SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN
Aircraft Certification Service
Washington, DC
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
CE-09-24

April 20, 2009

This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to alert owners and operators of EADS PZL 'Warszawa-Okęcie' S.A. PZL-104 Wilga 35 and 35A airplanes, all serial numbers, of an airworthiness concern.

Background

An inspection of a Model PZL-104 airplane that had a relatively long operational background revealed severe corrosion of the steel front fuselage structural elements. It is likely that such corrosion can also be present on other airplanes of similar design and operational history. If left uncorrected, this condition could lead to loss of strength of the structural front posts elements and consequent reduction of the structural strength of the airplane. For the reason stated above, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the state of design authority for this product, has issued an EASA airworthiness directive (AD) No. 2009-0072 on March 31, 2009. The EASA AD requires the following:
  1. For airplanes which have accumulated 12 years or more from the last overhaul at the effective date of the EASA AD:
(1.1) Within two months after the effective date of this AD, inspect for signs of corrosion the fuselage front posts as instructed in paragraph 6.A. of EADS PZL  “Warszawa-Okęcie” S.A. Mandatory Bulletin (MB) No.1109185 initial issue, dated March 18, 2009, for PZL-104 Wilga 35 and 35A airplanes.
(1.2) If corrosion or any corrosion damage is found during the inspection required in paragraph (1.1) of this AD, before further flight, repair or replace any parts where corrosion or corrosion damage was found in accordance with an EASA-approved repair solution or airworthy part respectively.
(1.3) Within two months after the effective date of this AD, replace the padding of the rear glass as instructed in paragraph 6.C. of EADS PZL MB No.1109185 initial issue for PZL-104 Wilga 35 and 35A.
  1. For all airplanes:
Within two months after the effective date of this AD, amend the approved operator’s airplane maintenance program to incorporate the applicable tasks as described in the relevant PZL-104 Wilga 35 Airplane Maintenance Manuals (AMM) titled ‘Maintenance Instructions and Scheduled Inspections’ issue dated 1981 for PZL-104 Wilga 35 from serial number (s/n) 48031 to 74217, issue B dated 1975 for PZL-104 Wilga 35 from s/n 85218 onwards, and issue C dated 1982 for PZL-104 Wilga 35A from s/n 16820629 onwards.
Recommendations

The PZL-104 Wilga 35 and Wilga 35 A airplane models are not type certificated in the United States and, therefore, the condition is not addressed by FAA AD action. However, these airplanes could be operating in the United States with an experimental airworthiness certificate or other means. We recommend all owners and operators comply with actions outlined in the EASA AD as soon as possible.

For Further Information Contact

Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, ACE-112; phone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-4090; e-mail: doug.rudolph@faa.gov

(Optional) For Related Service Information Contact

EADS PZL “Warszawa-Okęcie” S.A., Aleja Krakowska 110/114 - 00-971 Warszawa – Poland, Phone: +48 22 577 22 11; Fax: +48 22 577 22 03; E-mail: eadspzl@pzl.eads.net