Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell Douglas Model MD-11 Series Airplanes

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain McDonnell Douglas Model MD-11 series airplanes, that currently requires a one-time inspection to verify correct wire terminations of certain circuit breakers in the cockpit overhead switch panel; and correction of incorrect wire termination. That AD also requires that operators submit a report of the inspection results to the FAA. That AD was prompted by incidents in which the wiring of circuit breakers on the overhead switch panel lighting were found to be terminated improperly during production of the airplane, which bypassed the circuit breaker protection. This amendment expands the applicability of the existing AD to include additional airplanes, and removes the reporting requirement. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent smoke and possible fire in the overhead switch panel lighting circuitry due to an overload condition, as a result of lack of circuit breaker protection.