: (816) 329-4130 Fax: (816) 329-4090 Email: gregory.davison@faa.gov

SCHEMPP-HIRTH Flugzeugbau GmbH Krebenstraße 25 D-73230 Kirchheim/Teck Germany Phone: 49 7021 7298-0 Fax: 49 7021 7298-199 Email: info@schempp-hirth.com

Technical Note information is available at:

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/