Global Regulatory Update, July 2-8, 2023

EASA has not adopted Transport Canada’s airworthiness directive CF-2023-46 for all transport and commuter aircraft, which revised the aircraft flight manual prohibiting certain operations requiring radio altimeter data when operating in the contiguous U.S. airspace.

EASA has issued proposed airworthiness directive 23-079 for Airbus A350-1041s and -941s, amending time limits and maintenance checks for airworthiness limitations section part 4, system equipment maintenance requirements, effective 14 days after airworthiness directive is issued.

EASA has issued proposed airworthiness directive 23-080 for the Airbus A320 family, amending time limits and maintenance checks for airworthiness limitations section part 2, damage tolerant airworthiness limitations items, effective 14 days after airworthiness directive is issued.
 

EASA has issued safety information bulletin 2023-07 regarding the opening of a main cargo door in flight on a Boeing 757-200 converted from passenger to freighter under EASA supplemental type certificate 10015539 granted to Precision Conversions. Several possible root causes are currently being analyzed, including the possibility of the presence of air in the door’s self-contained hydraulic system, which may have resulted in an undetected out-of-sequence closing and locking of the door.

EASA has issued safety information bulletin 2019-14R2 regarding aircraft fuel system ice inhibitor additives advising operators of risks that may exist when airplane flight manual limitations, instructions, or placard information for adding inhibitors are not adequately highlighted and closely followed, and to inform about occurrences in which diesel exhaust fluid (DEF, AUS 32, also known as AdBlue) was inadvertently used instead of inhibitors on a re-fueling truck at an airport and injected into the fuel with the truck’s injection system.
 

FAA has issued airworthiness directive 2016-15-01R1, removing airworthiness directive 2016-15-01, which applied to all Airbus A300-600s and A310s and required an inspection to determine trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator part numbers, serial numbers and flight cycles on certain part numbers, and repetitive replacement of certain actuators, effective June 23, 2023.

FAA has issued airworthiness directive 2023-13-01 for certain Airbus A320-family aircraft, requiring inspecting certain fuel pumps for discrepancies and replacement if necessary, effective July 12, 2023.
 

Transport Canada has issued airworthiness directive CF-2023-46 for all transport and commuter category airplanes equipped with a radio altimeter, revising the airplane fight manual for operations in contiguous U.S. due to 5G C-band wireless broadband interference, effective June 30, 2023.

Transport Canada has issued airworthiness directive CF-2023-47 for Airbus Canada A220-100s and -300s, setting minimum equipment list prohibitions for operations at airports in contiguous U.S, effective June 30, 2023.
 

UK Civil Aviation Authority has issued airworthiness directive G-2023-0004 for BAE Systems Avro 146 RJs and BAE 146s, requiring inspection and lubrication of main landing gear side-stay outer link, effective July 7, 2023.