AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE
On the effective date specified below, and for the reasons set out in the background section, the CASA delegate whose signature appears below revokes Airworthiness Directive (AD) AD/BEECH 200/67 Amdt 5 and issues the following AD under subregulation 39.001(1) of CASR 1998.  The AD requires that the action set out in the requirement section (being action that the delegate considers necessary to correct the unsafe condition) be taken in relation to the aircraft or aeronautical product mentioned in the applicability section: (a) in the circumstances mentioned in the requirement section; and (b) in accordance with the instructions set out in the requirement section; and (c) at the time mentioned in the compliance section.
Beechcraft 200 (Super King Air) Series Aeroplanes
AD/BEECH 200/67 Amdt 6
Fuselage Rear Pressure Bulkhead
1/2012
 
Applicability:
Beechcraft 200 (Super King Air) series aeroplanes (Including models 200, B200, 200C, B200C, 200T, B200T), all serial numbers.

Requirement:
Inspect the entire forward and aft side of the rear pressure bulkhead and the outflow and safety valve box for cracks and loose or missing rivets in accordance with Beech Super King Air 200 series maintenance manual, latest revision, Special Inspections, Section 5-20-05, Inspection item 51 “Aft fuselage area and rear pressure bulkhead”.
While doing the inspection, also note any damage such as sharp dents or punctures in the bulkhead and around the outflow and safety valve box.  Damage such as this increases stress concentration and may develop into cracks at some stage in the future.  Ensure that all damage is assessed, repaired if necessary and its cause rectified so it does not reoccur.  See figure 1 below, which shows the front side inspection locations (aft side not shown).



Remove this extruded upholstery rail if it covers the lower row of rivets in the lap joint.  This will enable inspection for cracks along the rivet line.
 
 

Inspect around the Outflow Valve cutouts and box for damage to the bulkhead, including gouges, cracks and punctures.
 

Inspect around the Outflow Valve cutouts and box for damage to the bulkhead, including gouges, cracks and punctures.
 

Inspect around the Outflow Valve cutouts and box for damage to the bulkhead, including gouges, cracks and punctures.
 

Inspect around the Outflow Valve cutouts and box for damage to the bulkhead, including gouges, cracks and punctures.
 

Inspect around the Outflow Valve cutouts and box for damage to the bulkhead, including gouges, cracks and punctures.
 

 
Compliance:
Inspect initially at 10,000 cycles and then at 500 cycle intervals*.
*The Beech maintenance manual allows a tolerance of +/- 10% on special inspection intervals.  This tolerance may be applied to the interval compliance time in this Airworthiness Directive.

 
This Amendment becomes effective on18 January 2012.

Background:
Cracks and other damage have been found in the rear pressure bulkheads in several Australian aircraft.  Undetected cracks or other damage may cause loss of pressurisation or, if large enough, catastrophic structural failure of the rear pressure bulkhead.
This Amendment is to correct the maintenance manual reference in the requirement section of this AD, to align with the current version of the Beech 200 Maintenance Manual.  There is no change to the technical requirement or compliance interval of this AD, except to remove a transitional provision from the compliance, which is no longer applicable.
Amendment 5, effective 12 March 2009, allowed the application of a 10% tolerance to the compliance time.  The Beech 200 maintenance manual allows this tolerance for all special inspections which are flight cycle and/or hourly limited.  There were no changes to the technical requirements.
Amendment 4, effective 24 November 2005, removed the reference to the revision date and page number in the requirement document.  The revision date was replaced with “latest revision”.  This will ensure that the AD is correct when the Maintenance Manual is inevitably revised again.  There were no changes to the technical requirements or compliance.
The previous amendment, Amendment 3, effective 15 April 2004, removed Requirement 2 which was to inspect for score marks and repair the aft pressure bulkhead if necessary in accordance with Raytheon Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin 53-3513 Rev 1.  This inspection is now mandated by a separate Airworthiness Directive, following the issuing of FAA AD 2003-13-16.
Amendment 2, effective 11 February 2004, clarified the applicability of the AD, to include aircraft that have had post production removal and installation of the insulation material covering the rear pressure bulkhead.  The compliance time for requirement 2 was brought forward to reflect the shorter compliance time required by the FAA AD.  There was no change to the requirements in this amendment.

 
Amendment 1, effective 20 March 2003, added the requirement to inspect and repair the aft pressure bulkhead in accordance with a mandatory service bulletin issued by the manufacturer.  It also added a visual inspection of the area around the cabin outflow valve cutouts for damage which has been observed on an Australian registered aircraft, but was not mentioned as an area to be inspected in the manufacturer’s mandatory service bulletin or maintenance manual.

 
 
 
The original issue of this Airworthiness Directive became effective on 7 March 2000.

Mike Higgins
Delegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority
6 January 2012