Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Airplanes

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We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2012-22- 12, for all Airbus Model A330-243, -243F, -341, -342, and -343 airplanes. AD 2012-22-12 currently requires inspecting piccolo tubes, piccolo tube mount links, the aft side of the forward bulkhead, and outer boundary angles (OBAs) for cracks, fractures, and broken links, and doing corrective actions if necessary. Since we issued AD 2012-22- 12, we have received reports of loose and missing attachment rivets of the inner boundary angles (IBA) and OBA of the forward bulkhead. This proposed AD would retain certain requirements of AD 2012-22-12, and add repetitive inspections for pulled, loose, and missing attachment rivets of the IBA and OBA of the forward bulkhead, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct degraded structural integrity of the engine nose cowl, which in the case of forward bulkhead damage in conjunction with a broken piccolo tube, could lead to damage to the engine and operation in icing conditions with reduced thermal anti-ice (TAI) performance.