{"id":"F2006L03843","name":"AD/CESSNA 400/40 Amdt 14 - Wing and Airframe","slug":"ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":137719,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006L03843-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Cessna 400 Series Aeroplanes","sectionType":"division","heading":"Cessna 400 Series Aeroplanes","content":"### Cessna 400 Series Aeroplanes\n\n| AD/CESSNA 400/40 Amdt 14 | Wing and Airframe | 13/2006 |\n| ------------------------ | ----------------- | ------- |\n\n```html\n

Applicability:

All aircraft of the models listed in the Retirement Schedule below which are not maintained to Cessna’s SID program.

(See Airworthiness Bulletin 02-007 on www.casa.gov.au)

Requirement:

1. Retire from service the wing main spar lower cap and the upper and lower attach fittings at the times shown in the Retirement Schedule below. Retire the parts when they reach the hours or flights, whichever occurs first.

2. Retire from service the whole airframe at twice the hours or flights, whichever occurs first, shown in the Retirement Schedule below.

Note 1: While Requirement 1 excludes the carry-through and its attachment fittings, we recommend replacement at the same time - or Cessna’s SID program, which has found cracks in the carry-through and its attach fittings.

RETIREMENT SCHEDULE

Model

Hours

Flights

401, 402 Series (except 402C) *

8 200

12 600

402C *

7 700

13 200

411/411A

6 800

10 500

414

11 100

10 100

414A (S/N 0001 to 0200)

6 500

5 900

414A (S/N 0001 to 0200) fitted with “RAM” winglets (STC SA4943SW)

3 300

3 000

414A (S/N 0201 and on)

13 700

12 500

414A (S/N 0201 and on) fitted with “RAM” winglets (STC SA4943SW)

6 900

6 300

\n```\n\n```html\n

421/421A *

8 500

7 700

421B *

8 000

7 300

421C (S/N 0001 to 0800) *

6 400

5 800

421C (S/N 0001 to 0800) fitted with “RAM” winglets (STC SA5811SW)

3 200

2 900

421C (S/N 0801 and on)

17 300

15 700

425

13 000

6 500

* Aircraft with the Hawker de Havilland (HdH) Australia spar strap are exempt from Requirement 1 if they stay on the inspection program. Requirement 2 still applies.

Note 2: Deleted.

Note 3: If the aircraft has had winglets for only part of its life, revise the hours and flights in the Retirement Schedule proportionally. For example, consider a late-production 414A that had winglets fitted at 2000 hours and 2500 flights. When the winglets were fitted, it had already used 2000/13700 (15%) of the spar’s hours. That leaves 85% of 6900 hours. So, retire the spar at 2000 + (0.85 × 6900) = 7865 hours. Do a similar calculation for the flights.

Note 4: If there is no record of time for a flight, assume this:

Model

Flight time

425

1.50 hours

401/402 (Except 402C)

0.50 hours

402C

0.45 hours

411/411A

0.50 hours

Others

0.80 hours

Compliance:

This Amendment becomes effective on 21 December 2006.

Background:

This Airworthiness Directive retires structure from service, before dangerous fatigue cracks are likely, if aircraft are not on Cessna’s SID program.

Amendment 8:

