Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
HQ-18-09 R1
August 31, 2020
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to provide awareness
of an approved alternative method of compliance (AMOC) to all FAA
airworthiness directives (ADs) and previously approved AMOCs that
mandate the application of Alodine for all FAA type certificated
aircraft, engines and propellers. The AMOC allows the use of the
renamed Henkel Bonderite products as an alternative to the former
Henkel Alodine products when complying with FAA ADs and previously
approved AMOCs.
At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that
would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.
Background
Alodine is a metal protective coating used in many applications
including in the aerospace industry. The FAA has issued many ADs and
AMOCs that specifically call out for application of Alodine. Many of
the ADs that mandate the use of Alodine, do not specifically call out
Alodine in the language of the AD, but do require compliance with
design approval holder service instructions or service bulletins that
specify the use of Alodine in a repair or modification. Henkel, the
manufacturer of Alodine, is changing the name of the product from
Alodine to Bonderite, but the actual product is unchanged. The
unavailability of Alodine will make it difficult to comply with ADs or
previously approved AMOCs that require the application of Alodine. This
Bonderite AMOC allows the use of the renamed Henkel Bonderite products
as an alternative to the former Henkel Alodine products when complying
with FAA ADs and previously approved AMOCs. This SAIB has been revised
to add information to more clearly define record keeping requirements
for this unique global AMOC.
Recommendations
This SAIB is to notify the aviation community of the availability of
this Bonderite AMOC. This AMOC is also posted on the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Regulatory and Guidance Library with this SAIB to
facilitate access to the AMOC. The FAA recommends you evaluate this
AMOC and if you use Alodine in repairs or modifications to comply with
ADs or previously approved AMOCs, you can use this AMOC as a part of
your compliance with the AD or AMOC. Since this AMOC is applicable to
many ADs, only one copy of the global AMOC must be retained in the
maintenance records of each airplane. Operators are not required to
track applicability to specific ADs and specific paragraphs in those
ADs, as allowed per deviation to FAA Order 8110.103B, paragraph
3-10.c.(1) and (2), (reference FAA Deviation Memorandum
AIR600-17-6D-DM18).
For Further Information Contact
Ian Won, Manager, AIR-780, FAA, Seattle ACO Branch, 2200 South 216th
Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; phone and fax: 206-231-3948; e-mail:
ian.y.won@faa.gov.