What Happened
Federal Aviation Administration Targets Fatigue Cracking in Principal Structural Elements
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a new airworthiness directive for Airbus A300-600 series airplanes, citing the need to address fatigue cracking in principal structural elements. The proposed directive would require operators to revise their existing maintenance or inspection programs to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations, as specified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2025-0255. The FAA estimates that the proposed AD would affect 120 airplanes of U.S. registry, with an average total cost per operator of $7,650. Comments on the proposed AD are due by November 2, 2026, as reported by the Federal Register.