Commonwealth legislation

AD/JBK 117/7 - Main Rotor Control Components

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

What this does: This Airworthiness Directive (safety rule) requires operators of Kawasaki BK 117 helicopters to take immediate action on two critical main rotor control parts—the hinged support (rocker support) and bearing bracket.

Who it affects: Anyone who operates or maintains Kawasaki BK 117 series helicopters.

What must be done:

Re-identify these parts (essentially relabel them) according to the manufacturer's Service Bulletin KSB-117-116 to distinguish them from similar parts used on other helicopter models.
Retire (permanently remove from use) these parts before they reach either 2,800 hours of flight time OR 150 hours after 25 May 1995—whichever comes later.

Why it matters: Safety checks revealed these parts wear out faster than originally thought (fatigue life issues). Without this action, the parts could fail in flight, leading to catastrophic loss of control. The re-identification ensures these parts aren't confused with longer-lasting versions used on other helicopters.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in AD/JBK 117/7 - Main Rotor Control Components.

AD/JBK 117/7 - Main Rotor Control Components

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY

SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

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Kawasaki BK 117 Series Helicopters

AD/JBK 117/7 Main Rotor Control Components 6/95

Applicability: All Kawasaki BK 117 series helicopters.

Requirement: 1. Re-identify the hinged support (rocker support) and bearing bracket, as specified in Kawasaki Service Bulletin (SB) KSB-117-116.

Retire the hinged support (rocker support) and bearing bracket from service. Compliance: 1. Re-identify, in accordance with Requirement 1, before 25 June 1995.
Retire, in accordance with Requirement 2, before 2800 hours time in service, or before 150 hours time in service after 25 May 1995, whichever occurs later.

Background: A re-evaluation of the fatigue life of BK 117 series helicopters has shown the need for adjusting the fatigue retirement life of two parts. In order to differentiate these parts from identically part numbered components used on the Bo105 series helicopter it is necessary to re-identify them.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 AD/JBK 117/7 - Main Rotor Control Components

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (Civil Aviation Regulations 1998), PART 39 - 105 CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY

SCHEDULE OF AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

Kawasaki BK 117 Series Helicopters

AD/JBK 117/7 Main Rotor Control Components 6/95

Applicability: All Kawasaki BK 117 series helicopters.

Requirement: 1. Re-identify the hinged support (rocker support) and bearing bracket, as specified in Kawasaki Service Bulletin (SB) KSB-117-116.

Retire the hinged support (rocker support) and bearing bracket from service. Compliance: 1. Re-identify, in accordance with Requirement 1, before 25 June 1995.
Retire, in accordance with Requirement 2, before 2800 hours time in service, or before 150 hours time in service after 25 May 1995, whichever occurs later.