EASA AD 2020-0153
Fuselage — Rear Fuselage Clips, Shear Webs and Angles — Replacement
Summary
EASA Airworthiness Directive 2020-0153 is an airworthiness directive addressing the replacement of rear fuselage clips, shear webs, and angles on Airbus A319, A320, and A321 aeroplanes. It applies to specific models except those with Airbus modification 30975 embodied in production. The directive aims to ensure structural integrity by mandating replacement of affected parts identified during fatigue testing.
What Changed
This directive supersedes EASA AD 2014-0177 and introduces a new modification service bulletin that provides updated instructions for replacing affected rear fuselage parts. It clarifies that the original service bulletin cannot be applied twice on the same aircraft and requires compliance with the new modification service bulletin within specified flight cycle and flight hour limits.
Why It Matters
This directive is critical for maintaining the structural integrity of affected Airbus A319, A320, and A321 aircraft by addressing potential fatigue damage in rear fuselage components. Operators, maintenance organizations, and compliance teams must adhere to these updated replacement requirements to ensure continued airworthiness and avoid unsafe conditions that could compromise flight safety.
What To Do
Operators must replace the affected rear fuselage clips, shear webs, and angles before exceeding 48,000 flight cycles or 96,000 flight hours, but not before 30,000 flight cycles or 60,000 flight hours, following the original service bulletin instructions. Subsequently, a further replacement must be completed within 49,600 flight cycles or 99,300 flight hours after the first replacement, but not before 66,900 flight cycles or 133,800 flight hours, according to the modification service bulletin.
Your fleet's weekly compliance brief
AI-summarized regulatory changes, compliance deadlines, and action items — filtered to your aircraft, every Monday.
AI-generated summary from official EASA source document. Always verify against the original.