What it does
This Airworthiness Directive (AD/B747/386, dated 13/2008, effective 18 December 2008) mandates hardware change to at least one of the three electronic flight instrument system/engine indicating and crew alerting system (EFIS/EICAS) interface units (EIUs) on affected Boeing 747-400 series aeroplanes. The specific mechanical requirement is: replace at least one EIU, part number 622-8589-104 located on the E2-6 shelf of the main equipment centre, with a new or modified EIU, part number 622-8589-105, in accordance with the Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing Service Bulletin 747-31-2368, Revision 1, dated 24 July 2006 (text reproduced in the Directive under "Requirement"). Compliance must be achieved within 24 months after the AD’s effective date (the AD “becomes effective on 18 December 2008”).
The Directive includes three service-information cross-references that affect how compliance can be achieved and when prior work is acceptable. Note 1 directs the reader to Rockwell Collins Service Bulletin EIU-7000-31-502, dated 21 March 2006, as an additional source of service information for modifying an EIU by adding auto restart circuitry, which converts P/N 622-8589-104 to P/N 622-8589-105. The AD states that actions accomplished before the AD’s effective date in accordance with Boeing SB 747-31-2368 dated 22 November 2005 are considered acceptable for compliance with the corresponding requirements of this Directive. It also accepts later revisions of the Boeing and Rockwell Collins service bulletins, but only where those later revisions have been approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration as an Alternate Method of Compliance to FAA AD 2008-13-22.
The Directive further clarifies its relationship to pre-existing requirements: replacing an EIU with a P/N 622-8589-105 in accordance with Requirement 1 of this Directive constitutes terminating action for the EIU replacement requirement specified in AD/B747/308 (Requirement 3) or paragraph (d)(1) of FAA AD 2004-10-05, but only if the other two EIUs are P/N 622-8589-104 or P/N 622-8589-105. The Directive explicitly preserves compliance with the remaining actions required by Requirement 1 of AD/B747/308 or paragraph (d)(1) of FAA AD 2004-10-05.