From the Transportation Safety Board of Canada:
"Airbus inspections of some rudders on its planes aren't frequent enough to identify problems with the aircraft"
The agency recommended more inspections after probing an incident involving an Airbus A310-300 flown by Air Transat, which lost its rudder March 6, 2005, after departing from Cuba.
The investigation "suggests that the current inspection program for Airbus composite rudders might not ensure the timely detection of defects," the Transportation Safety Board said in a statement."
This advisory comes shortly after the NTSB's urgent advisory on Friday to the FAA for an improved inspection regime for about 400 Airbus aircraft including a check for skydrol-contaminated structures.
The "urgent" recommendation by the NTSB stemmed from a Nov. 27, 2005, incident involving a rudder on an Airbus A300-600 operated by FedEx. The rudder was damaged during routine maintenance and sent to the manufacturing facility for an assessment of damage.
During the inspection, a "substantial area" of separation was found between the inner skin of the composite rudder surface and its honeycomb core, along with hydraulic fluid, which can lead to progressive separation and compromise the rudder strength, the agency said.
"Tests on the damaged rudder also revealed that disbonding damage could spread during flight," the NTSB said in a statement issued Friday.
The NTSB recommended that the FAA establish a "repetitive inspection interval" on Airbus planes without modified rudders "well below" the current standard of every 2,500 flights.
Meanwhile, Airbus denies any problems with their recommended inspection interval for these aircraft and says they will not change the maintenance schedule:
"We are still confident in our inspection schedule that we recommended to operators earlier this month," Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said Monday.
"While the NTSB is recommending an expedited inspection of the relevant rudders, Airbus remains confident in the operating safety of these aircraft and our original recommendations for inspection," Greczyn said.
Later last year after the un-commanded rudder excursion was demonstrated by FedEx maintenance on one of their A300s, Airbus prudently recommended further inspections of the laminate without regulatory prodding.
I wonder why they are resisting now ?
And when will we be seeing enhanced preventative maintenance procedures on aircraft like the 777 and many others ?