AS332 MRH Spindle yoke rupture failure
Yes, some of us have seen this all before!
Initial Telex info from EC:
TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER T.F.S. No. 00000335 dated October 17, 2006 EUROCOPTER – MARIGNANE – TLX 42506F Page 1 of 2 TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO - EUROCOPTER
T E L E X I N F O R M A T I O N
AIRCRAFT: AS 332 Civil Version(s): C, C1, L, L1
Military Version(s): B, B1, M, M1, F1
AIRCRAFT: AS 532 Military Version(s): AC, AL, SC, UC, UE, UL
ATA : 62
SUBJECT: MAIN ROTOR HEAD SPINDLE
Failure of a Yoke
Dear Customer,
EUROCOPTER informs you that an Operator has discovered a crack in a spindle yoke, which led to the failure of the section. The failure is located on the leading edge, in the lower section of the spindle yoke (see Figure 1).
The event occurred in hover flight before performing an offshore flight. The crew heard a muffled noise combined with high-amplitude vibrations. The pilot decided to land immediately, and landed with no further damage.
The spindle concerned, P/N 332A31-1485-06, is in the post MOD 0743100 definition status and had logged 3032 operating hours at the time of the incident.
Initial investigations carried out on site have not shown any anomaly able to explain the failure. The spindle will soon undergo laboratory examinations in order to confirm the initial investigations which have evidenced a fatigue type crack affecting a significant part of the failure. The failure shows a large number of macrographic marks which are indicative of rotor stops.
EUROCOPTER will keep you informed of the conclusions of the investigations and analyses into the cause of this event.
TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER T.F.S. No. 00000335 dated October 17, 2006 EUROCOPTER – MARIGNANE – TLX 42506F Page 2 of 2 TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO – EUROCOPTER – TELEX INFO - EUROCOPTER
Subsequently Alert SB 05.00.67 Released with inspection requirements for the spindle yoke.
Unfortunately, I could not import the images of the crack (fig 1) onto PPRUNE.
"rotor stops"....now there is a good username!!!