AW retools tail boom for retrofit on 139
In the wake of a tail-boom failure on a Gulf Airways AW139 in August last year, AgustaWestland (Booth No.

In the wake of a tail-boom failure on a Gulf Airways AW139 in August last year, AgustaWestland (Booth No. 1629) is assuring customers with helicopters on order that it will deliver them with a newly designed boom starting in April. The tail boom on the Gulf AW139 failed several months after the tail boom had struck an oil rig and while the helicopter was taxiing on the ground in Doha, Qatar. There were no injuries. That boom exhibited signs of debonding, as have numerous other AW139 tail booms, according to several operators.

Some of the debonding is severe enough to require replacement of the entire tail boom. Since the incident in Qatar, both the EASA and FAA have issued emergency Airworthiness Directives mandating more frequent inspections of the booms for debonding and proscribing curative measures.