EASA AD No.

: 2024-0250

Airworthiness Directive
AD No.: 2024-0250
Issued: 20 December 2024
Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued by EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation
(EU) 2018/1139 on behalf of the European Union, its Member States and of the European third
countries that participate in the activities of EASA under Article 129 of that Regulation.

This AD is issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) 748/2012, Part 21.A.3B. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 Annex I Part M.A.301, or
Annex Vb Part ML.A.301, as applicable, the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft shall be ensured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently,
no person may operate an aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that AD, unless otherwise specified by the
Agency [Regulation (EU) 1321/2014 Annex I Part M.A.303, or Annex Vb Part ML.A.303, as applicable] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry
[Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, Article 71 exemption].

Design Approval Holder’s Name: Type/Model designation(s):

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS SA 330 and AS 332 helicopters

Effective Date: 03 January 2025

TCDS Number(s): EASA.R.002
Foreign AD: Not applicable
Supersedure: None

ATA 64 – Tail Rotor – Rotor Head Bearing Stack of the Spindle-Sleeve Assembly –
Life Limit

Manufacturer(s):
Airbus Helicopters (AH), formerly Eurocopter, Eurocopter France, Aerospatiale, Sud Aviation

Applicability:
SA 330 J, AS 332 C, AS 332 C1, AS 332 L, AS 332 L1 helicopters, all manufacturer serial numbers.

Definitions:
For the purpose of this AD, the following definitions apply:

The ASB: AH Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) AS332-05-00-0002 or ASB SA330-05-00-0001, as applicable.

Affected part: Bearing stack as identified by ‘Manufacturer reference’ and ‘Airbus Helicopters
reference’ in the Applicability section of the ASB.

Groups: Group 1 helicopters are those that have an affected part installed. Group 2 helicopters are
those that do not have an affected part installed.

TE.CAP.00110-012 © European Union Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. ISO9001 Certified. Page 1 of 3
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
An agency of the European Union
 EASA AD No.: 2024-0250

Reason:
Occurrences were reported of fatigue cracks found on arms of the tail rotor (TR) pitch change spider
of a helicopter. Further investigation indicated that the cracks resulted from a load increase
originating from degraded bearing stacks.

This condition, if not corrected, could lead to structural failure of the TR assembly, possibly resulting
in reduced, or loss of, control of the helicopter.

To address this potential unsafe condition, AH issued the ASB to provide instructions for
replacement of affected parts, introducing a life limit shorter than the one foreseen in the published
instructions for continued airworthiness, to ensure that the affected parts are removed from service
before their damage develops. The ASB also instructs to return the removed parts to AH, in order to
support further investigation on the bearing degradation.

For the reason described above, this AD introduces a life limit for the affected parts.

Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s):

Required as indicated by this AD, unless the action(s) required by this AD have been already
accomplished:

Replacement:
(1) For Group 1 helicopters: Within the compliance time as provided in Table 1 of this AD, as
applicable, replace the affected part in accordance with the instructions of the ASB.

Table 1 - Affected Part Replacement

Compliance Time: A or B, whichever occurs later
Before the affected part exceeds 1 000 flight hours (FH) since new (first installation on a
A
helicopter)
B Within 100 FH or 6 months, whichever occurs first after the effective date of this AD

Part(s) Installation:
(2) For Group 1 and Group 2 helicopters: From the effective date of this AD, it is allowed to install
an affected part on a helicopter provided that it accumulated less than 1 000 FH since first
installation on a helicopter and, thereafter, it is replaced before exceeding 1 000 FH since first
installation on a helicopter.

Ref. Publications:
AH ASB AS332-05-00-0002 dated 19 December 2024.

AH ASB SA330-05-00-0001 dated 19 December 2024.

The use of later approved revisions of the above-mentioned documents is acceptable for
compliance with the requirements of this AD.

TE.CAP.00110-012 © European Union Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. ISO9001 Certified. Page 2 of 3
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
An agency of the European Union
 EASA AD No.: 2024-0250

Remarks:
1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA can approve Alternative Methods of
Compliance for this AD.

2. Based on the required actions and the compliance time, EASA have decided to issue a Final AD
with Request for Comments, postponing the public consultation process until after publication.
All interested persons may send their comments, referencing the AD Number, to the E-mail
address specified in below Remark 3, prior to 17 January 2025. Only if any comment is received
during the consultation period, a Comment Response Document will be published in the EASA
Safety Publications Tool, in a compressed (‘zipped’) file, attached to the record for this AD.

3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the EASA Safety Information Section,
Certification Directorate. E-mail: ADs@easa.europa.eu.

4. Information about any failures, malfunctions, defects or other occurrences, which may be
similar to the unsafe condition addressed by this AD, and which may occur, or have occurred on
a product, part or appliance not affected by this AD, can be reported to the EU aviation safety
reporting system. This may include reporting on the same or similar components, other than
those covered by the design to which this AD applies, if the same unsafe condition can exist or
may develop on an aircraft with those components installed. Such components may be
installed under an FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA), Supplemental Type Certificate
(STC) or other modification.

5. For any question concerning the technical content of the requirements in this AD, please
contact: Airbus Helicopters (Technical Support), Aéroport de Marseille Provence 13725
Marignane Cedex, France,
Telephone +33 (0)4 42 85 97 97, Fax +33 (0)4 42 85 99 66,
Web portal: https://keycopter.airbushelicopters.com > Technical Requests Management,
E-mail: TechnicalSupport.Helicopters@airbus.com.

TE.CAP.00110-012 © European Union Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. ISO9001 Certified. Page 3 of 3
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
An agency of the European Union