The US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to change an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring repetitive checks of control rods. AOPA is pressing for the alteration on behalf of some 7,500 owners of M20-series light aircraft.
The association is proposing a simpler alternative to the AD, which requires removal and inspection of an aileron control link every 100h to check for cracks. The association says the cracked rods discovered so far have all been detected visually before removal from the aircraft.
AOPA is proposing that the AD be modified to allow on-wing inspection.
Source: Flight International
