SAIB ACE-98-01 —

No. ACE-98-01 October 17, 1997

Published by: FAA, AFS-610, P.O. Box 26460, Oklahoma City, OK 73125 This is issued for informational purposes only and any recommendation for corrective action is not mandatory.

INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of this Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to provide guidance to aircraft owners/operators regarding paragraph (e) of Airworthiness Directive (AD) 82-27-13 R2. AD 82-27-13 R2 addresses the flap extension system on Piper PA-31, PA-31P, and PA-31T series aircraft.

BACKGROUND:

Paragraph (e) of AD 82-27-13 R2 provides acceptable equivalent method of compliance options to the repetitive inspection requirements specified in paragraph (a). Due to numerous recent inquires regarding the options specified in paragraph (e), the FAA has determined that additional guidance regarding paragraph (e) interpretation would be beneficial to the field.

The following list is approved equivalent method of compliance options to portions or all of the requirements listed in paragraph (a) of AD 82-27-13 R2:

1. Compliance with paragraph (e), items 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 alleviate the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4) and the repetitive inspections required by paragraph (a)(2).

2. Compliance with paragraph (e), items 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 alleviate the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4) and the repetitive inspections required by paragraph (a)(2).

3. Compliance with paragraph (e), items 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 alleviate the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4).

4. Compliance with paragraph (e), items 3, 5, 6, and 7 alleviate the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4).

5. Compliance with paragraph (e), item 8 alleviates the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4) and the repetitive inspections required by paragraph (a)(3).

6. Compliance with paragraph (e), item 9 alleviates the restrictions imposed by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(4) and the repetitive inspections required by paragraph (a)(2) and (a)(3).

2 ACE-98-01 Items 1 through 4 in the above listing require incorporation of an Airplane Flight Manual Supplement (AFMS) approved by the Manager, Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office. Items 5 and 6 specified above require compliance with Piper Kit No. 764 957L and Kit No. 764 938L, respectively, and each include the appropriate AFMS as part of the kit.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The information contained in this bulletin is provided as guidance for AD 82-27-13 R2 and does not retract any alternative method of compliance approvals issued by the FAA.

A copy of the service publications referenced in AD 82-27-13 R2 or information regarding the AFMS contained in the Piper kits may be obtained from:

The New Piper Aircraft, Inc.

Attn: Customer Service

2926 Piper Drive

Vero Beach, FL 32960

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christina Marsh, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 450, Atlanta, Georgia 30349; telephone (770) 703-6079; facsimile (770) 703-6097.