The FAA recently received three separate Service Difficulty Reports (SDRs) from a U.S. repair station regarding cracked main rotor tension links on the Leonardo AW139. There are five tension links on the AW139, one for each main rotor blade. The inboard end of each tension link is attached to the main rotor hub while the outboard end is attached to the main rotor blade. Additional data from the repair station showed the cracks occurring to tension links on 15 different AW139s over the past six years, an increased volume of tension links found cracked in the most recent 13 months, and most of the cracked tension links found on AW139s with less than 900 hours in-service, with some as low as 103 hours.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the State of Design (SoD) for the Leonardo AW139 and has the primary regulatory oversight responsibility for the Continued Operational Safety (COS) of the rotorcraft. EASA previously investigated cracks to the tension link and determined they were not an unsafe condition. The FAA is interested in receiving information from the aviation community on cracks to the main rotor tension link of the Leonardo AW139. The information will be reviewed by the FAA and shared with EASA. The intent is to assess if there has been a change in how cracks are occurring in the AW139’s main rotor tension links since EASA’s previous investigation.
Point of Contact Jacob.Fitch@faa.gov
