Focus Is On Maintenance Of Wood Structures

The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) to alert operators and owners of de Havilland Models DH60, DH82, DH83, and other Moth series airplanes that utilize wooden structure of an airworthiness concern, specifically maintenance practices with respect to wood structure.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom had in the past issued an airworthiness directive (now cancelled) to impose specific modification and inspection requirements on the de Havilland Moth types with respect to wood structure.

Some of these airplanes are type certificated in the United States (some of the Tiger Moth types), but others of this type and other Moth types may be operated on an airworthiness certificate that is other than a standard airworthiness certificate.

The cancelled United Kingdom AD required inspections according to DHSL Technical News Sheet (TNS) CT (Moth) No. 32, Issue 3, dated 1 December 2008. Recently, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Commonwealth of Australia FAA has issued a proposed airworthiness directive applicable to DH 82 and 82A airplanes.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Commonwealth of Australia has issued PAD/DH 82/18, applicable to all variants of the DH82 and DH82A (Tiger Moth).

The FAA indicates that maintenance practices with respect to wooden structures are comprehensively covered in FAA Advisory Circular AC 43.13-1B Change 1: Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection. The requirements in the UK AD to assure the airframe is airworthy already exist in 14 CFR part 43. The suggested maintenance documents provide clarification for the specific structure and are to be used like the maintenance manual. The FAA recommends that owners and operators of the above named model airplanes utilize this AC, the Australian PAD information, and the information in TNS 32 when inspecting the wooden structure of these airplanes.

(Image from file)

FMI: SAIB