A Line Mechanic reports a spot check of their A320 aircraft found better than 50% of the aircraft either have the left-hand or right-hand Main Landing Gear (MLG) Side-Stay Cuff bolt heads facing Forward instead of Aft. Concerns about the requirements of Airworthiness Directive 2005-10-04 and an Airbus Maintenance Tip letter for deferral of the bolts are raised.
Synopsis
A Line Mechanic reports a spot check of their A320 aircraft found better than 50% of the aircraft either have the left-hand or right-hand Main Landing Gear (MLG) Side-Stay Cuff bolt heads facing Forward instead of Aft. Concerns about the requirements of Airworthiness Directive 2005-10-04 and an Airbus Maintenance Tip letter for deferral of the bolts are raised.
Narrative
Spot check of Airbus on (the) Line; found better then 50% of our Airbus either have the left-hand or right-hand side Main Landing Gear (MLG) with the cuff bolts heads installed forward. This check is covered on certain types of overnight service; and also from Engineering Directives on account of Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2005-10-04. However; the overnight service check does not stipulate bolt head position and this is being overlooked. With so many found out of configuration and no Maintenance computer history; there should be an item in the Maintenance Manual or Airbus Maintenance Tip (Mt) to make sure the pins get looked at for correct installation fleet-wide. Mt-32-XXX covers the deferring of these bolts (pins) facing fwd. The deferral requires that you defer it to next Main Landing Gear (MLG) overhaul. The Mt-32-XXX needs to be clear on when that limit is. The Engineering Directive limits; at the bottom of the page; do not help. We on the Line need a better way to find when the overhaul is due by days or cycles.
NASA callback
Reporter stated he believes that probably half of their A319/320 Fleet have the Main Landing Gear Side Stay Cuff bolt heads facing forward when they should be facing aft. The bolts secure the Cuff to the MLG Side Stay Center Joint Links. The lower end of the Down lock springs also attach to the inboard side of the Side Stay Center Joint Link and that is one of the areas to be inspected per the Airworthiness Directive (AD) Reporter stated the Airbus Maintenance Tip allows for deferring the incorrect facing bolt heads to the next MLG overhaul. But the repetitive Inspection requirements of every 500 flight hours in AD 2005-10-04 may be missed; if the next overhaul of the MLG is further away. The problem for Line Mechanics is; they are deferring the bolts under an Airbus Maintenance Tip letter; but Mechanics do not have access to information about the flight hours remaining; or when the MLG overhaul is scheduled.Reporter stated that most of their Airbus aircraft Nose and Main Landing Gears are sent to an outside landing gear repair facility.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.