Preventing escape slide malfunction August 2016

Airbus Customer Services

Engineering & Maintenance

Maintenance Briefing
Note

Preventing escape slides

malfunction

This Maintenance Briefing Note shall raise

awareness to operators to pay attention of how
the escape slides are delivered by their third
party overhaul / repair agencies.
Preventing escape slide malfunction August 2016

Preventing escape slides malfunction

• What happened
In-correct electrical harness installation in the escape slide pack assembly can prevent the correct
inflation and/or deployment of the escape slides.
The electrical harness routing is different between left hand and right hand side of the installation
in the aircraft.
The AMM provides awareness and instructions for the correct electrical harness installation as
shown in the example below for the A320 Family aircraft.

WARNING: MAKE SURE THAT THE ELECTRIC HARNESS IS CORRECTLY

INSTALLED ON THE PACK-ASSEMBLY. IF THE ELECTRICAL HARNESS IS
NOT CORRECTLY INSTALLED, IT CAN PREVENT THE CORRECT INFLATION
AND/OR DEPLOYMENT OF THE ESCAPE- SLIDE/SLIDE RAFT.

Lh door Rh door

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Preventing escape slide malfunction August 2016

Preventing escape slides malfunction

• Why did it happen
Airbus has received reports from an operator that the escape slides delivered from the operators
overhaul / repair centres were in a pre-configured configuration for installation on aircraft.
That means with the electrical harness either corresponding to the left hand or right side of the
aircraft.
This configuration increases the potential of an in-correct installation in the aircraft if the slide pack
assembly has not been verified before installation.
• Lesson learned
The folding procedure from the supplier requires that the electrical harness shall not be routed
through the left or right hand side.
Refer to the extract of the supplier folding procedure below:

The routing of the electrical harness in accordance with the Installation side of the aircraft
should be done at slide pack installation with respect to the AMM.
Airbus operators should instruct their slide overhaul / repair agencies to strictly concur with
the slide supplier folding procedures.

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Preventing escape slide malfunction August 2016

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We appreciate receiving feedback to this issue of the Maintenance Briefing Notes.

Uwe Eggerling
Senior Director Safety
Engineering & Maintenance
Customer Services

Uwe.eggerling@airbus.com

This Maintenance Briefing Note (MBN) is part of a set of Briefing Notes that provide an overview of the applicable standards, techniques,
best practices, human factors, suggested company prevention strategies and personal lines-of-defense related to major threats and hazards
that may affect maintenance.

This MBN is intended to enhance the reader's safety awareness but it shall not supersede the applicable regulations and the Airbus or
airline's maintenance documentation; should any deviation appear between this MBN and the Airbus or airline’s maintenance
documentation, the latter shall prevail at all times.

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Airbus Customer Services

Maintenance Engineering Services
1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte - 31707 BLAGNAC CEDEX FRANCE

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