AD 2008-06-08

Unless already done, do the following actions.

(1) For all Model BAe 146-100A and BAE 146-200A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709B or HCM01709C that have not been inspected in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146 Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR) SSI/SII Task No. 53-20-140A (Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) Task 532040-SDI-10000-3) or BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 1, dated May 19, 2004, as of the effective date of this AD: Do the actions in paragraphs (f)(1)(i) and (f)(1)(ii) of this AD at the applicable compliance time, and do all applicable repairs and replacements before further flight.

(i) Inspect and repair cracking of the forward six bolt bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, before the accumulation of 17,000 total flight cycles, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the structural repair manual (SRM), before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 5,000 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD.

(ii) Inspect and repair cracking of the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, before the accumulation of 17,000 total flight cycles, or within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 11,900 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD.

(2) For all Model BAe 146-100A and BAe 146-200A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709B or HCM01709C that have been inspected in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146 MRBR SSI/SII Task No. 53-20-140A (MPD task 532040-SDI-10000-3) or BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173 Revision 1, May 19, 2004, as of the effective date of this AD: Do the actions in paragraphs (f)(2)(i), (f)(2)(ii), and (f)(2)(iii) of this AD at the applicable compliance time, and do all applicable repairs and replacements before further flight.

(i) Do an ultrasonic inspection and repair cracking of the forward six bolt bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions and Appendix 2 of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, before the accumulation of 5,400 flight cycles since last inspection, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 5,000 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD.

(ii) Do a high frequency eddy current inspection and repair cracking of the forward six bolt bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions and Appendix 3 of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 5,000 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD.

(iii) Do a rotating eddy current inspection and repair cracking of the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 11,900 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD.

Note 1: BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Inspection Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, refers to the BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146/Avro 146-RJ Series Nondestructive Testing (NDT) Manual Part 6 20-00-03 as a secondary source of service information for doing the eddy current inspection.

(3) For all Model BAe 146-100A and BAe 146-200A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709B or HCM01709C that have had a replacement aft longeron installed: Prior to the accumulation of 17,000 flight cycles after the aft longeron replacement, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later, inspect for cracking of the forward six bolt bores and the fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30, and repair any crack before further flight in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 5,000 flight cycles for the forward six bolt bores, and 11,900 flight cycles for the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30. Replacing the longeron terminates the repetitive inspection requirements of paragraph (f)(1) and (f)(2) of this AD; post-replacement inspections must be done in accordance with this paragraph.

Note 2: The threshold for an aircraft is reset if a replacement longeron is fitted.

(4) For all Model BAe 146-300A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709A that have not been inspected in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146 MRBR SSI/SII Task No. 53-20-140A (MPD Task 532040-SDI-10000-3) or BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 1, dated May 19, 2004, as of the effective date of this AD: Do the actions in paragraphs (f)(4)(i) and (f)(4)(ii) of this AD at the applicable compliance time, and do all applicable repairs and replacements before further flight.

(i) Inspect and repair cracking of the forward six bolt bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, prior to the accumulation of 24,000 total flight cycles, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 4,000 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(6) of this AD.

(ii) Inspect and repair cracking of the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, at the later of 24,000 total flight cycles, or within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 11,900 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(6) of this AD.

(5) For all Model BAe 146-300A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709A that have been inspected in accordance with BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146 MRBR SSI/SII Task No. 53-20-140A (MPD task 532040-SDI-10000-3) or BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 1, May 19, 2004, as of the effective date of this AD: Do the actions in paragraphs (f)(5)(i), (f)(5)(ii), and (f)(5)(iii) of this AD at the applicable compliance time, and do all applicable repairs and replacements before further flight.

(i) Do an ultrasonic inspection and repair cracking of the forward six bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions and Appendix 2 of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, within 4,000 flight cycles since last inspection, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 4,000 flight cycles except as provided by paragraph (f)(6) of this AD.

(ii) Do a high frequency eddy current inspection and repair cracking of the forward six bolt bores between the subframe and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions and Appendix 3 of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 4,000 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(6) of this AD.

(iii) Do a rotating eddy current inspection and repair cracking of the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30 in accordance with paragraph 2.B of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, within 4,000 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 11,900 flight cycles, except as provided by paragraph (f)(6) of this AD.

Note 3: BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, dated March 28, 2006, refers to the BAE Systems (Operations) Limited BAe 146/Avro 146-RJ Series NDT Manual Part 6 20-00-03 as a secondary source of service information for doing the eddy current inspection.

(6) For all Model BAe 146-300A series airplanes pre-mod HCM01709A that have had a replacement aft longeron installed: Prior to the accumulation of 24,000 flight cycles after the aft longeron replacement, or within 500 flight cycles after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later, inspect for cracking of the fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30, and repair any crack before further flight in accordance with paragraph 2.B. of the Accomplishment Instructions of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.53-173, Revision 2, March 28, 2006. If the damage exceeds limits specified in the SRM, before further flight, contact BAE Systems and repair. Repeat the inspection thereafter at intervals not to exceed 4,000 flight cycles for the forward six bolt bores, and 11,900 flight cycles for the remaining fastener bores between the sub-frame and frame 30. Replacing the longeron terminates the repetitive inspection requirements of paragraphs (f)(4) and (f)(5) of this AD; new inspections must be done in accordance with this paragraph.

Note 4: The threshold for an aircraft is reset if a replacement longeron is fitted.

Note 5: This AD differs from the MCAI and/ or service information as follows: The MCAI specifies doing repetitive inspections until the airplane enters the life extension program (LEP). This program is not defined by the FAA. Operators of airplanes that enter the LEP may request an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) for the repetitive inspections in accordance with the procedures specified in paragraph (g) of this AD.