Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
AIR-21-02
January 6, 2021
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to alert owners,
operators, maintenance technicians, and inspectors of an airworthiness
concern on Pilatus Aircraft (Pilatus) Models PC-9, PC-9/A, PC-9/B, and
PC-9/F airplanes with all manufacturer’s serial numbers (MSN).
Specifically, the concern is that there is an urgent need to inspect
the Harley-type buckle assemblies on the seat harnesses of the front
and rear ejection seats on all PC-9 airplanes. There has been a
reported incident where the adjustable shoulder strap of a seat harness
was found to be unattached to the main harness. Subsequent
investigation concluded that one of the two release bar retaining
screws located on Harley-type buckle assemblies was missing and the
other one was loose and could be unscrewed by hand.
These airplanes are not type certificated in the United States and,
therefore, the condition is not addressed by FAA Airworthiness
Directive (AD) action. However, these airplanes could be operating in
the United States with an experimental airworthiness certificate or
other means.
Background
The Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) has issued FOCA
Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) HB-2020-013 dated December 10,
2020 on Pilatus Models PC-9, PC-9/A, PC-9/B, and PC-9/F airplanes to
inspect the Harley-type buckle assemblies on the seat harnesses of the
front and rear ejection seats per Pilatus PC-9 SB 25-009 dated November
27, 2020, IrvinGQ SB IGQSB033 Issue 2 dated December 2020, and
Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Special Information Leaflet (SIL) No.
864A dated December 9, 2020 and prohibits (re-)installation of the
affected parts.
The required actions and compliance times for the FOCA AD HB-2020-013-E are as follows:
Inspection of FOCA AD:
(1) Before the next flight after the effective date of the FOCA AD,
inspect the Harley-type buckle assemblies on the seat harnesses of the
front and rear ejection seats in accordance with the instructions of
section 3.B. of the Pilatus SB, the Martin-Baker Special Information
Leaflet
and section 2 of the IrvinGQ SB.
Corrective action(s) of FOCA AD:
(2) If, during the inspection as required by paragraph (1) of the FOCA
AD, discrepancies are detected, as identified in the applicable SBs and
the Special Information Leaflet, before next flight, accomplish the
applicable corrective action(s) in accordance with the instructions of
the applicable SBs and the Special Information Leaflet.
Parts Installation per FOCA AD:
(3) From the effective date of the FOCA AD, it is allowed to install a
Harley-type buckle assembly on the seat harnesses of the front and rear
ejection seats, provided it is a serviceable part, as defined in the
FOCA AD.
Recommendations
For Pilatus Models PC-9, PC-9/A, PC-9/B, and PC-9/F airplanes, we
recommend accomplishing the inspections and corrective actions per the
FOCA AD HB-2020-013-E before next flight.
For Further Information Contact
Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer Federal Aviation Administration, General Aviation &
Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street,
Room 301, Kansas City, MO; phone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-4090;
e-mail: doug.rudolph@faa.gov.
For Related Service Information Contact
The applicable manufacturer’s documentation may be obtained directly from: