Owners of nearly 19,000 Piper PA-28s can now perform their own required AD inspections on fuel tank selector placards, the FAA announced this week. The new ADsupersedes an earlier directive issued last January that required inspection of the fuel tank selector cover by a qualified mechanic to verify the left and right tank selector placards are properly located.
According to the FAA, the ADs arose from a report it received from Piper that a “quality control issue” had resulted in the installation of fuel tank selector covers with the placement of the left and right fuel tank selector placards reversed in some PA-28 models. The concern is that the mislabeled placards could cause fuel management errors and result in fuel starvation during flight.
The new AD came about in response to comments from AOPA and others. The organization noted that they “are unaware of any accidents or incidents that have occurred as a result of improper placards.” Also, according to AOPA, allowing pilots to perform the inspection themselves could save up to $763,000 in labor costs. Once complete, the pilot-performed inspection and compliance with the AD must be documented in the airplane’s records. If a problem with the placards is discovered, a temporary corrected placard must be installed immediately with a permanent replacement installed within the next 100 hours service time.
