EASA AD 2020-0065
Main Rotor — Blades — Inspection
Summary
EASA Airworthiness Directive 2020-0065 is an airworthiness directive addressing the inspection of main rotor blades on Leonardo A109A and A109AII helicopters. It specifically targets main rotor blades with Part Number 109-0103-01-115 due to reported internal corrosion issues. The directive mandates repetitive inspections and sets requirements for blade installation to ensure continued airworthiness.
What Changed
This new airworthiness directive introduces mandatory repetitive inspections of affected main rotor blades within 50 flight hours or 3 months after the effective date, and thereafter every 24 months. It also allows replacement of affected blades with serviceable blades as an alternative compliance method and establishes criteria for installing main rotor blades on the helicopters.
Why It Matters
This directive is critical for aviation professionals because undetected internal corrosion in main rotor blades can lead to blade failure and loss of helicopter control. Operators and maintenance organizations must comply to maintain safety and regulatory compliance, preventing potential accidents and ensuring the reliability of the affected helicopters.
What To Do
Operators of Leonardo A109A and A109AII helicopters must inspect affected main rotor blades within 50 flight hours or 3 months from 2020-04-03 and repeat inspections every 24 months. If defects are found, corrective actions approved by Leonardo must be performed before further flight. Replacement of affected blades with serviceable ones is permitted, and only serviceable blades may be installed from the effective date onward.
Your fleet's weekly compliance brief
AI-summarized regulatory changes, compliance deadlines, and action items — filtered to your aircraft, every Monday.
AI-generated summary from official EASA source document. Always verify against the original.