Emergency AD issued for Bell 212

Latest issuance requires inspection of all rotor hub inboard strap fittings before flight

The FAA has issued several revisions over the last couple of weeks regarding Bell 212 rotor hub inboard strap fittings. Initial Emergency ADs (EAD) required inspection of specific part number and manufacturer strap fittings. After continuing to find additional cracks, the FAA now requires additional inspections.

The following is a breif of the Emergency AD 2010-25-51. For a download of the AD, click Here

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AD Requirements
This EAD supersedes AD 2010-24-52 and requires the following:

Before further flight, for any helicopter with a fitting, S/N 9956 through 10005, with a prefix of “A”; and S/N 52, 54, 55, 57 through 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 103, 112, 113, 137, and 139, with a prefix of “SH”, replace the fitting with an airworthy fitting. Any fitting with a S/N identified in this paragraph of this EAD is no longer eligible for installation on any helicopter.

Before further flight, for any helicopter with a fitting, S/N 9911 through 9955, 10006 through 10049, 10075 through 10174, 10455 through 10460, 10581 through 10655, 10742 through 10791, and 10863 through 10946, with a prefix of “A”, perform a magnetic particle inspection (MPI) of each fitting for a crack. If the fitting is cracked, replace it with an airworthy fitting. If the fitting is not cracked, reidentify the fitting in accordance with the specified portion of ASB 212-10-142. Also, within 24 hours after finding any fitting with a crack doing any magnetic particle inspection, report the information requested in Appendix 1 of this AD to the Manager, Rotorcraft Certification Office.
Differences Between This EAD and the Service Information.

This EAD differs from the ASBs in that we do not require returning parts to Bell. Also, this EAD differs from ASB 212-10-142 in that we:

•  Require performing an MPI before further flight. However, we do allow the operator to request a special flight permit to perform the MPI.

• Do not require an entry stating that the ASB has been carried out and no defects were found.

• Require sending information to the Rotorcraft Certification Office and not to Bell.