Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Gordon Gilbert

Airbus is developing a crash-resistant fuel system modification for certain models of its helicopters, and the <a href="http://ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/ASR-16-02.pdf">NTSB is recommending</a> that the FAA and EASA require its installation. The manufacturer is developing the retrofit kit for AS350B2s, B3s and B3es and EC130B4s already in operation. The Safety Board issued the recommendation because it is concerned that the FAA’s and EASA’s approval for retrofit “would not be prioritized since it is outside the scope of airworthiness.”

 


The NTSB also wants the FAA to issue a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) informing all owners and operators of AS350B3es and similarly designed variants of the availability of a crash-resistant fuel system retrofit kit and urging that it be installed as soon as practicable.

 


The recommendations stem from two accidents last year involving helicopters operated by Air Methods in which the Safety Board concluded that while impact forces were survivable for the occupants, fatalities and serious injuries occurred because of post-crash fires that resulted from an impact-related breach in the fuel tanks.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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