{"id":"F2006L02530","name":"AD/A320/169 Amdt 1 - Fuel Tank Electrical Bonding","slug":"ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":59778,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006L02530-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Airbus Industrie A319, A320 and A321 Ser","sectionType":"division","heading":"Airbus Industrie A319, A320 and A321 Series Aeroplanes","content":"### Airbus Industrie A319, A320 and A321 Series Aeroplanes\n\n| AD/A320/169 Amdt 1 | Fuel Tank Electrical Bonding | 9/2006 |\n| ------------------ | ---------------------------- | ------ |\n\n| Applicability: | Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 series aeroplanes, all serial numbers, except aeroplanes that had Airbus modification 31892 incorporated during production or Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A320-28-1104 Revision 03 dated 23 February 2006 embodied whilst in service.                              |\n| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Requirement:   | 1. For aeroplanes without A320-28-1104 Revision 00, 01 or 02 embodied:                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |\n|                | Modify the electrical bonding of all structure and systems installed inside the fuel centre tank in accordance with SB A320-28-1104 Revision 03 or later EASA approved revision.                                                                                                                     |\n|                | 2. For aeroplanes with A320-28-1104 Revision 00, 01 or 02 embodied:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |\n|                | Modify the electrical bonding of all structure and systems installed inside the fuel centre tank in accordance with SB A320-28-1104 Revision 03 or later EASA approved revision.                                                                                                                     |\n|                | Note: EASA AD 2006-0176 refers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |\n| Compliance:    | For Requirement 1 - Before 31 December 2009.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |\n|                | For Requirement 2 - Before 31 December 2012.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |\n|                | This Amendment becomes effective on 31 August 2006.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |\n| Background:    | Following the TWA800 in flight incident the United States Federal Aviation Administration issued Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 88. The European Joint Aviation Authorities adopted similar regulations to SFAR 88 requiring a design review against fuel tank explosion risks.          |\n|                | The original issue of this Directive rendered mandatory the improvement of electrical bonding in the centre fuel tank in accordance with SB A320-28-1104 or later approved version. Subsequently, it was noticed that some bonding points were omitted from SB A320-28-1104 Revisions 00, 01 and 02. |\n\n|     | This Amendment mandates the use of SB A320-28-1104 Revision 03 or later EASA approved revision and changes the State of design AD reference to an EASA AD. |\n| --- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n|     | The original issue of this Directive became effective on 14 April 2005.                                                                                    |\n\n![](image.001.png)  \nJames Coyne  \nDelegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority\n\n21 July 2006","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"AD/A320/169 Amdt 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"AD/A320/169 Amdt 1","content":"## AD/A320/169 Amdt 1","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"Fuel Tank Electrical Bonding","sectionType":"part","heading":"Fuel Tank Electrical Bonding","content":"## Fuel Tank Electrical Bonding","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"9/2006","sectionType":"part","heading":"9/2006","content":"## 9/2006","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The amendment narrows the acceptable technical standard by mandating SB A320-28-1104 Revision 03 (or later EASA‑approved revisions) and replaces the earlier State‑of‑design AD reference with an EASA AD. This tightens the required modification standard and clarifies cross‑jurisdictional approval, while maintaining the original requirement to improve centre fuel tank bonding."},"complexity_factors":["Technical safety requirement: electrical bonding inside a fuel tank requires specialised maintenance and certified personnel.","Cross-reference dependence: mandatory compliance is tied to a specific Service Bulletin revision (A320-28-1104 Rev 03) or later EASA‑approved revisions.","Multiple applicability exceptions: some aeroplanes are excluded if Airbus modification 31892 or a later SB revision was already embodied.","Staggered compliance deadlines: different deadlines apply depending on whether earlier SB revisions were previously embodied.","Regulatory coordination: amendment changes the State‑of‑design AD reference to an EASA AD, creating inter-agency approval and update dependencies.","Operational impact: work creates aircraft downtime and direct costs for operators; proof of embodiment/record-keeping is required for compliance."],"plain_english_summary":"This Directive requires operators of Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 aeroplanes (with limited exclusions) to modify the electrical bonding of all structure and systems inside the centre fuel tank to meet Service Bulletin A320-28-1104 Revision 03 or a later EASA‑approved revision. The stated goal is to reduce fuel‑tank explosion risk following SFAR 88/TWA800. The work must be carried out by set deadlines; aircraft operators pay for and arrange the maintenance, CASA enforces compliance, and EASA approves later revisions to the bulletin."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This amendment remains tightly scoped to its original purpose — correcting electrical bonding in Airbus A320-family centre fuel tanks following the TWA800-inspired fuel tank safety reviews. The amendment does not expand scope; it merely corrects a technical deficiency in the mandated repair instructions (upgrading from Revisions 00-02 to Revision 03) and updates the reference from a US FAA AD to a European EASA AD. The original intent (fuel tank explosion prevention via improved bonding) and affected aircraft population remain unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument (approximately 400 words)","Only 4 defined technical references (modification 31892, SB A320-28-1104, EASA AD 2006-0176, SFAR 88)","Simple bifurcated compliance structure (two groups, two deadlines)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond the initial applicability exclusion","Single cross-reference to European aviation safety regulation (EASA AD)","Clear, prescriptive requirements with explicit technical standard (SB Revision 03)"],"plain_english_summary":"This AD requires owners/operators of Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 to install upgraded electrical bonding in the centre fuel tank to eliminate spark risks—closing a gap in earlier fixes and addressing fuel‑tank explosion hazards traced to TWA Flight 800.\n\nIt applies unless the aircraft already has factory modification 31892 or SB A320‑28‑1104 Revision 03. Two compliance groups face deadlines (Group 1 by 31 Dec 2009; Group 2 by 31 Dec 2012); noncompliance grounds aircraft unairworthy."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding","history":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-a320-169-amdt-1-fuel-tank-electrical-bonding/documents"}}