{"id":"F2007L00365","name":"AD/A320/190 Amdt 3 - Engine Pylon Spar Box Ribs","slug":"ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":63380,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2007L00365-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/A320/190 Amdt 3 | Engine Pylon Spar Box Ribs | 3/2007 |\n| ------------------ | -------------------------- | ------ |\n\n| Applicability: | All Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 aircraft, with Manufacturer Serial Number 0791, 1464, 1660, 1969, 1979, 2026, 2028, 2030, 2032, 2033, 2035, 2037, 2039, 2041, 2043, 2045, 2047, 2050 through 2053, 2055, 2057, 2059, 2060, 2062, 2064, 2066, 2067, 2069, 2071, 2072, 2074, 2078 through 2269, 2271 through 2506, 2508 through 2565, 2567 through 2580, 2582 through 2591, 2593 through 2597, 2600, 2601, 2605, 2607, 2610, or 2615.                                                                                                                                                                         |\n| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Requirement:   | Action in accordance with the requirements of EASA AD 2006-0136.Note: All Operators Telex (AOT) A320-54A1015 Revision 2, or later EASA approved revision, refers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |\n| Compliance:    | As specified in the Requirement document, with a revised effective date of15 March 2007.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |\n|                | This Amendment becomes effective on 15 March 2007.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |\n| Background:    | The manufacturer recently discovered that certain engine pylon spar box ribs constructed of stainless steel material may not have been heat-treated in production, prior to installation in the pylon. The omission of the heat treatment operation results in a significant reduction of the material allowable yield stress. As a consequence, non heat-treated ribs may not meet all the certification requirements, especially for vertical gust.Amendment 1 clarified manual applicability in Requirement 1.Amendment 2 introduced Revision 1 of the Requirement document. No additional work was required. |\n\n|     | Amendment 3 is issued in response to a new EASA AD, which adjusts the means to comply with paragraph 1; and clarifies that once corrective actions in compliance with Airbus AOT A320-54A1015 original issue, Revision 1, or Revision 2 have been applied to any discrepant rib found on the aircraft, the change to the Airworthiness Limitation section of the Aircraft Flight Manual is no longer required, and no further action is mandated by this Directive. |\n| --- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n\n![](image.001.png)  \nDavid Villiers  \nDelegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority\n\n1 February 2007","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"AD/A320/190 Amdt 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"AD/A320/190 Amdt 3","content":"## AD/A320/190 Amdt 3","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"Engine Pylon Spar Box Ribs","sectionType":"part","heading":"Engine Pylon Spar Box Ribs","content":"## Engine Pylon Spar Box Ribs","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3/2007","sectionType":"part","heading":"3/2007","content":"## 3/2007","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Amendment 3 does not expand the AD's substantive scope (it still targets the same set of aircraft and the same technical problem: potentially non‑heat‑treated engine pylon spar box ribs). Instead, it adjusts the approved means of compliance and clarifies that, after the corrective actions specified in the referenced Airbus AOT have been completed on any discrepant rib, a previously required AFM Airworthiness Limitation change is no longer necessary. In short, the amendment refines compliance mechanics and removes a continuing administrative action once the physical correction has been performed, rather than growing the AD's original safety remit."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive explicit list of affected manufacturer serial numbers (long, precise applicability list)","AD does not include step‑by‑step technical instructions but instead requires compliance with external documents (EASA AD 2006-0136 and Airbus AOT A320-54A1015)","Dependency on specific approved revisions of the Airbus AOT (original, Revision 1, Revision 2, or later EASA‑approved revision) increases tracking and compliance complexity","Amendment history (three amendments) and the Amendment 3 clarification introduce conditional wording about when AFM changes are no longer required","Revised effective date (administrative detail) and cross-references to external regulatory material instead of self-contained requirements"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this directive does (mechanically)**\n\n- This Airworthiness Directive (AD) requires operators of certain Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 aeroplanes to carry out the inspection and corrective actions described in EASA AD 2006-0136 and the referenced Airbus All Operators Telex (AOT) A320-54A1015 (original issue, Revision 1, or Revision 2, or later EASA‑approved revision). (Requirement, Applicability)\n- The AD gives a revised effective date of 15 March 2007. (Compliance)\n- Amendment 3 changes the approved means of compliance with paragraph 1 of the AD and clarifies that, once the corrective actions required by the Airbus AOT have been completed on any discrepant rib, a previously required change to the Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) Airworthiness Limitations section is no longer required and no further action under this AD is mandated for that rib. (Amendment 3)\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- Owners/operators of specific