SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN
Aircraft Certification Service
Washington, DC
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
CE-08-11

January 9, 2008

This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you of an airworthiness concern on the following The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Piper) airplanes (Table 1) regarding potential failure of hydraulic hose part number (P/N) 17766-02 (465-138). The failure of the hydraulic hose may result in loss of pressure to extend the landing gears:
Table 1
Models Serial Numbers
PA-23
All serial numbers
PA-23-150/160/235/250
All serial numbers
PA31
All serial numbers
PA31-300/310/325/350
All serial numbers
PA-31P
All serial numbers
PA-31P-350
All serial numbers
PA31-350 T1020
All serial numbers
PA31T Cheyenne
All serial numbers
PA31T Cheyenne II
All serial numbers
PA31T1 Cheyenne I
All serial numbers
PA31T1 Cheyenne IA
All serial numbers
PA31T2 Cheyenne IIXL
All serial numbers
PA31T3 T1040
All serial numbers
PA-42 Cheyenne III
All serial numbers
PA-42 Cheyenne IIIA
All serial numbers

Background

This SAIB is a result of FAA Accident Prevention Recommendations (APR) 07.097. This APR reported an incident on a Piper Model PA-31T airplane that occurred during an emergency landing. The airplane landed with the right main down along with the nose and left main gears retracted, which caused damage to the airplane engines, propellers, belly skin, and nose skin of the airplane.

The investigation revealed that the left main landing gear hydraulic pressure hose, P/N 17766-2 (465-138), which was located in the left main landing gear well, had ruptured. This hydraulic hose had deteriorated through years in-service. The hose was installed in March 1979 and had accumulated a total of 6,349 hours time-in-service.

Recommendations

We recommend that you inspect the landing gear hydraulic hose, P/N 17766-2 (465-138), for leaks and signs of deterioration. If there is evidence of leaks or signs of deterioration in the hydraulic hose, we recommend that you replace the part before further flight.

For Further Information Contact

Hector Hernandez, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Central Region, Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 450, Atlanta, GA 30349; phone (770) 703-6069; fax (770) 703-6097; email: Hector.Hernandez@faa.gov