The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will amend an Airworthiness Directive that requires all control cables over 15 years old to be replaced regardless of condition by 1 January 2018.
CASA issued AD/GENERAL/87 in early 2015, which mandated the retirement program and drew much criticism from the general aviation industry because it meant many perfectly good control cables needed to be removed and discarded.
CASA today advised that the AD will be amended to include a cable inspection regime, but stressed that cables may still need to be replaced if defects are found.
"This will provide relief from the cost and time needed to replace all affected flight control assemblies," the CASA announcement said.
"CASA has now agreed that inspections–if performed in a particular and thorough manner–can satisfactorily address the risks of cracking and failure of control cable assemblies.
"The repeating inspection regime will require detailed inspection for evidence of corrosion and fraying, which if found, will require cable replacement."
The revised inspection AD is yet to be completed and according to CASA they will consult with the aviation industry before making the final ruling.
CASA made the announcement today to give owners and operators the chance to decide if they still need to go ahead with replacing cables.