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 an inspection and other specified actions to ensure that the ground stud assemblies at three locations of the airplane are installed properly and torqued to certain specifications, to verify the integrity of the components of the ground stud assemblies, and to detect heat damage in adjacent areas; and correction of any discrepancy. That AD was prompted by reports indicating that arcing occurred across the pins in the galley external power receptacle due to loose attach hardware on the ground stud. The actions specified in that AD are intended to ensure that the ground stud assemblies are attached correctly so that arcing will not occur. Such arcing, if not corrected, could result in heat damage to adjacent structure and a fire in the forward cargo compartment, the center accessory compartment, or the aft fuselage compartment. This action would expand the applicability of the existing AD to include additional airplanes.