# SAIB CE-11-13: Wings - Piper PA-28, PA-32, PA-34 Forward Spar Corrosion - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Current - Revision: 0 - Issued: January 5, 2011 - Products: Piper PA-28-140, PA-28-150, PA-28-151, PA-28-160, PA-28-161, PA-28-180, PA-28-181, PA-28-201T, PA-28-235, PA-28-236, PA-28R-180, PA-28R-200 and 22 more - Product type: Aircraft, Small Airplane - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/79/c9/79c95751fb249dc6de7dbe6e299991d31fe6dc538cc8dc4358b2671bcd1e8180 - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/34B5BC74D54F6C248625780F00712781.0001 - DRS record last changed: January 5, 2011 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-11-13 ## Text FAA Aviation Safety **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SAIB: CE-11-13 SUBJ: Wings - Piper PA-28, PA-32, PA-34 Forward Spar Corrosion Date: January 5, 2011 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you, owners and operators of all Piper Aircraft, Inc. PA-28, PA-32 and PA-34 models, of potential corrosion on the wing front spar at the fuselage attach fitting, at the landing gear attach point, and behind the leading edge fuel tank. This also alerts you of our recommendation to incorporate Piper Service Bulletin (SB) 1006 as mitigating action. At this time, this airworthiness concern has not been determined to be an unsafe condition that would warrant AD action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39. Background Aircraft may develop corrosion during their lifetime. Some of the variables involved in the probability of corrosion development are:  potential increases with calendar time / age  potential increases with incompatible materials (e.g., aluminum and steel)  potential increases in certain environments (e.g., high moisture or salt water)  potential decreases with adequate protective coatings (e.g., zinc chromate primer)  potential decreases with adequate inspection This information is presented in response to service data showing extensive corrosion on the wing front spar at the fuselage attach fitting, at the landing gear attach point, and behind the leading edge fuel tank of Piper PA-28 and PA-32 aircraft. See Figure 1 as an example. Due to similarity of design, the PA-34 is also susceptible to this corrosion. Note: The landing gear attach point configuration will vary, particularly between the fixed and retractable gear models. An example of the area of concern for the landing gear attachment is where the bracket Piper part number 95643-06 / -07 attaches to the front spar on the PA-28R aircraft. Piper SB 1006 was issued in 1997 to address multiple areas of the wing, including the forward spar, on certain PA-28 and PA-32 aircraft. Production aircraft after the SB 1006 had zinc chromate primer added for corrosion protection. No data was available whether the applicable SB had been completed on the reported aircraft. Note: EASA issued AD 2005-0032 requiring SB 1006. Figure 1 Recommendations The FAA recommends that owners and operators incorporate the actions in Piper SB 1006 based on the effectivity of the SB. Due to similarity of design (steel components mating to aluminum spar) and since improper maintenance or painting procedures have been a contributing factor in past service reports, all PA-28, PA-32, and PA-34 aircraft are susceptible to this corrosion development. Therefore, the inspections in the SBs should be implemented for all PA-28, PA-32, and PA-34 models. We recommend that all the actions be taken within 100 hours. We further recommend inspection and incorporation as soon as feasible, but no more than 100 hours, for those aircraft at higher risk due to age, environment, lack of protective coatings, etc., as discussed above. If damage is found, a Malfunction / Defect Report or Service Difficulty Report (SDR) should be filed. The SDR system is available at http://av-info.faa.gov/sdrx/. There are currently no established allowable limits on the subject parts so repair or replacement will be necessary if damage is found. For Further Information Contact Gregory K. (“Keith”) Noles, Aerospace Engineer, Atlanta ACO, 1701 Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337; phone: (404) 474-5551; fax: (404) 474-5606; email: gregory.noles@faa.gov For Related Service Information Contact Piper Aircraft Inc., 2926 Piper Drive, Vero Beach, Florida, 32960; website: http://www.piper.com/ ## 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-28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181): 3,549 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180): 3,504 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-161](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161): 1,526 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28R-200](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200): 1,223 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300): 992 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-151](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-151): 961 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 PA-34-200T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200t): 563 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28R-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-180): 536 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32R-301T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301t): 536 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32R-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-300): 510 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-236](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-236): 480 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32R-301](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301): 456 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28R-201T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-201t): 368 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28R-201](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-201): 352 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28RT-201T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28rt-201t): 255 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-160](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-160): 253 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-34-220T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-220t): 248 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32RT-300T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300t): 204 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32RT-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300): 200 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28RT-201](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28rt-201): 178 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-34-200](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200): 172 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32-301](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-301): 167 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-150](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-150): 123 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32-301T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-301t): 81 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28-201T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-201t): 62 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA32-301FT](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa32-301ft): 39 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA32-301XTC](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa32-301xtc): 36 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-32R-301T](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-32r-301t): 19 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-28-181): 16 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-28-161](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-28-161): 15 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-34-220T](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-34-220t): 8 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-32-301XTC](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-32-301xtc): 7 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA-32R-301](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-32r-301): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [New Piper PA32-301FT](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa32-301ft): 4 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-32S-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32s-300): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28S-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28s-180): 1 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) - [New Piper PA-28R-201](https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-28r-201): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper / Beaumont PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-beaumont-pa-28-140): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper PA-28S-160](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28s-160): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper/Anderson PA 28-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-anderson-pa-28-180): 0 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Piper/Flores Richard PA 28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-flores-richard-pa-28-181): 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.