Federal Register #2120-AA64

FAA Airworthiness Directives for Airbus SAS and Gulfstream Aircraft: Maintenance Program Updates and Safety Retrofits

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under the Department of Transportation, is issuing new Airworthiness Directives (ADs) for commercial aircraft, focusing on safety and maintenance updates: - Government Buyer: - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation - OEMs and Vendors: - Airbus SAS (primary OEM for A318, A319, A320, A321 series airplanes) - Gulfstream Aerospace LP (OEM for Gulfstream G280 airplanes) - Products/Services Requested: - Revision of maintenance or inspection programs for Airbus SAS A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes - Incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations to address fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion - Estimated to affect approximately 1,900 U.S.-registered Airbus airplanes - Retrofitting the empennage electrical harness on Gulfstream Aerospace LP Model Gulfstream G280 airplanes - Prevents water accumulation that could cause flight control alerts - Unique or Notable Requirements: - No specific parts or hardware are being procured; the focus is on administrative updates to maintenance and inspection programs - Compliance with new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations is mandatory - Expanded coverage to additional Airbus SAS airplane models - Estimated compliance cost for Airbus directive is $7,650 per operator - Gulfstream directive requires a physical retrofit to address a specific safety concern - Locations: - FAA Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, Des Moines, WA - U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, Washington, DC

Description

The FAA is superseding previous Airworthiness Directives (AD 2025-03-06 and AD 2025-17-07) that applied to certain Airbus SAS Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. The new AD requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection program to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations and adds new airplane models to the requirements. This action addresses unsafe conditions on these products by continuing and expanding the required maintenance actions. The AD is effective June 12, 2026.

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