Rotorcraft
FAA Sets Special Certification Conditions for Bell 525
Current regs inadequate for fly-by-wire helicopters

The FAA published notice May 27 that it is seeking special conditions for certification of Bell’s 525 super-medium twin to address “a novel or unusual design feature associated with fly-by-wire flight control system (FBW FCS) functions that affect structural integrity of the rotorcraft.” The agency noted that “the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature” and that the “proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.”


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