{"id":"F2006B02575","name":"AD/AUS/5 Amdt 1 - Landing Gear","slug":"ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":41831,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006B02575-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"AD/AUS/5 Amdt 1 - Landing Gear","content":"COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 \\- 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY\n\nSCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES\n\n![](image.001.png)  \nAuster/Beagle A.61 Series Aeroplanes\n\nAD/AUS/5\n\nAmdt 1\n\n  \nLanding Gear 11/67\n\nApplicability: All models manufactured before October 1947.\n\nRequirement: 1. Inspect the welding at the top of the radius rods near the shock cord spools for cracks and other damage.\n\n    2. Inspect the lower end of the radius rods and the radius rod attachment bolts for damage. Turn the attachment bolts with a spanner and, if excessively tight, remove the bolts and inspect for damage and distortion.\n\n    3. Remove landing wheels and inspect the welds at the stub axle roots for cracks.\n\n    4. Replace defective components or repair in accordance with a repair scheme approved by the Secretary.\n\n    5. The inspections required by the preceding paragraphs are to be made with the aid of a hand lens of not less than 10X magnification.\n\nCompliance: At intervals not exceeding 500 hours time in service and after each heavy landing.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument itself does not state any change from a prior scope or intent. Based on the text provided, it prescribes inspections and repair/replace actions for specified components on Auster/Beagle A.61 aeroplanes manufactured before October 1947 and sets compliance intervals. No material in the document indicates an expansion or narrowing of scope relative to an earlier version."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow technical applicability: single aircraft series and vintage cutoff (Applicability).","Clear, stepwise mechanical requirements for inspection and removal (Requirements 1–3).","Regulatory discretion introduced by requirement that repairs follow a Secretary‑approved repair scheme (Requirement 4).","Subjective terms requiring interpretation in practice (e.g. \"excessively tight\", \"defective\", \"heavy landing\") which raise compliance ambiguity (Requirement 2; Compliance).","Simple equipment requirement specified (10X hand lens) reduces technical ambiguity for inspection method (Requirement 5).","Recurring compliance interval specified (≤500 hours and after heavy landing) creates ongoing administrative burden (Compliance)."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this directive does\n\n- Applies to Auster/Beagle A.61 series aeroplanes manufactured before October 1947 (Applicability).  \n- Requires specific, recurring inspections and remedial work on landing-gear components:  \n  - Inspect the weld at the top of the radius rods near the shock cord spools for cracks and other damage (Requirement 1).  \n  - Inspect the lower end of the radius rods and the radius-rod attachment bolts for damage; turn the bolts with a spanner and, if they are \"excessively tight\", remove them and inspect for damage and distortion (Requirement 2).  \n  - Remove the landing wheels and inspect the welds at the stub-axle roots for cracks (Requirement 3).  \n  - Replace defective components or repair them under a repair scheme approved by the Secretary (Requirement 4).  \n  - Perform these inspections with a hand lens of at least 10X magnification (Requirement 5).  \n- Timing: inspections must be carried out at intervals not exceeding 500 hours time in service and after each heavy landing (Compliance).\n\n### Who is affected and who decides\n\n- Owners and operators of the listed Auster/Beagle A.61 aeroplanes must carry out the inspections and arrange any repairs or replacements (Applicability; Requirements 1–4).  \n- The Secretary (the named regulatory officer in the document) must approve any repair scheme used to repair defective components (Requirement 4).  \n\n### Who pays and what behaviour changes\n\n- Aircraft owners/operators bear the cost of performing the inspections, removing wheels, replacing or repairing parts, and obtaining any Secretary-approved repair scheme (Requirements 1–4; Compliance).  \n- Mechanics or operators must adopt a routine inspection practice: use a 10X hand lens, operate a spanner on attachment bolts, remove wheels periodically for inspection, and act after any heavy landing (Requirements 1–5; Compliance).\n\n### Practical implementation and discretion\n\n- The directive prescribes specific inspection actions and a repeat interval (Requirements 1–3; Compliance), so implementers have clear procedural steps.  \n- The Secretary's role in approving repair schemes introduces regulatory discretion over what repairs are acceptable (Requirement 4).  \n- Some terms in the directive are outcome-based or subjective (for example, what counts as \"excessively tight\", \"defective\", or a \"heavy landing\"), which requires an implementer or regulator to interpret those terms in practice (Requirement 2; Compliance).\n\n### Costs, incentives and trade-offs (if the implied purpose is to keep these components airworthy)\n\n- Direct costs: time and labour for inspections; possible parts replacement or repair work; removal/reinstallation of wheels (Requirements 1–4).  \n- Incentives: regular inspection schedule (≤500 hours and after heavy landings) creates an ongoing maintenance cost but may reduce the risk of undetected component failure.  \n- Trade-offs and implementation risks: frequent inspections increase operating costs and downtime; reliance on regulator-approved repair schemes can delay repairs or impose additional administrative steps; subjective terms may produce inconsistent application across operators and mechanics.\n\n(References: Applicability; Requirements 1–5; Compliance.)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a narrow, technical safety directive focused specifically on landing gear inspections for one aircraft series. It has not expanded beyond its original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (approximately 200 words)","Only 5 specific numbered requirements","Single defined term ('time in service' implied but not explicitly defined in this excerpt)","No cross-references to other legislation or regulations","Simple conditional logic: compliance triggered by time interval OR event (heavy landing)","Clear, prescriptive language with minimal legal drafting conventions"],"plain_english_summary":"This is an **Airworthiness Directive** — essentially a mandatory safety notice issued by Australia's aviation safety regulator (CASA) for a specific type of old aircraft.\n\n**What it does:**\nIt orders owners and operators of **Auster/Beagle A.61 Series Aeroplanes** built before October 1947 to carry out detailed safety inspections on the **landing gear** (the wheels and supporting structure).\n\n**Who it affects:**\nAnyone who owns, operates, or maintains these specific vintage aircraft — a British-designed light aircraft from the 1940s.\n\n**What must be done:**\n- **Inspect welded joints** at the top of radius rods (structural bars that help absorb landing forces) near the shock cord spools for cracks\n- **Check the bottom ends** of these rods and their attachment bolts — if bolts are too tight to turn, remove and inspect them for damage or bending\n- **Remove the wheels** and check welds where the stub axles (short axles holding the wheels) connect to the structure\n- **Replace or repair** any damaged parts using a repair plan approved by the Secretary (the government official responsible for aviation safety at the time)\n- **Use a hand lens** (magnifying glass) of at least 10x magnification for all inspections\n\n**When it must be done:**\n- Every 500 hours of flight time, **and**\n- After any hard landing\n\n**Why it matters:**\nLanding gear failures can be catastrophic. This directive addresses known vulnerabilities in these aging aircraft — specifically welding cracks and bolt damage that could cause the landing gear to collapse. The 10x magnification requirement shows inspectors need to look for tiny cracks invisible to the naked eye."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear","history":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-aus-5-amdt-1-landing-gear/documents"}}