Actually, so-called airworthiness directives issued by civil aviation authorities serve safety purposes. However, Easa made a serious calculation error regarding the Airbus A321P2F. This now led to the instruction having to be withdrawn.
The operators of converted Airbus A321P2F freighters should actually be required to carry out precise inspections of the fuselages. However, Easa made a serious miscalculation when calculating the time frame. According to official information, an incorrect formula was accidentally used. In order to avoid further confusion, the entire airworthiness directive has now been withdrawn without replacement.
Studies carried out by Airbus and Elbe Flugzeugwerke also contributed to the decision. These have shown that the time frame for inspections differs only minimally from that of passenger aircraft due to their use as cargo aircraft. There is no need to adhere to such tight intervals as originally ordered by Easa. An airworthiness directive dated December 7, 2022, which has already been implemented, is therefore completely sufficient.
Easa originally saw things differently, because with the AD of September 12, 2023, much stricter inspections of the fuselages of the A321P2F had been ordered. The calculations had shown that if used as a freighter, cracks could potentially develop at an early stage. However, an incorrect formula was mistakenly used in the calculations. It has now been shown that the risk of fatigue does not differ significantly from use as passenger aircraft. Easa has withdrawn the order.
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