Airworthiness Directives; Boeing Model 727 Series Airplanes

This document publishes in the Federal Register an amendment adopting Airworthiness Directive (AD) T98-23-51 that was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of certain Boeing Model 727 series airplanes by individual telegrams. This AD requires modification of certain fuselage skin lap joints and, on certain airplanes, modification of the lap joint(s) in the door structure. This AD also requires repetitive internal detailed visual inspections to detect cracking, corrosion, or delamination of the fuselage skin lap joints, and repair, if necessary. This action is prompted by information that a modification required by an existing AD may not have been accomplished completely on as many as 160 airplanes. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent corrosion and subsequent fatigue cracking of the fuselage skin lap joints, which could result in rapid decompression of the airplane.