Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH (DAI) Model DA 42, DA 42 NG, and DA 42 M-NG airplanes. This AD was prompted by occurrences of uncommanded rudder deflection caused by a cracked nose landing gear (NLG) hydraulic actuator rod end, which could lead to failure of the NLG actuator and interference with the rudder control system, forcing the rudder into left-hand deflection. This AD requires revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) for your airplane to provide the flight crew with revised operating limitations, repetitively inspecting certain NLG hydraulic actuator rod ends for cracks, deformation, corrosion, damage, and free movement of the spherical bearing, and depending on the results of any inspection, replacing the affected NLG hydraulic actuator rod end with a serviceable part. This AD also prohibits the installation of an affected NLG hydraulic actuator rod end unless certain conditions are met. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 39 [Docket No. FAA-2026-7216; Project Identifier MCAI-2026-00693-A; Amendment 39-23409; AD 2026-14-08] RIN 2120-AA64 AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule; request for comments. SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH (DAI) Model DA 42, DA 42 NG, and DA 42 M-NG airplanes. This AD was prompted by occurrences of uncommanded rudder deflection caused by a cracked nose landing gear (NLG) hydraulic actuator rod end, which could lead to failure of the NLG actuator and interference with the rudder control system, forcing the rudder into left-hand deflection. This AD requires revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) for your airplane to provide the flight crew with revised operating limitations, repetitively inspecting certain NLG hydraulic actuator rod ends for cracks, deformation, corrosion, damage, and free movement of the spherical bearing, and depending on the results of any inspection, replacing the affected NLG hydraulic actuator rod end with a serviceable part. This AD also prohibits the installation of an affected NLG hydraulic actuator rod end unless certain conditions are met. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. DATES: This AD is effective July 20, 2026. The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication …
Citation: 91 FR 44740
