Airworthiness Directive 2012-21-13
recurringAirworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes
What this AD requires
We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model DC-9-81 (MD-81), DC-9-82 (MD-82), DC-9-83 (MD- 83), DC-9-87 (MD-87), and MD-88 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of fatigue cracks found in Stringer 11 at the outboard flap, inboard drive hinge at Station Xrs=164.000. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracks in Stringer 11, and a splice repair if necessary; and repetitive post-repair inspections, and repair if necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct such cracking, which could result in the wing structure not supporting the limit load condition, which could lead to loss of structural integrity of the wing.
Which aircraft AD 2012-21-13 applies to
Limited to airplanes identified in Boeing Alert Service Bulletin MD80-57A243, dated December 20, 2011; specific serial numbers not enumerated in the applicability text itself.
Whether AD 2012-21-13 actually applies to your aircraft (by serial and installed parts) and whether it’s already complied with comes from that aircraft’s records.
How AD compliance is recorded
A valid compliance record (14 CFR 43.9) states:
Tailplate reads a tail number’s logbooks and matches every applicable AD — including this one — to its compliance evidence, with recurring next-due dates computed.
Look up a tail number →Read the full directive (Federal Register)Applicability is derived from the FAA directive corpus and is advisory, not a legal airworthiness determination. Compliance is established only from an aircraft’s actual records.