{"id":"F2006B06852","name":"AD/SD3-30/8 Amdt 3 - Horizontal Stabilizer/Fuselage Attachment Fittings, Pins and Bushes","slug":"ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":114725,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006B06852-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"AD/SD3-30/8 Amdt 3 - Horizontal Stabilizer/Fuselage Attachment Fittings, Pins and Bushes","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)  \nShort SD3-30 Series Aeroplanes\n\nAD/SD3-30/8\n\nAmdt 3\n\n  \n\nHorizontal Stabilizer/Fuselage Attachment Fittings, Pins and Bushes\n\n  \n8/92\n\nApplicability: All Models.\n\nRequirement: Action in accordance with Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\\. Compliance: As specified in the Requirement Document.\n\nThe compliance of the previous issue of this Directive is as stated. This Amendment is effective from 23 July 1992.\n\nBackground: Service experience reported by the Manufacturer indicates that under certain conditions corrosion and/or wear may occur in the fittings. Amendment 2 of this Directive clarified the repeat inspection operating hours and introduces calendar limits. Amendment 3 is issued to reflect a revision of the Requirement Document which alters the content of the accomplishment instructions.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Applicability (the set of affected aircraft) remains the same: the directive applies to all Short SD3-30 series aeroplanes (\"Applicability: All Models\"). However, the operational scope of the directive has been changed by the amendments: Amendment 2 introduced calendar limits and clarified repeat inspection operating hours (changing inspection timing obligations), and Amendment 3 revised the Requirement Document to alter the accomplishment instructions (changing how the work must be done) (\"Amendment 2... clarified the repeat inspection operating hours and introduces calendar limits\"; \"Amendment 3... alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\"). These changes do not broaden the class of aircraft covered but do change the timing and technical content of required compliance."},"complexity_factors":["Reference to an external Requirement Document (Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4) shifts technical detail outside the AD and requires operators to consult another document (\"Requirement: Action in accordance with Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\").","Introduction of both operating-hour and calendar-based inspection limits (Amendment 2) adds scheduling complexity (\"Amendment 2... clarified the repeat inspection operating hours and introduces calendar limits\").","Amendment 3 alters the accomplishment instructions, creating a need to track document revisions and implement changed technical procedures (\"Amendment 3... alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\").","Applicability to all models increases the universe of operators affected but does not add technical variation in the AD text itself (\"Applicability: All Models\").","The AD delegates compliance specifics to the Service Bulletin, so legal compliance requires accurate technical implementation of external steps (\"Compliance: As specified in the Requirement Document\")."],"plain_english_summary":"What this directive does (mechanics)\n\n- This airworthiness directive applies to all Short SD3-30 series aeroplanes (\"Applicability: All Models\").\n- It requires operators to carry out the work set out in the manufacturer's Requirement Document: \"Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\" (\"Requirement: Action in accordance with Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\").\n- The timing and nature of compliance are as specified inside that Requirement Document (\"Compliance: As specified in the Requirement Document\").\n- This Amendment (Amendment 3) became effective on 23 July 1992 and reflects a revision to the Requirement Document that changes the content of the accomplishment instructions (\"This Amendment is effective from 23 July 1992\"; \"Amendment 3 is issued to reflect a revision of the Requirement Document which alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\").\n\nWhy the directive exists (stated purpose)\n\n- The manufacturer reported service experience that, under certain conditions, corrosion and/or wear may occur in the horizontal stabilizer/fuselage attachment fittings, pins and bushes (\"Background: Service experience reported by the Manufacturer indicates that under certain conditions corrosion and/or wear may occur in the fittings\").\n- Earlier amendments clarified inspection intervals: Amendment 2 clarified repeat inspection operating hours and introduced calendar limits for inspections (\"Amendment 2 of this Directive clarified the repeat inspection operating hours and introduces calendar limits\").\n\nWho decides and who is directly affected\n\n- The Civil Aviation Safety Authority issues the directive and specifies it as a requirement under Part 39 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (header). The detailed technical steps to comply are set out in the manufacturer's Mandatory Service Bulletin that the directive references (\"Requirement: Action in accordance with Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\").\n- The direct economic actors who must act are the owners/operators of all Short SD3-30 series aeroplanes. They must have the inspections and any remedial action performed as specified (\"Applicability: All Models\").\n\nWho pays, who benefits, and how behaviour changes\n\n- Who pays: aircraft owners/operators pay the cost of inspections, any replacements or repairs, labour and associated downtime. The directive itself points to the Service Bulletin for the exact required work and intervals (\"Requirement... Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\").\n- Who benefits: operators and passengers on these aeroplanes benefit from reduced risk of failure in the listed fittings if the work reduces corrosion/wear, as per the manufacturer’s reported service experience (\"Background...