SAIB NE-03-25 —

1 SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration No. NE-03-25 February 28, 2003 We post SAIBs on the internet at www.airweb.faa.gov This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) advises you, owners and operators of Bombardier DHC-8-100, -200, and -300 aircraft, of safety information related to roll spoiler actuator retraction. Bombardier released Service Bulletin No. 8-27-92, dated December 18, 2000 to replace the welded–plug piston inside the roll spoiler actuators with a swaged piston blank. Affected aircraft include DHC-8 models 102, 103, 106, 201, 202, 301, 311 and 315, aircraft serial numbers 003-560. The affected roll spoiler actuators’ serial numbers are 1501-2016. Background The roll spoiler actuator can jam at mid extended position and may not be fully retracted. There were reports from the field that some actuator pistons with a welded plug design malfunctioned. As of December 1, 2000, Dowty Aerospace Los Angeles (the actuator manufacturer) has replaced the welded piston with the swaged piston in the units with following serial numbers:

1506 1596 1649 1720 1756 1782 1860 1936 1509 1598 1653 1722 1759 1783 1872 1945 1522 1601 1654 1729 1760 1788 1878 1947 1524 1602 1663 1732 1761 1794 1880 1950 1541 1608 1685 1737 1769 1797 1884 1970 1545 1613 1894 1738 1771 1803 1898 1983 1562 1621 1703 1743 1772 1812 1899 2003 1575 1626 1106 1746 1778 1827 1903 2014 1592 1629 1713 1749 1780 1833 1926 2392 1595 1640 1718 1754 1781 1859 1934 D131 • NOTE: Dowty Aerospace assigned Serial No. D131 to a unit received for piston replacement without a nameplate. For those actuators with missing nameplates, look into the piston rod end to identify the piston configuration. The new piston rod has a Lee plug in the center of the rod (as identified by the sealant in the center of the plug or a smooth center). The welded piston rod has a drill point in the center of the rod.

2 The welded plug at the base of the actuator piston can become separated and lodged between the piston and the housing. This can restrict the piston travel and prevent full retraction of the roll spoiler actuator from its extended position. Bombardier Service Bulletin No. 8-27-92 checks roll spoiler actuators for presence of the welded piston. If the piston is swaged, no action is required. If the piston is welded, the actuator is replaced or scheduled for future replacement. Recommendations To eliminate problems with roll spoiler actuator retraction due to a welded piston plug, we recommend you inspect and identify roll spoiler actuators that require piston plug replacement based on the actuator serial number per Service Bulletin No. 8-27-92, dated December 18, 2000. As indicated, we recommend that you replace the welded plug piston with a swaged piston blank. For Service Bulletin Copies Contact: Action Centre, Bombardier Aerospace, 123 Garratt Blvd., Downsview, Ontario, Canada M3K 1Y5, Phone:(416) 375-4000;Fax:(416) 375-4539; Email: [email protected] For Further Information Contact: FAA, Ezra Sasson, NYACO, ANE-172, 10 Fifth Street, Valley Stream, NY 11581-1200; Tel: (516) 256-7520; Fax: (516) 568-2716; email: [email protected]