FAA To Supersede Robinson Helicopter Rotor Blade AD

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-12-10 for Robinson Helicopter R22, R22 Alpha, R22 Beta, R22 Mariner, R44 and R44 II models with certain main rotor blades (blade) installed. AD 2011-12-10 required inspecting each blade at the skin-to-spar line for debonding, corrosion, a separation, a gap or a dent and replacing any damaged blade with an airworthy blade. The new AD also requires a terminating action for those inspection requirements. These actions are intended to detect debonding of the blade skin, which could result in blade failure and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter, and to correct the unsafe condition by replacing the main rotor blades with new blades that do not require the AD inspection.