Agusta 109 blade inspections

[nigelh]

The FAA in their wisdom made it mandatory recently to have daily inspection of the main blades by an AME :ugh: Nobody seems to have mentioned this so I guess they either are ignoring it or didn't know !!!! Anyway I hear now that they have been talked into changing it to every 10 hours . Why ?? I don't know as there was already a 25hr inspection in place and I am not aware of any incidents since then.

[Cyclic Hotline]

Not being familiar with the A109, is this in reference to AD 2015-22-15?

The inspection sounds like a pretty reasonable idea, based on this instance below. I am assuming your 109 is "N" registered as far as applicability?

On October 23, 2015, we issued Emergency AD 2015-22-51 to correct an unsafe condition for Agusta Model A109A and A109AII helicopters with certain part-numbered blades installed.
Emergency AD 2015-22-51 requires inspecting each blade for a crack before further flight and then once each day, checking each blade for a crack before each flight, and replacing any cracked blade.
The manufacturer's maintenance program specifies inspecting each blade every 25 hours time-inservice (TIS). The actions in Emergency AD 2015-22-51 were prompted by abnormal vibrations leading to a precautionary landing and a post-flight inspection finding of a crack in a blade. The crack extended from the trailing edge to the rear face of the spar at the joint between the spar and the body of the blade. This condition, if not detected, could result in failure of a blade and subsequent loss of control of a helicopter.

This AD also has provision for compliance by the following means;

Before each flight, checking the top and bottom surface of each blade for a crack in the area between the station at the end of the doublers and the station at the beginning of the abrasion strip. This check may be performed by the owner/operator (pilot) holding at least a private pilot certificate and must be entered into the aircraft records showing compliance with this AD in accordance with 14 CFR 43.9 (a)(1) through (a)(4) and 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v). The record must be maintained as required by 14 CFR 91.417, 121.380, or 135.439. This check is an exception to our standard maintenance regulations. If there is a crack, the blade must be
inspected using a 3X or higher power magnifying glass.

Hope this might be of assistance?

[noooby]

I heard there was an AMOC for this too. Let me dig through my emails over the weekend and see what I can find. Perhaps PM me as a reminder :)

[Dick Smith]

Am I correct in reading that this does not also cover the 109E ?

[Cyclic Hotline]

This FAA A.D. is applicable only to specific Part Number Blades installed on the A109A or A109AII. There is no reference to any other model of A109.

The inspection can be accomplished and recorded by anyone with an applicable pilots certificate. This does not require an A&P for sign-off.

[nigelh]

I agree it was a perfectly sensible AD when it was engineer inspect every 24 hours but for the last few weeks it has had to be done every 24hours again by an engineer . Just like you i found the AD which says a pilot can do it but apparently the FAA have now made it an engineer !!! For me that is impossible as there are no engineers close by !! Also look close at the AD as it covers more than just the Mk11 and C models i believe .
I hear that Heliwork have just managed to get a change to 10 hours inspection by engineer .....

[claudia]

Will not be applicable to C or power as they have completly different blades.
(more modern composite construction)

[noooby]

nigelh, FAA have approved an AMOC that Agusta Philly applied for. All N registered A109A/AII can now have the inspection carried out every 10 flying hours, rather than everyday (24 hours).

PM me with an email address if you would like a copy. AW Philly would like all A/AII owners/operators to be aware of this AMOC.

The only change that applies to the AMOC is the change from 24 calendar hours to 10 flying hours. All other requirements of the AD must be complied with as per the AD.

Cheers

[nigelh]

Thankyou . Hopefully it will go back to 25hrs as before . ANy idea why it has all changed as i havent heard of any more cracking problems ??

[240DELTA]

Copter Crash Kills 3 Aides Of Trump - NYTimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/11/nyregion/copter-crash-kills-3-aides-of-trump.html)
This article details what happened when the metal blade on Trumps A109 failed back in 1989. I believe AD 91-08-05 was issued. The cause for the blade failure at that time was a scratch to the inner metal structure caused by a metal tool during manufacture in Italy. Agusta then had all metal blades inspected via Eddy Current to determine serviceability. AD 2015-05-51 requires -7 blades to be replaced with -9 blades on s/n 7153 and subsequent. AD 2015-22-51 specifies the daily inspection which may be completed by a pilot, as of 3/23/16, and was issued after a cracked blade was found. The US AD was issued as a result of the EASA AD, indicating that the aircraft in question was in the European Union. N registered and EASA registered aircraft require compliance to their respective AD's. -7,-9 and -115 blades are all applicable. The AW Philly AMOC does not work on EASA aircraft, reference FAA Order 8110.103. Even if the AMOC is a GLOBAL AMOC as specified in the order it does not apply to EASA or other foreign registered aircraft. The controlling regulatory authority in Europe finds the issue to be of such a critical nature that it wants the blade inspected daily and then AW Philly's AMOC allows 10 hours of operation until the blade is inspected? The anxiety level going from 1 to 10 hours after inspection creates an interesting situation for the pilot of an aircraft operating under the AMOC.