EASA AD G-2025-0004-E
Hot Air Balloons — Cylinders fitted with PRV adaptor CB8426— Inspect for Cracking and Replace
Summary
The Civil Aviation Authority Emergency Airworthiness Directive G-2025-0004-E addresses safety concerns for hot air balloons equipped with fuel cylinders fitted with Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) adaptor CB8426, including models such as Thunder & Colt, Sky Lindstrand, and various Cameron Balloons Limited cylinders. This directive mandates inspection for cracks in the CB8426 adaptors and replacement with the new CB7922 adaptor to prevent uncontrolled LPG fuel leaks.
What Changed
This directive supersedes the previous AD G-2025-0001R1-E and introduces a terminating action by requiring replacement of all CB8426 PRV adaptors with the newly developed CB7922 units. It retains the inspection requirements but adds mandatory replacement deadlines and scrap instructions for unused CB8426 adaptors based on metallurgical analysis of additional failed components.
Why It Matters
This directive is critical for operators and maintenance organizations to prevent potential fuel leaks caused by cracked PRV adaptors, which pose a significant safety risk. Compliance ensures continued airworthiness of affected hot air balloons and helps avoid in-service failures that could lead to accidents or operational disruptions. The directive also clarifies inspection responsibilities, including provisions for pilot-owner inspections under certain regulations.
What To Do
Operators must visually inspect all CB8426 PRV adaptors within one day of the directive's effective date and immediately remove from service any cylinders with cracked adaptors, replacing them with CB7922 units before further use. If no cracks are found, continued use is allowed with regular inspections until the next scheduled periodic PRV inspection, at which point all CB8426 adaptors must be replaced by CB7922 units. Unused CB8426 adaptors must be scrapped.