serial-numbered Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 aircraft listed in the Applicability table. The list is precise: only aircraft with the serial numbers shown are covered. (Applicability)\n\n**Why the action is required (stated background)**\n\n- Airbus discovered that some engine pylon spar box ribs made of stainless steel may have been installed without the required production heat treatment. Missing that heat treatment reduces the material's allowable yield stress, meaning these ribs might not meet certification loads, particularly under vertical gust conditions. The AD implements inspections and corrective actions to address that safety risk. (Background)\n\n**How it works in practice**\n\n- The AD does not reproduce the inspection and repair steps. Instead it makes compliance contingent on following EASA AD 2006-0136 and the Airbus AOT referenced in that EASA AD. Operators must obtain those documents and do the inspections, repairs or replacements exactly as specified there. (Requirement)\n- Once an operator finds and corrects any non‑heat‑treated rib in accordance with the Airbus AOT (original issue, Rev 1 or Rev 2, or later EASA‑approved revision), no additional AFM amendment or continuing action under this AD is required for that rib. (Amendment 3)\n\n**Who pays and who decides**\n\n- Costs (inspection, repair, parts, labour, and any aircraft downtime) are borne by the aircraft owners/operators. (Requirement, Applicability)\n- The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) enforces the AD in Australia; compliance is achieved by following the EASA AD and Airbus AOT that the AD references. Operators and their maintenance organisations decide how to schedule and execute the mandated inspections/repairs within regulatory timelines. (Requirement, Compliance)\n\n**Implementation and compliance considerations**\n\n- The AD creates an implementation dependency: the precise technical steps, intervals, and corrective actions are contained in external documents (EASA AD 2006-0136 and Airbus AOT A320-54A1015). Operators must track revisions to those external documents and ensure they use an EASA‑approved revision. (Requirement)\n- There is an administrative burden to identify which aircraft in a fleet match the listed serial numbers and to record completion so that no unnecessary AFM amendment or follow-up actions remain. (Applicability, Amendment 3)\n- Direct costs are concentrated on operators of the affected serial‑numbered aircraft; benefits (reduced risk of structural failure under gust loads) are distributed more broadly among passengers, crew and the flying public. (Background)\n\n**Trade-offs, risks and practical effects**\n\n- Trade-offs: operators will need to allocate maintenance time and resources to perform inspections/repairs, which may cause downtime and maintenance costs. Those are one‑time or limited recurring costs depending on findings and the inspection schedule in the referenced documents. (Requirement)\n- Implementation risk: because the AD relies on external EASA and manufacturer documents, there is some risk of confusion if revisions are not tracked or if operators use a non‑approved revision. (Requirement)\n- Market effects: the AD affects individual aircraft maintenance scheduling and costs; it does not change ownership, competition, or broader regulatory policy. It may increase short‑term demand for maintenance capability for the affected tasks. (Requirement, Applicability)\n\n**Source claims vs. operational implications**\n\n- The source states the purpose is to address reduced yield stress from omitted heat treatment (Background). Operationally, that means inspections and repairs are the chosen mitigation; the AD prescribes compliance by reference to EASA and Airbus documents rather than by spelling out the repairs in the AD itself. This concentrates technical decision‑making into those referenced documents (Requirement)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original scope — addressing a specific manufacturing defect in engine pylon ribs on specific Airbus aircraft. While Amendment 3 introduces procedural refinements and compliance relief, it does not expand the applicability to new aircraft types, new defect categories, or new operational requirements beyond the original safety issue."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive serial number list with irregular ranges (47 individual numbers plus multiple ranges with gaps)","Incorporation by reference to external documents (EASA AD 2006-0136 and Airbus AOT A320-54A1015) — the actual requirements are not spelled out in the directive itself","Version control complexity: references to original issue, Revision 1, and Revision 2 of the Airbus document with different compliance outcomes","Nested conditional logic in Amendment 3: exemption from Flight Manual update only applies if corrective actions were applied using specific document versions","Cross-regulatory dependency: Australian directive tracks and adopts European (EASA) regulatory changes"],"plain_english_summary":"This AD mandates inspections and corrective action for certain Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 aircraft because some engine pylon spar box ribs were manufactured without required heat treatment, risking structural failure in vertical gusts. It applies to operators of the specific serial-numbered aircraft listed in the directive and requires following EASA AD 2006-0136 and Airbus AOT A320-54A1015 (Rev 2 or later).\n\nAmendment 3 updates the compliance reference and relieves operators who already fixed defective ribs per earlier Airbus instructions from having to amend the Aircraft Flight Manual."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs","history":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-a320-190-amdt-3-engine-pylon-spar-box-ribs/documents"}}