Teardown Evaluation of a 1975 Piper Navajo Chieftain Model PA31-350 Airplane

摘要

To determine if potential continuing airworthiness problems exist for the small airplane fleet as a function of the aging process, the Federal Aviation Administration established a research program to conduct a destructive evaluation of four aged airplanes (two Cessna 402s, a Piper Navajo Chieftain, and a Beechcraft 1900D) used in commuter service. The intent of the program is to provide insight into the condition of a typical aged airplane. This program (1) determines if a correlation exists between the airplanes maintenance history and current condition from a safety of flight perspective and (2) generalizes recommendations on inspection programs and airplane condition to the small airplane fleet, as opposed to making specific recommendations on a particular model. This document provides findings in a summary report on the teardown evaluation of a 1975 Piper Navajo Chieftain model PA31-350. The results provide information for use in future investigations into the aged small airplane fleet and determine if additional research is required to address specific problems observed (if any). The destructive evaluation of the commuter-class airplane was separated into two main tasks: (1) inspection of the airframe, airplane systems, and wiring and (2) teardown evaluation of the airframe, airplane systems, and wiring.