The EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) issued an Airworthiness Directive for ATR turboprop aircraft on January 10, which determined the reduction of inspection time for two pieces of equipment, the Pressure Regulator and Shut-Off Valve (PRSOV).
According to the authority, the check intervals will occur between 650 and 1050 flight hours, depending on the variant.
The reason for the change involves the dormant failure condition, which, associated with icing conditions, “could result in loss of control of the aircraft.”
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The new directive will come into force from January 24 and includes three groups of aircraft.
The first group includes all ATR 42-200, ATR 42-300 and ATR 42-320 models in operation and whose inspection interval is now 650 hours.
The second group includes the ATR 42-400, ATR 42-500 and ATR 72 variants that have not undergone a modification made by the manufacturer. In this case, the inspection interval will be 700 hours.
The same aircraft in group two that received the update will have longer inspection intervals of 1,050 hours.
ATR 72-500 crashed in Brazil in August due to icing problems
The Airworthiness Directive does not mention this, but the proposed change may be a reaction to the accident involving an ATR 72-500 on August 9, 2024 in Brazil.
The aircraft registered PS-VPB was on a flight between the cities of Cascavel and Sao Paulo when it lost control during the landing approach. The ATR 72 entered a spin and crashed into a residential area, killing all 62 occupants.
The weather conditions at the time were icy where the plane was flying. A preliminary report by Cenipa, Brazil’s aviation accident investigation authority, revealed that the ATR 72’s de-icing equipment failed during the flight.
The final report on the causes of the accident has not yet been released.
