AD/BELL 205/44 - Cyclic Control Cylinder Assembly - Inspection of Piston Rods - CANCELLED

What this does This instrument cancels a previous airworthiness directive that required repetitive safety inspections on specific helicopter components.

Who it affects Owners, operators, and maintenance organisations responsible for Bell Helicopter Textron 205 series helicopters.

The practical change This removes the mandatory requirement to inspect the cyclic control cylinder assembly piston rods every 10 flight hours. Previously, operators had to perform these inspections repeatedly (following Alert SB205-79-7 Part I) until the helicopter was modified according to Part II of that service bulletin.

Why it matters The cancellation reduces maintenance costs and downtime for operators. It indicates that the safety issue originally requiring frequent inspection—likely wear or failure modes in the piston rods—has been adequately addressed through design modifications, fleet changes, or revised risk assessments, making the repetitive inspection unnecessary.