\").\n- Behaviour change: operators must follow the specified inspection and maintenance regime in the Service Bulletin, including repeat inspections and calendar limits introduced earlier (\"Amendment 2... clarified the repeat inspection operating hours and introduces calendar limits\") and must follow the revised accomplishment instructions in Revision 4 (\"Amendment 3... alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\").\n\nCompliance burden, discretion and implementation risk\n\n- Compliance burden: The directive delegates the detailed technical steps, intervals and any parts/labour estimates to the referenced Service Bulletin. That creates a compliance task of following an external technical document (\"Requirement... Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\"; \"Compliance: As specified in the Requirement Document\").\n- Scheduling and cost impact: calendar inspection limits and clarified repeat inspection hours (introduced by Amendment 2) create fixed time-based obligations in addition to hour-based operating limits. That can impose recurring maintenance downtime and parts/labour costs (\"Amendment 2... introduces calendar limits\").\n- Administrative and contractual effects: because the AD mandates compliance with a specified Service Bulletin, it constrains the technical method by which operators meet the requirement (\"Requirement... Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Revision 4\"). Independent maintenance organisations can perform the work, but they must follow the prescribed accomplishment instructions in the Service Bulletin.\n- Implementation risk and change management: Amendment 3 changes the content of the accomplishment instructions. Operators must track revisions of the Requirement Document and update maintenance actions accordingly (\"Amendment 3 is issued to reflect a revision of the Requirement Document which alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\"). Enforcement responsibility lies with the regulator which issued the directive.\n\nTrade-offs and opportunity costs (mechanisms, not judgments)\n\n- The directive moves inspection and repair effort onto aircraft operators and their maintenance providers; that uses operational maintenance resources and scheduled aircraft availability that could otherwise be used for other tasks (the directive points operators to the Service Bulletin for scope and intervals) (\"Requirement... Revision 4\"; \"Compliance: As specified in the Requirement Document\").\n- Any change in the Service Bulletin’s accomplishment instructions (as reflected by Amendment 3) can change the specific labour, parts or techniques required, altering costs and how maintenance contracts are performed (\"Amendment 3... alters the content of the accomplishment instructions\").\n\nNet practical effect (summary)\n\n- Operators of all Short SD3-30 aeroplanes must follow the manufacturer's Mandatory Service Bulletin SD3-55-16 Revision 4 and schedule inspections/repairs as that document prescribes. The directive’s amendments have clarified and time‑limited inspection intervals (Amendment 2) and adjusted the technical accomplishment steps (Amendment 3). The regulator enforces compliance; operators and their maintenance providers carry the costs and operational impact."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Airworthiness Directive remains tightly focused on its original purpose: addressing corrosion and wear in horizontal stabilizer attachment fittings on Short SD3-30 aircraft. While it has been amended three times, these amendments represent refinements to inspection intervals and procedures rather than expansion beyond the original safety concern. The scope has not grown to cover other aircraft types or unrelated systems."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (under 200 words)","Only 1 defined term implicitly referenced (the Service Bulletin)","No nested conditional logic — simple directive structure: 'do what the manufacturer says'","Single cross-reference to external technical document (Shorts Mandatory SB SD3-55-16 Rev 4)","No exceptions or exemptions stated in the text itself","Amendment history is narrative rather than structural complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This is an **Airworthiness Directive** — a legally binding safety order issued by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that requires aircraft owners and operators to take specific action to fix a known safety problem.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Requires owners of **Short SD3-30 series aircraft** (a type of regional turboprop plane) to inspect and maintain the **horizontal stabilizer attachment fittings** — the metal brackets, pins, and bushings that connect the tail's horizontal wing to the main body of the aircraft.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- The manufacturer discovered that these parts can suffer from **corrosion and wear** under certain conditions. If these fittings fail, the horizontal stabilizer (which controls the aircraft's pitch — whether the nose goes up or down) could detach from the fuselage, leading to catastrophic loss of control.\n\n**What must be done:**\n- Aircraft operators must follow the instructions in **Shorts Mandatory Service Bulletin SD3-55-16 Revision 4** (a technical document from the manufacturer detailing inspection and repair procedures).\n- This amendment updates the previous version to reflect changes in how the work should actually be carried out.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Anyone who owns, operates, or maintains a Short SD3-30 aircraft in Australia.\n\n**Key change in this version:**\n- Amendment 3 updates the \"accomplishment instructions\" — the step-by-step procedures for doing the inspection and any necessary repairs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes","history":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ad-sd3-30-8-amdt-3-horizontal-stabilizer-fuselage-attachment-fittings-pins-and-bushes/documents"}}