SAIB CE-05-08 —

1 SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

CE-05-08 October 25, 2004 www.faa.gov/certification/aircraft This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin alerts you, owners and operators of Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes with any manufacturer serial number (MSN) and any part number (listed below) pilot and co-pilot crew seat made by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., that the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) of Switzerland has issued a Swiss Airworthiness Directive (AD) No. HB 2004-329, effective August 23, 2004. As an interim action, the Swiss AD requires (on airplanes registered in Switzerland) a one-time inspection for cracks on the below listed crew seats that have accumulated 6,000 or more hours time in service (TIS). The inspection is required within 2 weeks of the effective date of the Swiss AD following Pilatus PC-12 Mandatory Service Bulletin (SB) 25-031, dated July 21, 2004. The Swiss AD requires replacement of any cracked seat assembly before further flight and submittal of reports, both positive and negative, to Pilatus Aircraft Company.

Pilatus Crew Seat Part Numbers (P/N) Pilot seat (P/N) Co-Pilot seat (P/N) 9593001111 9593001112 9593001121 9593001122 9593001131 9593001132 9593001133 9593001134

Background

The FOCA AD was prompted by a report of a failed crew seat bucket assembly tubes found during a maintenance inspection. The LH and RH bucket assembly tubes failed at the location of the energy device pins. The lower tubes remained attached, but the upper parts were completely disconnected. This condition could lead to reduced ability of the pilots to control the airplane. As an interim action, the FOCA AD requires inspection of the pilot and co-pilot seat bucket assembly tubes for cracks, submittal of a report of the inspection results, and, if necessary, replacement of the bucket assembly tubes.

Since the issuance of the Swiss AD, there have been eight more reports of cracks. Pilatus and FOCA are investigating the cause of the cracks.

Recommendation

Regardless of the number of hours TIS on the airplane or seats, we recommend that you inspect using a fluorescent dye-penetrant method for cracks at the grooved area of the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) bucket assembly tubes of the pilot and co-pilot seats following Pilatus SB 25-031:

• Inspection recommended within the next 10 hours TIS; and • Please report the results to Pilatus and FAA at the addresses listed below. Report both positive and negative results. • On the report, please give the aircraft MSN, the seat serial number and flying hours, and the number of cracks found with the location and length.

2 For Further Information Contact

Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Small Airplane Directorate, ACE 112, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; phone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-4090, email: [email protected].

For copies of Pilatus SB 25-031 visit Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) website at: http://www.aviation.admin.ch/themen/ebene4/0 0341/unterseite_0_3/unterseite_0_0/index.html ?lang=en; or you may contact Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.: Customer Liaison Manager, CH-6371 STANS, Switzerland; phone: 011 41 41 619 6319; fax: 011 41 41 619 6224.