AS 350 squirrel
 

I have an AS 350 BA helicopter which has shed a piece of metal from inside module 2 , this has gone through the whole engine effectively writing it off....the insurance wont pay and the bill is $300,000 !! Does any one know of any other similar problems with the Arriel 1b engines?? The helicopter has been flying quite happily with this "written off " engine for the last year or so.
Can FOD (damage) be caused by very dense dust / grit . Any help or info gratefuly received.
ps have tried rotorhead but no luck

I've found gas generator turbines damaged that could have flown as much as 500 hours with no compliants or noticeable power loss. The damage was caused by the air union at the 12:00 postion, the internal part of the union had broken off and gone through the turbine. I've also seen the engine wash valve sold by Aeronautical Accessories fall apart and cause damage. Arriel engines do get FOD fairly easy, but dust and grit should only give you some light compressor wear and/or FOD.

I had heard of igniters coming apart and causing similar problems in the 350s (not sure of the dash model).

I had a similar senario on a 1B were the centrifugal compressor cover had a piece missing but no damage to the rest of the engine it ran it's full TBO with no problem. FOD. is not a common problem on AS350 with Turbomeca eng's especially with sand filter installation's.