Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes
We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2016-07-23, which applied to all Airbus SAS Model A318 and A319 series airplanes; Model A320-211, A320-212, A320-214, A320-216, A320-231, A320-232, and A320-233 airplanes; and Model A321-111, A321-112, A321-131, A321-211, A321-212, A321-213, A321-231, and A321-232 airplanes. AD 2016-07-23 required, for certain airplanes, repetitive replacements of the fixed fairing upper and lower attachment studs of both the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) main landing gear (MLG); and repetitive inspections for corrosion, wear, fatigue cracking, and loose studs of each forward stud assembly of the fixed fairing door upper and lower forward attachments of both the LH and RH MLG; and replacement if necessary. AD 2016-07-23 also provided an optional terminating modification for the repetitive replacements of the fixed fairing upper and lower attachment studs. This AD retains the requirements of AD 2016-07-23 and, for certain airplanes, requires re-identification of the LH and RH MLG fixed fairing assemblies' part numbers. This AD was prompted by a determination that for some airplane configurations, associated fixed fairing assembly part numbers susceptible to fatigue cracking were not listed in certain service information required by AD 2016-07-23. In addition, we have determined that additional work is necessary to re- identify the fixed fairing assembly part number on certain airplanes. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.