Date 8 December 2004

ULTRALIGHT AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS NOTICE

AIRWORTHINESS NOTICE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER : AN 8-12-2004

Wire braced DRIFTER Aircraft

And all Variants including Fisher MK1 & 11

To: All owners and operators of Wire braced Drifter Aircraft.

Background: A single fatality has occurred due to a failure of one inboard and one outboard leading edge
cables. The failure of these cables caused considerable damage to the wing and it's leading edge, which
caused loss of control to the aircraft.
The amateur built Maxair Drifter was approximately 15 years old and accumulated about 1500 hours.
The Drifter was located close to the sea.

Discussion: The failure of the lower bracing cables was due to severe corrosion of the cable at the point
where the cable is swaged. These cable swages were covered by a protective cover, (heat shrink), the heat
shrink acted as a dam, retaining moisture. This aircraft was hangared close to the sea, as a result, the ingress
of moisture with a high concentrate of salt caused degradation to the cables, to the point of overload failure.

Action Required:
BEFORE NEXT FLIGHT : Inspect all cables. Flying, drag anti drag and control cables.
Inspection of these cables will include the swaged area of the cables, if the cables are covered by heat shrink
remove it to facilitate the inspection.
Corrosion or evidence of a rusty or green coloured residue of any kind will be reason for an immediate
grounding of the aircraft until the cables are replaced with new cables.
Inspect cable length for kinks, fraying, wear or crushing of cable, any of these examples found will also be
reason for immediate grounding of the aircraft.

At Each Daily Inspection. Visually inspect cables for corrosion and any deformation as described above
Inspections intervals are to be in accordance with the Drifter maintenance manual.

Recommended Further Action. This is a continuing airworthiness notice .

Reports and Recording. The initial inspection is to be recorded in the aircraft log book
Citing AN 8-12-2004 and any defects found are to be reported to the RAA office

Jeff Shepherd
Technical Manager

Defect Reporting is one of the primary ways we have in ensuring continued safety
in our operations.

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