Airworthiness Directive 2025-02528
one-timeAirworthiness Directives; FS 2001 Corp, FS 2002 Corporation, FS 2003 Corporation, Piper, and Piper Aircraft, Inc. Airplanes
What this AD requires
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain FS 2001 Corp, FS 2002 Corporation, FS 2003 Corporation, Piper, and Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Piper) airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of broken rudders. This AD requires replacing any rudder equipped with a rudder post made from a certain carbon steel with a rudder equipped with a rudder post made from a certain low-alloy steel. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Which aircraft AD 2025-02528 applies to
Applies only to airplanes not equipped with a rudder having a rudder post made from 4130N low-alloy steel (most PMA rudders already use 4130N steel; verifiable via the individual PMA or Piper Service Bulletin 1379B, dated May 7, 2024, which is referenced but not required). Full applicability table (Table 1 to paragraph (c)) lists numerous Army-designated and horsepower-suffixed variants (e.g., PA-18 '105'/'125'/'135'/'150', PA-20 '115'/'135', Army L-4/L-18/L-21 designations) across type certificate holders FS 2001 Corp., FS 2002 Corporation, FS 2003 Corporation, Piper Aircraft, Inc., and Piper; see the original AD table for the complete unabridged list.
Whether AD 2025-02528 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.