An emergency airworthiness directive (AD) has been issued requiring more frequent inspection of wing spars for cracks on the Cessna 402C and 414A. Under the AD, which applies only to aircraft that do not have a Cessna-developed spar strap modification installed, all 402Cs and most 414As with more 15,000h in service must be inspected immediately and every 15h thereafter. The action by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) results from fatigue cracks found in two 402Cs with more than 20,000h in service that had been inspected at the 110h interval specified by the previous AD issued in 2000. Operators of twin Cessnas have complained about the cost of the manufacturer's spar strap modification and last year the FAA withdrew two proposed ADs on the401, 402, 411 and 414 to give industry time to develop alternative means of compliance.
Source: Flight International
