AD 2021-18-09 Prompted By A Report That An Operator Found Solid Rivets With Missing Heads

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes.

This AD was prompted by a report that an operator found solid rivets with missing heads at the left buttock line 25 on the sloping pressure deck web. This AD requires doing a detailed inspection of the left- and right-side sloping pressure deck at certain stations for any damaged solid rivets, and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective October 22, 2021.

Supplementary Information: The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that would apply to all The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. The NPRM published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2021 (86 FR 18479).

The NPRM was prompted by a report that an operator found solid rivets with missing heads at the left buttock line 25 on the sloping pressure deck web. In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to require doing a detailed inspection of the left- and right-side sloping pressure deck at certain stations for any damaged solid rivets, and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address damaged or missing solid rivet heads on the sloping pressure deck web, which could result in loss of sloping pressure deck panels, causing decompression and pressure loss, and loss of the hydraulic systems in the area for wheel brakes (both normal and alternate) and steering, and potentially leading to runway departure and adversely affecting the structural integrity of the airplane.

FMI: www.regulations.gov