The FAA published Airworthiness Directives this week that affect certain Piper Cherokees and turbo Bonanza airplanes. The proposed Piper AD (PDF) was prompted by reports of corrosion found in an area of the main wing spar that’s not easily accessible for inspection. The AD would require installing an inspection access panel in the lower wing skin near the left and the right main wing spars, if there’s not already one there, which would cost about $685. Also the left and the right main wing spars must be inspected for corrosion, at a cost of about $170, and all necessary corrective actions must be taken. These actions must be completed within 12 months or 100 hours flying time after the effective date of the AD, whichever comes first. The AD is expected to affect 11,476 airplanes registered in the U.S. The FAA is accepting comments on the proposed AD until Dec. 22.
The FAA also this week published a revision (PDF) of an earlier proposal, published in April, that affects turbo Bonanzas, adding more models to the list of airplanes affected, and adding a visual inspection of the exhaust tailpipe. The FAA has reopened the comment period, until Dec. 26, to allow the public a chance to comment on these changes. The proposed AD was prompted by a fatal accident in which the exhaust tailpipe fell off during takeoff, the FAA said. The NPRM proposed to add a life limit to the exhaust tailpipe v-band coupling (clamp) and, if the coupling is removed for any reason before the life limit is reached, require an inspection of the v-band coupling before reinstalling. The FAA estimates the AD will affect 731 airplanes and will cost about $500 to $800.