  • Reduced lives for most ‘C’ models (testing did not confirm prediction);
\n```\n\n| | Added the 414 and 414A;Added winglets for the 414A and early 421C; andReplaced ‘Average Cruise Weight’ by ‘Average Ramp Weight’.Amendment 9 gave operators more time to plan for Amendment 8’s changes.Amendment 10 exempted strapped and inspected spars from Requirement 1.Amendment 11 increased the life for the stronger spars in later 414A aircraft.Amendment 12:Reworded Requirement 2 to clarify that it applies to aircraft with strapped spars; andAdded the Aeronautical Engineers Australia life extension program for the 402.Amendment 13:Aligned the life of the wing attachment fittings with the main spar lower cap; andLimited lives by flights as well as hours.Amendment 14:Exempts aircraft on Cessna’s SID program (another way of managing fatigue);Changes Note 1 to a recommendation in Requirement 1;Deletes Note 2 (the SID is what it foreshadowed);No longer exempts Cessna 402s on Aeronautical Engineers Australia’s life extension program from Requirement 2 (the program is no longer active); andImproves the style. |\n| --- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n\n![](image.001.png) \nDavid Villiers \nDelegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority\n\n9 November 2006","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"AD/CESSNA 400/40 Amdt 14","sectionType":"part","heading":"AD/CESSNA 400/40 Amdt 14","content":"## AD/CESSNA 400/40 Amdt 14","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"Wing and Airframe","sectionType":"part","heading":"Wing and Airframe","content":"## Wing and Airframe","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"13/2006","sectionType":"part","heading":"13/2006","content":"## 13/2006","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The directive's scope has been expanded and adjusted across amendments: additional models (414/414A) and winglet configurations were added; some spars fitted with HdH strap or under SID/inspection programs are treated differently; lives for some serial ranges were increased or reduced; and the AD now exempts aircraft on Cessna’s SID program from the retirement requirements that apply to non‑SID aircraft. These amendment changes alter which aircraft and parts must be retired and under what conditions."},"complexity_factors":["Many model‑specific retirement limits across multiple variants (401, 402, 402C, 411, 414, 414A, 421 variants, 425) and serial‑number distinctions","Dual life metrics (hours and flights) with retirement at whichever occurs first","Different limits and proportional recalculation rules where aircraft were fitted with RAM/winglets part‑way through service","Exemptions and alternatives (aircraft on Cessna’s SID program; HdH strapped spars under inspection programs) that alter applicability of Requirement 1 versus Requirement 2","Assumed flight‑time table when flight records are missing, adding fixed assumptions operators must apply","Multiple historical amendments changing scope, exemptions and life limits (requires tracking which amendment applies)","Operational compliance burden: recordkeeping, calculations, part replacement and whole‑airframe retirement timing","Interplay between inspection programs and mandatory retirement creates conditional compliance paths"],"plain_english_summary":"This Airworthiness Directive requires owners/operators of specified Cessna 400‑series aeroplanes not managed under Cessna’s SID inspection program to retire the wing main spar lower cap and the upper/lower attach fittings at model‑specific hours or flights (whichever occurs first), and to retire the whole airframe at twice those limits. Retirement lives differ by model, serial number and if RAM/winglets are fitted, and include rules for proportional adjustment where winglets were fitted part‑way through life.\n\nThe Civil Aviation Safety Authority enforces the AD. Operators bear replacement and scrap costs, must record and calculate hours/flights, and follow the exemptions and assumed flight‑time rules set out in the directive."},"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":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original directive (pre-Amendment 8) appears to have been a simpler fatigue retirement rule. Over 14 amendments, the scope has expanded significantly to include: additional aircraft models (414, 414A, 425), modification-specific rules (RAM winglets), serial number distinctions within models, alternative compliance paths (SID program exemption added in Amendment 14), and complex proportional calculations for modified aircraft. The amendment history shows the directive has evolved from a basic 'retire at X hours' rule to a sophisticated, multi-path fatigue management system with conditional exemptions and model-specific engineering data."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple model-specific retirement schedules with varying hour/flight limits (9 different model categories, some split by serial number)","Nested conditional logic: exemptions apply only if specific conditions are met (e.g., Hawker de Havilland spar strap exemption requires remaining on inspection program)","Proportional calculation requirement for aircraft that had winglets fitted partway through their service life (mathematical formula provided in Note 3)","Cross-reference to external documents (Airworthiness Bulletin 02-007 and Cessna's SID program)","Dual triggering mechanism (hours OR flights, whichever occurs first) requiring tracking of two different metrics","Amendment history references (Amendments 8-14) that explain evolution but also create contextual complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This CASA Airworthiness Directive requires owners/operators of Cessna 400-series twins not enrolled in Cessna’s SID inspection program to permanently retire critical wing main spar lower caps/attachment fittings (and ultimately the airframe) at prescribed flight-hour/flight-count limits to prevent metal-fatigue failure. RAM winglets shorten those limits, and certain Australian spar-strap modifications can exempt aircraft that remain on the inspection program. Missing records default to conservative flight-time assumptions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe","history":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-cessna-400-40-amdt-14-wing-and-airframe/documents"}}