Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
CE-07-50
September 20, 2007
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin informs you of an
airworthiness concern for Diamond HK 36 series gliders, all serial
numbers.
Background
Separate occurrences of failure of the canopy locking device have
been found. An investigation has shown that nearly all of the locking
devices failed due to fatigue caused by permanent overload. This
overload is a result of non-original canopy sealing being used, which
caused a higher pre-load on the canopy.
Neither the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community, nor
the Austria aviation authority, Austrol Control, have issued an
airworthiness directive (AD) for those gliders registered for operation
in Europe. However, Diamond has issued Service Information No.
SI36-004, dated January 25, 2001, to address this condition. This
service bulletin recommends that you only use the original canopy
sealing is used and assure the drain holes of the canopy frame are not
blocked and the mechanism is properly lubricated in order to prevent
failure due to corrosion.
At this time, this airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition
that would warrant AD action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.
Recommendations
We recommend all owners and operators comply with actions outlined
in Diamond Service Instruction SI36-004, dated January 25, 2001.
Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH
Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin-Str. 5
A-2700 Wiener Neustadt
Email: support@diamond-air.at
Website: http://www.diamond-air.at/
North America:
Technical Support And Warranty Administration
Phone: (519) 457-4041
Fax: 1-800-934-3519 or (519) 457-4045
Email: custsupp@diamondair.com