SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES
CESSNA T206 · Airworthiness Directives
Overview
This document is an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia, specifically addressing the Cessna 206 series aircraft. The directive mandates inspections of the horizontal stabilizer front spar assembly to ensure safety and structural integrity. It outlines the compliance requirements based on the aircraft's total time in service, detailing the necessary actions to be taken in case of detected cracks. The document serves as a critical safety measure to prevent potential catastrophic failures due to structural weaknesses in the horizontal stabilizer. It also provides background information on the necessity of the inspections and amendments made to the directive over time.
- All models of Cessna 206 aircraft are affected by this Airworthiness Directive.
- Visual inspections of the horizontal stabilizer front spar are required for safety.
- Aircraft with less than 10,000 hours must be inspected before exceeding that limit and at intervals not exceeding 110 hours.
- For aircraft with 10,000 or more hours, the first inspection must occur before 18 March 2002, followed by inspections at 110-hour intervals.
- The directive was amended to allow for longer compliance intervals to facilitate scheduled maintenance.
Document
Source
Originally published by services.casa.gov.au. Sprinkle hosts a reference copy with an added summary, specifications and searchable full text.
Document details
- Type
- Airworthiness Directives
- Year
- 2004
- Pages
- 3
- File size
- 72 KB
- Publisher
- services.casa.gov.au
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In this document
Applicability
The Airworthiness Directive applies to all models of Cessna 206 aircraft, requiring specific inspection actions to address safety concerns.
Inspection Requirements
Operators must visually inspect the front and rear faces of the horizontal stabilizer front spar assembly for cracks, particularly around the cut-out in the front spar web. The inspection is complicated for models manufactured from 1968 onwards due to a three-layer design that obscures the center laminate.
Compliance Schedule
For aircraft with less than 10,000 hours time in service, inspections must occur before exceeding 10,000 hours and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 110 hours. For those with 10,000 or more hours, the first inspection must occur before 18 March 2002, followed by inspections at the same 110-hour interval.
Background Information
The directive was issued in response to reports of cracking in the horizontal stabilizer front spar on Cessna 210s, highlighting the importance of maintaining structural integrity for safety.
Amendments
Amendment 2 of the directive increased the recurrent compliance interval from 100 hours to 110 hours to align inspections with scheduled maintenance.
Safety notes
- Cracks in the front spar web must be repaired before further flight.
- Inspection may require the use of mirrors or a borescope for thorough examination.
Full document text
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES Page 1 of 3 AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE On the effective date specified below, and for the reasons set out in the background section, the CASA delegate whose signature appears below revokes Airworthiness Directive (AD) AD/CESSNA 206/54 Amdt 1 and issues the following AD under subregulation 39.1 (1) of CASR 1998. The AD requires that the action set out in the requirement section (being action that the delegate considers necessary to correct the unsafe condition) be taken in relation to the aircraft or aeronautical product mentioned in the applicability section: (a) in the circumstances mentioned in the requirement section; and (b) in accordance with the instructions set out in the requirement section; and (c) at the time mentioned in the compliance section. Cessna 206 Series Aeroplanes AD/CESSNA 206/54 Amdt 2 Horizontal Stabilizer Front Spar 9/2004 Applicability: All models of Cessna 206 aircraft. Requirement: Visually inspect the front and rear faces of horizontal stabilizer front spar assembly centre section for cracks around the cut-out in the front spar web. Refer to Figure 1 below. It should be noted that for models manufactured from 1968 onwards the horizontal stabiliser front spar would be of a three-layer design. This means that the centre laminate will effectively be hidden by the two outer laminates, making inspection of the centre laminate almost impracticable. The centre laminate should be inspected as far as practicable without disassembly of the spar. Any cracks in the front spar web must be repaired before further flight, and a defect report must be submitted. Note 1: Access can be achieved by the removal of the fillet fairing. The front face of the front spar is easily seen. The rear face may be seen via a hole in the upper surface of the horizontal stabilizer using an inspection mirror and torch. Note 2: This inspection may require some experimenting with lights and mirrors to obtain some certainty in the results of the inspection. The inspection would be much easier to conduct with the use of a borescope. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES Cessna 206 Series Aeroplanes AD/CESSNA 206/54 Amdt 2 (continued) Page 2 of 3 Compliance: a. For aircraft with less than 10000 hours time in service, inspect before exceeding 10000 hours total time in service, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 110 hours time in service. b. For aircraft with 10000 or more hours time in service, inspect before 18 March 2002, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding 110 hours time in service. This Amendment becomes effective on 2 September 2004. Background: Reports have been received of cracking of the horizontal stabilizer front spar on Australian registered Cessna 210s. Both front and rear spars must be serviceable for the horizontal stabilizer to carry ultimate load. The front spar forms part of the horizontal stabilizer’s primary load path, and loss of strength in this area could be catastrophic. It should be noted that this Airworthiness Directive mandates an inspection requirement already stated in the manufacturer’s maintenance data. Amendment 1 of this Airworthiness Directive was issued to highlight that later models have been manufactured with horizontal stabiliser spars containing three layers, making the centre laminate almost impossible to inspect. This amendment provided guidance on inspection of the three layer configuration. Compliance times were unchanged. Cracks in front spar web Front face of front spar web Centre section cutout COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES Cessna 206 Series Aeroplanes AD/CESSNA 206/54 Amdt 2 (continued) Page 3 of 3 Amendment 2 of this Airworthiness Directive is issued to increase the recurrent compliance interval from 100 hours to 110 hours time in service to allow the inspections required by this Airworthiness Directive to be aligned with scheduled maintenance. The original issue of this Airworthiness Directive became effective on 6 March 2002. Amendment 1 of this Airworthiness Directive became effective on 1 December 2003. David Villiers Delegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority 21 July 2004 The above AD is notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 11 August 2004






