EASA AD GA8-11
Solenoid (Relay) Box Electrical Bonding
Summary
The Commonwealth of Australia Civil Aviation Safety Authority Airworthiness Directive AD/GA8/11 Solenoid (Relay) Box Electrical Bonding 24/2023 addresses electrical bonding issues in Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 and GA8-TC 320 series aeroplanes. This directive applies to all GA8 aircraft up to serial number GA8-20-262 and GA8-TC 320 aircraft up to serial number GA8-TC 320-20-261. It mandates compliance with a specific mandatory service bulletin to correct unsafe electrical bonding conditions in the solenoid relay box assembly.
What Changed
This new Airworthiness Directive introduces a requirement to accomplish the actions specified in Gippsland Aeronautics mandatory service bulletin SB-GA8-2023-216 Issue 1, dated 24 February 2023. It addresses intermittent system discrepancies caused by poor electrical bonding of the solenoid relay box assembly in affected GA8 and GA8-TC 320 aircraft. The directive mandates corrective action within a defined compliance period to ensure proper electrical bonding.
Why It Matters
Proper electrical bonding of the solenoid relay box is critical to prevent degraded performance, errors, or intermittent failures of electrical systems connected to Bus 1 and Bus 2 in the affected aircraft. For operators and maintenance organizations, compliance ensures continued airworthiness and reliability of electrical control and protective devices. This directive helps mitigate safety risks associated with electrical system malfunctions in these aircraft models.
What To Do
Operators of Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 and GA8-TC 320 aircraft within the specified serial number ranges must comply with the requirements of service bulletin SB-GA8-2023-216 Issue 1. The corrective actions must be completed within 100 flight hours or 12 months from the effective date of 2023-12-23, whichever occurs first. If the work has already been accomplished, no further action is required.
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