On February 19, 2019, an IA contacted the FAA in regards to the applicable aircraft under AD 2017-14-04. During an inspection, he had noticed that the PA28RT-201 Arrow IV was not listed on the AD, even though it has an identical oil cooler installation as the other PA-28 Arrows with the same engine installation. Since the FAA cannot hold Part 91 owners/operators to the service life limit requirements provided by the manufacturer in the maintenance manual, the AD would need to be updated with any additional models to provide the proper coverage to avoid the unsafe condition with the Type C hoses. In addition, since AD 2017-14-04 only addresses the oil cooler hoses, the FAA is also interested in whether the flying public is still utilizing Type C hoses in their engine compartments to see whether adding any other hose applications (i.e. fuel, turbocharger, etc) to the AD would be necessary to ensure safety is being maintained.
Select the following link to read the Airworthiness Concern Sheet:
https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2019/Aug/ACS_PA28-32_Hoses_(002)_(003).pdf
The FAA is requesting the following information from owners and operators of PA-28 and PA-32 aircraft:
1) Do you currently have any TSO-C53a Type C hoses installed on your aircraft in the engine compartment (any applications)?
If the answer to the previous question was ‘Yes’:
a) How many hours time-in-service (TIS) and years installed have those hoses currently accrued?
b) Does your aircraft annual or equivalent maintenance requirements include a recurring inspection requirement (with specific inspection criteria and a specific inspection interval) for these hoses? Does the annual or equivalent maintenance requirements include a service life limit based on hours TIS and/or years in-service?
2) Has any owner or operator recently (within the last 5 years) purchased a TSO-C53a Type C hose for use in any application within the engine compartment?
a. Has anyone found that the TSO-C53a Type D hose, the preferred option, are more readily available from part service centers/part retailers than the TSO-C53a Type C hose?
3) Does anyone have any specific concerns specifically related to the use of TSO-C53a Type C hoses in any application, within the engine compartment?
For more information or to reply please contact:
Boyce Jones, ASE - Propulsion
Atlanta ACO
1701 Columbia Ave
Atlanta, GA, 30337
(404)474-5535
Boyce.Jones@faa.gov
