EASA has issued a proposed airworthiness directive (PAD) for a small number of Airbus A350-900s and -1000s to ensure affected aircraft do not have two production-quality problems that, when subjected to an intense lightning strike, could create a fuel tank vapor ignition source.
“Due to a production quality issue, Heavy Expanded Copper Foil (HECF) patches may not have been installed at all required locations of the wing lower cover and wing upper cover,” the Dec. 2 PAD said.
If the problem exists on aircraft with a “pre-existing undetected incorrect installation of an adjacent fastener and associated nut-cap,” the two issues “could possibly” create an ignition source following a “high-intensity” lightning strike,” it adds.
Airbus in a Nov. 5 service bulletin listed 13 aircraft by manufacturer serial no. (MSN) produced from mid-2016 to mid-2020 that may be affected by the HCEF issue. The manufacturer recommended two of them be inspected within 12 months of the bulletin’s issues, while six others should be checked within 78 months of their manufacturing date. If HCEF patches are found missing, they must be replaced before further flight.
The five other MSNs were flagged as needing repairs within 78 months of their manufacture dates, suggesting they are known to have the problem.
EASA’s proposed directive is based on the Airbus bulletin. The draft directive’s public-comment period runs through Dec. 30.
EASA said that there is no link between the missing HECF patch issue and an apparent fuselage skin degradation problem affecting several airlines, notably Qatar Airways.
“The paint degradation is an in-service aging/environmental deterioration issue that affects the surface finish and expanded copper foil (ECF) on the fuselage and vertical tail plane of the A350,” the regulator said. “EASA is not aware of any in-service degradation of the paint or ECF on the wing covers (wing surfaces). No potential airworthiness issue has been identified to-date on the paint degradation issue, and so EASA has no plans to issue an airworthiness directive.”
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