Federal Aviation Administration January 2, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-202, -203, -223, -243, -302, -323, -342, and -343 airplanes; and Model A340-313 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports that a specific batch of cargo doors might have deviations in quality related to door structure, such as irregular bore holes, improper application of sealant and paint, or uncleanliness. This AD requires inspecting to identify the part and serial numbers of the forward and aft cargo doors, and replacing the affected cargo doors. We are issuing this AD to prevent the degraded structural capability of the cargo door, a primary structure, from leading to failure of the door, which could lead to a breach through the door or the door detaching from the airplane, resulting in potential rapid decompression.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the crown area of the fuselage skin, and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD adds repetitive inspections for cracking using different inspection methods and inspecting additional areas, and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD also requires additional repairs to previously repaired areas and repetitive inspections for loose fasteners and replacement if necessary in certain previously repaired areas. This AD also reduces certain compliance times and extends certain other compliance times. This AD was prompted by additional reports of cracking at the horizontal chem-mill steps away from the lap joints over the entire crown area, and vertical chem-mill cracks adjacent to the butt joints. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the fuselage skin, which could cause the fuselage skin to fracture and fail, and result in rapid decompression of the airplane.