These aircraft can live tough lives. Wouldn't surprise me to see more with similar cracks. The report talks about hard landings recorded in the logbook. I bet a lot of hard landings don't get reported.
Reminds me of the Piper Arrow(now gone due to fatal crash in bad weather) at a local flight school where a pilot went to do a walkaround and found a bump on top of the wing. A previous pilot had landed so hard that it(or the structure it was attached to) was pushed upward causing damage. Of course, all the previous pilots denied any hard landing. Bottom line...there have been a lot more hard landings than what is recorded in the logbooks.
Embry Riddle - April 4,2018
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Oldguystrtn2fly
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Re: Embry Riddle - April 4,2018
Does it seem reaosnable to place the AD agaisnt Pa-28 235's when only Arrows have had a issue?
Re: Embry Riddle - April 4,2018
I opine that as the design for the wing connection to the fuselage, and means of construction are the same, or very similar, as is the vintage of the airplane, it's hard to make a determination that it would not be appropriate to require an inspection.Does it seem reaosnable to place the AD agaisnt Pa-28 235's when only Arrows have had a issue?
It would not be practical to xray instead of disassemble to inspect the wing spar ends. The wing spar ends are bolted into some robust structure in the fuselage, and both that structure, and the bolts themselves could hide a crack in the spar. I have done the wing pull for the 1987 AD of this area in the structure, unless you get it all apart, you cannot be assured that you saw everything.
These airplanes have flown for decades longer than the manufacturer intended. That's not to say that they are no longer worthy of operation, but the manufacturers and authorities are now recognizing that additional inspections are appropriate. This is not a Piper only concern, Cessna's are subject to some pretty important wing attachment inspections too. I am aware of four high wing Cessnas which have concerning wing attachment defects due to age/condition/environment found during inspections this summer. In my opinion, three of these four planes will require structural repair to be safe.
In light of the recent experience with wing attachment defects being found in GA airplanes, I hardly expect the regulators to back off inspection expectations.
Re: Embry Riddle - April 4,2018
While this is true, it must be remembered that the accident plane was only about 10 years old, so this fact is not really relevant in this situation. Moreso, it would seem that perhaps if the 50 year old PA28's don't have an issue with this, then they might be OK? (Full disclosure: I own a 48 year old PA28 and not looking forward to an expensive AD).
