Flight Controls: Aileron

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FAA Aviation Safety SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN SAIB: CE-12-36 SUBJ: Flight Controls: Aileron Date: June 19, 2012 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) informs owners, operators, and maintenance personnel of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (formerly Raytheon Aircraft and Beech Aircraft Corporation) Bonanza (reference all model numbers on Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) A-777 and 3A15), Baron (reference all model numbers on TCDS 3A16 and A23CE), King Air Series and 1900 Airliner (reference all model numbers except 1900D on TCDS 3A20, A14CE, A24CE, and A31CE) airplanes about the potential issue of improperly installed ailerons.

At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant Airworthiness Directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.

Background

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received reports regarding improper aileron installation. Incidents were most recently reported on Beech King Air Model 90 series airplanes. However, the aileron installation is similar all the airplanes referenced in the Introduction section of this SAIB. Hawker Beechcraft Corporation issued a customer communique in September 2003 to advise owners/operators how to mitigate and identify improper aileron installation. In May 2012, Hawker Beechcraft issued a safety communique to address the issue.

Recommendations

Review of various vintage Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, Raytheon Aircraft and Beech Aircraft Corporation maintenance manuals reveals many models with similar design and slightly different installation instructions. The purpose of this SAIB is to inform maintenance personnel of installation and inspection procedures that have been demonstrated successful in installation of and identifying proper installation of ailerons.

The FAA recommends operators of these airplanes adopt the procedure identified in Hawker Beechcraft Safety Communique 324 “Improper Aileron Installation”, dated May, 2012. Recent revisions to Hawker Beechcraft Maintenance Manuals have included an additional step to aid in proper aileron installation. This step involves loosely installing two bolts (one bolt in the top and one in the bottom) through each hinge into the nut on the aileron spar, and then, pulling on the aileron to confirm that the bolts are properly installed. The final step is installing the remaining bolts and tighten all bolts. Some older maintenance manuals may say to install the bolts in each hinge bracket and the aileron followed by a “pull check” after the bolts are secured. The “pull check” with loosely installed bolts is preferred and should decrease the chance of improper bolt installation.

2 For Further Information Contact

Paul Chapman, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Wichita ACO, 1801 Airport Road, Room 100, Wichita, KS 67209, telephone: (316) 946-4152, fax: (316) 946-4129, e-mail: [email protected].