{"id":"F2006B03984","name":"AD/BEECH 55/36 Amdt 1 - Aft Facing Seat Back Supports","slug":"ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":43593,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006B03984-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"AD/BEECH 55/36 Amdt 1 - Aft Facing Seat Back Supports","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\nCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY\n\nSCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)  Beechcraft 55, 58 and 95-55 (Baron) Series Aeroplanes\n\n \n\nAD/BEECH 55/36\n\nAmdt 1\n\n\nAft Facing Seat Back Supports 7/74\n\n \n\nApplicability: All models 58 and 58A equipped with optional aft facing seats. Requirement:  Action in accordance with Beechcraft SI No. 0591-314.\n\nCompliance: Within 100 hours’ time in service after 31 December 1973.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a discrete, single-issue safety directive focused specifically on seat back supports for particular aircraft models. It has not expanded beyond its original narrow technical purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document (under 150 words)","Only 2 defined applicability criteria (aircraft model and seat configuration)","Single, unambiguous compliance requirement referencing an external technical document","No nested conditions, exceptions, or cross-references to other legislation","Clear, fixed deadline with simple calculation method (100 hours time in service)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this is:** This is an **Airworthiness Directive (AD)** — essentially a mandatory safety notice issued by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that requires aircraft owners to fix a specific safety problem.\n\n**What it does:** It orders owners of certain Beechcraft Baron aeroplanes (models 58 and 58A) to inspect and repair the **supports for rear-facing passenger seats**. The fix must follow instructions in a specific Beechcraft Service Information document (SI No. 0591-314).\n\n**Who it affects:** Anyone who owns or operates a Beechcraft Baron model 58 or 58A that has the optional rear-facing seats installed.\n\n**Why it matters:** Faulty seat back supports could fail during turbulence or an emergency, potentially causing injury to passengers. This directive ensures the seats are structurally sound.\n\n**When it had to be done:** The work had to be completed within 100 hours of flying time after 31 December 1973. (Note: This is an old directive from 1974, so compliant aircraft would have been fixed decades ago.)"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This entry is labelled as Amendment 1 to AD/BEECH 55/36 (Amdt 1). The instrument provided does not include the original AD text or details of what was altered by this amendment, so the precise nature of any scope change cannot be determined from the supplied text. The current AD, as published, applies to Model 58 and 58A aircraft with optional aft-facing seats and mandates compliance with Beechcraft SI No. 0591-314 within 100 hours TIS after 31 December 1973 (Applicability, Requirement, Compliance lines)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, specific applicability limited to Model 58 and 58A with optional aft-facing seats (Applicability line).","Technical detail is delegated to an external manufacturer service instruction (Beechcraft SI No. 0591-314), so the AD text itself is short but requires consulting another document (Requirement line).","Time-limited compliance window tied to aircraft hours (100 hours TIS after 31 Dec 1973) which introduces operational scheduling requirements (Compliance line).","Historical dating and amendment status (Amdt 1; 7/74) means one must compare versions to determine what changed, but earlier text is not included here.","Absence of stated rationale or cost estimates in the AD text increases the need for further documents to assess impacts."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this instrument does\n\nThis Airworthiness Directive (AD) is Amendment 1 to AD/BEECH 55/36 titled \"Aft Facing Seat Back Supports\" (7/74). It applies only to Beechcraft Model 58 and 58A aeroplanes that are equipped with the optional aft-facing seats (\"Applicability: All models 58 and 58A equipped with optional aft facing seats\"). The AD requires operators to carry out the work described in Beechcraft Service Instruction No. 0591-314 (\"Requirement: Action in accordance with Beechcraft SI No. 0591-314\"). The required work must be completed within 100 hours time in service after 31 December 1973 (\"Compliance: Within 100 hours’ time in service after 31 December 1973\").\n\n### How it works mechanically\n\n- The AD identifies a narrowly defined group of aircraft (models 58 and 58A with the optional aft-facing seats).\n- It does not itself set out technical steps; instead it directs compliance with a manufacturer's service instruction (Beechcraft SI No. 0591-314) which contains the technical detail (Requirement line).\n- It sets a time-based compliance window tied to aircraft use (100 hours’ time in service after 31 December 1973) (Compliance line).\n\n### Stated or inferable purpose\n\n- The instrument's title and its mandatory reference to a service instruction indicate the AD addresses the aft-facing seat back supports. The AD text does not set out an explicit regulatory rationale beyond that title and the required SI reference.\n\n### Who pays and who decides\n\n- Who pays: Owners/operators of affected Model 58/58A aircraft bear the cost of complying with the service instruction (Requirement line; Applicability line). Those costs will include labour, any replacement parts, and maintenance shop time needed to implement the SI.\n- Who decides: The AD (a regulatory instrument) mandates compliance; the detailed technical specification is delegated to the manufacturer’s service instruction (Requirement line). The regulator enforces the AD; the manufacturer’s SI determines the technical steps.\n\n### Incentives, trade-offs and compliance burden\n\n- Incentives and behaviour: Aircraft operators must either perform the SI work within the stated window or be non-compliant with the AD. Because the AD applies only where the optional aft-facing seats are fitted, operators who do not have them are not affected (Applicability line).\n- Compliance burden: A specific, relatively short compliance window is imposed (100 hours TIS after 31 December 1973). The AD does not specify the scale of the work; that is set by the manufacturer’s SI, so the actual labour/time/materials burden depends on the SI’s content (Requirement line).\n- Opportunity cost: Time and money spent on complying with the SI cannot be used elsewhere by the owner/operator (implicit from Requirement and Compliance lines).\n\n### Implementation risk and administrative discretion\n\n- Implementation risk: The AD relies entirely on an external manufacturer’s service instruction for technical steps (Requirement line). If the SI is unavailable, ambiguous, or requires scarce parts or specialised labour, that could delay compliance; the AD text itself does not resolve those issues.\n- Bureaucratic discretion: The AD prescribes compliance with a specific SI rather than leaving technical choices to individual operators, reducing regulator-level technical discretion but creating dependence on the manufacturer’s content (Requirement line).\n\n### Effects on private enterprise and markets\n\n- Maintenance providers: Independent maintenance organisations may obtain work performing the SI, creating demand for their services. The AD does not constrain who may perform the work, so private maintenance shops can operate, subject to usual aviation maintenance regulations (Requirement line).\n- Competition and prices: The AD can increase operating costs for affected aircraft; the scale depends on the SI’s requirements. The text does not quantify cost or indicate subsidies or exemptions.\n- Private choice: Owners choose whether to fit or operate with the optional aft-facing seats (the AD applies only where these seats are fitted). The AD may influence future choices about fitting optional seats because it imposes a mandated action where they are present (Applicability line).\n\n### Concrete limits of what the text does and does not say\n\n- The AD sets who is affected, what to follow (the manufacturer SI), and when to do it (100 hours after 31 December 1973). It does not include the technical steps, costs, or an explicit statement of the safety problem in the AD text provided (Applicability, Requirement, Compliance lines)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports","history":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-beech-55-36-amdt-1-aft-facing-seat-back-supports/documents"}}