AD NUMBER: 2009-12-13

MANUFACTURER: Bombardier Model DHC-8-400 Series Airplanes
SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2009-12-13

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

There has been one case reported of failure of a shaft (tailstock) on an elevator Power Control Unit (PCU), Part Number (P/ N) 390600-1007. Continued actuation of the affected PCU caused damage to the surrounding structure.

• Each elevator surface has three PCUs, powered by separate independent hydraulic systems, and a single elevator PCU shaft failure may remain dormant. Such a dormant loss of redundancy, coupled with the potential for a failed shaft to produce collateral damage, including damage to hydraulic lines, could possibly affect the controllability of the aircraft.
• This AD requires actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

FMI: http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/0/174B7FFB547BF313862575D20050418F?OpenDocument