A “manufacturing quality escape” made by a supplier could have an impact on the overheat detection sensing elements within the bleed air system on the Airbus A220, according to a new airworthiness directive (AD) released by Transport Canada (TC). According to TC, the overheat detection sensing components “were manufactured with insufficient salt fill”. The lack of salt coating on the elements could lead to detection failure because they are employed by the bleed air leak detection system to determine the temperature in the case of a hot bleed air leak. This might harm “surrounding structures and systems that can prevent continued safe flight and landing,” the agency claimed.
Two Service Bulletins (SB) were previously released by Mirabel, Quebec-based Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP), the organisation in charge of the A220 program, instructing users to “test all affected bleed leak detection system sensing elements, and to replace any sensing element that may have insufficient salt fill.” 25% of ACLP is owned by the Quebec government, while 75% is owned by Airbus. Transport Canada responded to the SBs by issuing an AD in March 2022 that addressed the hazardous situation.
The regulator issued the latest AD, which will come into effect on May 2, 2023, after determining that there was “was an error in the affected part definition with respect to identifying parts that had been determined to be serviceable parts in accordance with” an SB issued by the part manufacturer, Kiddie Aerospace and Defense. The most recent AD from TC replaces the March 2022 directive and “corrects the error by aligning the affected part definition.”
