EAA on Bell 47 Grip AD
A new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Bell 47 helicopter blade grips is a positive first step toward an ultimate solution to keep these vintage rotorcraft operating, according to EAA.
The FAA released the new NPRM on March 29, to update provisions put in place by an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) last August. Those provisions essentially grounded all Bell 47 operations, as those helicopter owners could not meet the stringent inspection rules for rotor blade grips they required ("Bells Losing Their Grips?" 09-06-00, ANN).
The new NPRM addresses some of those concerns, specifically expansion of the inspection intervals; development of an Airworthiness Concerns Process Guide for the Bell 47; and creation of a new database on the helicopters' blade grips to assist in future rulemaking.
"Overall, the NPRM is a vast improvement over the previous Bell 47 blade grip ADs," said Earl Lawrence, EAA Vice President of Government and Industry Relations. "We're all moving in the right direction, but there are still some key issues that have not been addressed." During the NPRM public comment period, which ends May 29, EAA plans to submit that the NPRM does not address the serious shortage of replacement parts available for the Bell 47, as well as the lack of process to obtain reasons for blade-grip failure.
EAA, which itself flies a Bell 47, had called for less stringent inspection intervals and more realistic times for retirement of the rotor blade grips than called for in the original FAA AD. EAA cited rules established in Australia and Canada, where Bell 47 accidents served as the basis of the AD research. Aviation authorities in both of those nations, using the same data as American officials, concluded longer blade-grip inspection and retirement intervals were suitable.
EAA's involvement in the Bell 47 issue led to a summit meeting at Fort Worth, Texas, in January to discuss the issue. The meeting, held at FAA's Rotorcraft Directorate, included representatives from EAA, Helicopter Association International (HAI) and Bell Helicopter Textron. At that time, EAA continued to emphasize that the AD regarding Bell 47 rotor blade grips, released on Aug. 31, 2000, was produced without proper public research and review, with subsequent research refuting many of the factors cited to produce the AD. EAA became interested in the issue because the Bell 47 qualifies as both a vintage and warbird aircraft. Since entering the active fleet in 1949, Bell 47 helicopters have served both general aviation and the military extremely well.
More than 1,000 of these models continue to operate in the U.S., where there never has been an accident or incident attributed to blade grip failure. Issuance of the AD in August effectively grounded the Bell 47 fleet, causing increased economic hardship for those operators. The problem is compounded since replacement parts are not available, with no plans to begin manufacturing them to meet heightened demand.
Bell 47 operators may submit their comments to the FAA Rotorcraft Directorate via e-mail at
[email protected] until May 29, 2001. After reviewing all comments, FAA will issue its final rulings. "We strongly urge Bell 47 owners and operators to become involved and submit their comments to FAA promptly," Lawrence said. "Their involvement is a key element in how the final rule will look."
FMI:
www.eaa.org
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Marc