EAA, AOPA, T-34 Association Trying To Prevent Entire Fleet From Being Grounded

Sport and GA advocacy groups are banding together to stop the FAA from grounding the entire T-34 fleet. And it seems to be working.

The FAA has now approved an alternative methods of compliance (AMOC) submitted by the T-34 Association regarding revised airworthiness directive (AD) 2001-13-18 R1 that deals with T-34 wing spar failures. The revised AD recently invalidated previous AMOCs approved for the original AD because FAA feels they do not address all four critical areas prone to fatigue cracks in the aircraft’s wing spar assemblies. However, the T-34 Association submitted new AMOCs that incorporate inspection of the rear spars.

Without approved AMOCs, a large number of the aircraft will effectively be grounded when the revised AD goes into effect Monday. Affected aircraft include Raytheon Aircraft Corp. Beech Models 45 (YT-34), A45 (T-34A, B-45), and D45 (T-34B).

"We don't have hard numbers yet, but it appears that a very high percentage of T-34s will be grounded," said AOPA Director of Regulatory and Certification Affairs Luis Gutierrez. "The few shops that are authorized to do the necessary work are already backlogged. These backlogs could lead to significant delays in scheduling and extended down time for aircraft owners."

In 1999 a T-34 engaged in mock aerial combat crashed. The resulting examination revealed fatigue cracks at multiple locations in the wings of the accident aircraft. As an interim fix, the FAA issued an AD instating airspeed and G-load limitations while Raytheon developed a "mandatory" service bulletin to inspect the critical fatigue locations. In 2001 FAA finalized the AD mandating wing-spar inspections and approved four AMOCs to address fatigue concerns. Then in November 2003, a second T-34 crashed after experiencing a separation of the right wing. Two people died in that Texas crash. In both cases, the wing separated at the same point on the aircraft. The only difference was that the second aircraft had an additional separation point at the lower wing attach fitting not inspected in any of the AMOCs issued for the original AD.

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2004/20011318ad_r1.txt, www.t-34.com