Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Airplanes

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-200 series airplanes; Model A330-300 series airplanes; Model A340-200 series airplanes; and Model A340-300 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that three failures of the retraction bracket occurred during fatigue testing before the calculated life limit of the main landing gear (MLG). This AD requires repetitive replacement of the affected retraction bracket of the MLG. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the retraction bracket, which could result in a MLG extension with no damping, and consequent structural damage of the MLG.

Agency Contact: Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 227-1138; fax (425) 227-1149.