PA-28, PA-32, PA-34 and PA-44 All Could Be Included

The FAA has proposed an AD that could affect an estimated 41,928 Piper Cherokee, Cherokee 6, Seneca, and Seminole airplanes for inspection and possible repair of a control wheel shaft which could be incorrectly assembled. The FAA says that the problem, if left uncorrected, could lead to separation of the control wheel shaft, resulting in loss of pitch and roll control.

The FAA has received two reports of control wheel shafts that have been incorrectly assembled at Piper. The first incident involved the loss of the control wheel on a Piper Model PA-34-220T airplane, where the right-hand control wheel shaft and universal joint separated due to a misdrilled hole for the threaded taper pin. The second report was of a ground inspection on a Piper PA-34-220T airplane that revealed a similar situation between the control wheel shaft and the universal joint in the left-hand side. Investigation following these reports revealed that the control wheel shafts had been incorrectly assembled at Piper and holes were misdrilled even though they may visually appear acceptable. The hole in the shaft may be too close to the end of the shaft, causing a significant reduction in joint strength. Since discovery of this problem, Piper has added a step to the manufacturing process and also introduced a fixture to ensure proper assembly of the control wheel shaft/universal joint.

File Photo

The FAA estimates that the cost of the inspection should be approximately $40 per airplane, and if a repair was needed, that would run a little over $1,400.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is currently on file with the FAA, and comments are due by December 29th.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.regulations.gov