WOOD DALE, Ill., April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AAR CORP.(NYSE: AIR) today responded to a South Florida FAA FSDO notice(UPN No. 2008-S20080110024, dated March 25, 2008) regarding enamel paintapplied to the inside surfaces of Boeing 707, 747, 757 and 767 main landinggear (MLG) truck beams.
Painting the internal bore of landing gear beams has been an industrystandard practice for years. The paint is applied as an additional layer ofprotection against the environment, thereby inhibiting corrosion from forming.While, the requirement to paint the internal bore, previously contained in theBoeing manual has been dropped as a requirement, painting of the internal borecontinued to be a standard industry practice.
In July 2001, a major U.S. carrier was specifically given approval fromthe FAA to apply enamel paint to the inner surface of MLG truck beams and theycontinue to do so. Additionally, Boeing has advised AAR and the FAA thatpainting as an alternate finish application, as noted in the UPN, should beconsidered equivalent to the maintenance manual requirement provided the otheroverhaul instructions are followed. Boeing also advised that the alternatefinish scheme is not considered to be a time limited repair and overhaulintervals should continue as scheduled.
The FAA referenced an airworthiness directive in the UPN, which it appearsis not applicable to the application of paint to the inside surfaces of MLGtruck beams. Rather, the airworthiness directive applies to operators of757-200s and -300s with respect to periodic in-service landing gearinspections designed to ensure that the aft drain hole of the main landinggear truck beam is clear. The enamel paint applied to the inner surface of thetruck beam, is not the subject of the airworthiness directive and the paintdoes not extend to the area where the drain hole is located. When performingMLG overhauls pursuant to the maintenance manual, AAR complies with theairworthiness directive and related alert service bulletins on behalf of theoperator and ensures that the drain hole, which is the subject of thereferenced airworthiness directive, is open.
The FAA notice does not require taking any corrective action nor does itchange the time a landing gear with painted interior surfaces can remain inservice nor does it require the removal of any landing gear from service.
This press release contains certain statements relating to future results,which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the PrivateSecurities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statementsare based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions andestimates based on information currently available to the Company, and aresubject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results todiffer materially from historical results or those anticipated, includingthose factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled 'Risk Factors', included inthe Company's May 31, 2007 Form 10-K. Should one or more of these risks oruncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions orestimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from thosedescribed. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible topredict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control. The Companyassumes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that maybe made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstancesafter the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipatedor unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments includedin AAR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE AAR CORP.
