Federal Aviation Administration May 6, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from service history of incidents and accidents involving transport category turbojet airplanes without leading edge high lift devices. This service history shows that even small amounts of frost, ice, snow, or slush on the wing leading edges or forward upper wing surfaces can cause an adverse change in the stall speeds and stall characteristics, and can negate the protection provided by a stall protection system. While there have been no accidents or incidents related to wing contamination associated with the BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Model BAe 146 and Model Avro 146- RJ airplanes, these airplanes are also transport category turbojet airplanes without leading edge high lift devices, and therefore may be similarly sensitive to small amounts of wing contamination. This AD requires revising the airplane flight manual to include a new cold weather operations limitation. We are issuing this AD to prevent possible loss of control on takeoff resulting from even small amounts of frost, ice, snow, or slush on the wing leading edges or forward upper wing surfaces. We are issuing this AD to require actions to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the specified Bell Helicopter Textron (Bell) model helicopters. This action requires certain checks and inspections of each tail rotor blade assembly (T/R blade) at specified intervals and repairing or replacing, as applicable, any unairworthy T/R blade. This amendment is prompted by three failures of a T/R blade occurring during flight and a recent incident of a cracked T/R blade discovered during a scheduled visual inspection. The actions specified in this AD are intended to detect damage to a T/R blade that could lead to cracking of a T/R blade and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.