## BOLLETTINO TECNICO N° 

# 109E P-141

The technical content of this document is approved

under the authority of DOA nr EASA.21J.005. DATE February 27, 20 15

REV. A

Compliance with

this Bollettino is:

Page 1 of 5 SUB JECT: TAIL ROTOR PITCH CONTROL LINK ASSY P/N 109-0130- 05 -117.

REASON: Perform an inspection of the subject link assy for excessive friction of the

spherical bearing.

HELICOPTERS AFFECTED:

PART I^ and PART II ^: All Agusta A109E helicopters that insta ll the tail rotor pitch control link assy P/N 109-0130- 05

- 117 which have accumulated less than 100 (one hundred) FH since their overhaul and all tail rotor pitch control link assy

P/N 109-0130- 05 -117 which have accumulated less than 100 (one hundred) FH since their overhaul (e.g. spherical bearing replacement) and present in stock.

NOTE

If it is not possible to determine if or when the link has been overhauled, the link is affected by this Bollettino Tecnico.

COMPLIANCE:

PART I^: Before the next flight.

PART II^: Within and not later than 5 (five) flight hours from the date of issuance of

this Bollettino Tecnico.B.T. 109EP

- 141 Rev. A

Page 2 of 5 NOTE

Tail Rotor Pitch Control links in stock shall perform point 3 of PART II^ before

their installation

.

DESCRIPTION:

A case of in

- flight se izure of the tail rotor pitch control link assy P/N

109

- 0130

- 05

- 117 has been reported on an A119MkII helicopter.

The incident did not cause harm to the occupants nor damage to the helicopter.

The most probable cause of the seizure has been identified in an excessive friction o f one of the spherical bearings of the link ; that spherical bearing was replaced on the link during the overhaul performed few flight hours before by a Maintenance Organization

. The possibility that other overhauled links install sph erical bearings with excessive friction cannot be excluded; the speed at which the link fails in such conditions is so to require an action on the in

- service fleet to grant

the continued airworthiness. This Bollettino is issued in order to provide the nece ssary instructions to perform an inspection of the overhauled links P/N 109

- 0130

- 05

- 117,

which have accumulated less than 100FH since their overhaul, as

follows : PART I^ : Check the spherical bearings of the links installed on the

helicopter for presence of corrosion and freedom of

movement

. PART II^: Check the torsion value force of the spherical bearing s of

the links and perform a visual inspection for cracks of the

stem by means of a magnifying glass . Perform, i f dictated, an inspection of the stem for cr acks with the liquid penetrant method.

REQUIRED MANPOWER:

The following estimated manpower hours are required for compliance

with this Bollettino:

PART I^: Negligible.

PART II^: 1,5 (one and half) hours for each link assy.

WARRANTY:

Should the inspectio n deem that the tail rotor pitch control lever is to be replaced in accordance to the present Bollettino Tecnico, Customer will be eligible to receive replacement part on a “free of charge basis”, with the exception of Consumable Materials.

Issue relevant (M)aintenance (M)alfunction (I)nformation (R)eport to your Warranty Administration Dpt., which shall provide the (R)eturn (M)aterial (A)uthorization to return removed part to AgustaWestland, as AW
property.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

PART I^:

N. A.B.T. 109EP

- 141 Rev. A

Page 3 of 5 PART II^:

Th e following consumable materials are necessary for the compliance:

SPECIFICATION DENOMINATION Q.TY

TT

- N

- 95 type 2 Aliphatic naphtha A.R. (cod. 531055030)

In case the required inspection gives negative results, the following material are necessary for th e compliance:

P/N DENOMINATION Q.TY

109

- 0130

- 05

- 117 TR Pitch Control Link Assy A.R.

SPECIAL TOOLS:

Description Part Number Dynamometer Local Supply 10x Magnifying Glass Local Supply

WEIGHT AND BALANCE CHANGES:

N. A.

REFERENCES:

A109 E Maintenance Manual

.

PUBLICATIONS AFFECTED:

N. A.

COMPLIANCE INSTRUCTIONS:

(See figure 1).

PART I^:

1. With the links installed on the helicopter, inspect around attaching points of pitch links for evidence of corrosion in accordance with the procedures given in the A109 E Maintenance

Manual

. In case corrosion is found, replace the link with a

serviceable one with the same P/N

.

2. With the links installed on the helicopter, manually verify the links

rotation. The links rotation on the spherical bearing s have to be possible

.

3. I n case, during the manual verification

, a rotation resistance and/or binding has occurred, immediately perform the PART II^

of this Bollettino.

4. Record compliance with PART I^ of this Bollettino in the helicopter log book.B.T. 109EP

- 141 Rev. A

Page 4 of 5 PART II^:

1. Prepare the helicopter on ground for a safe maintenance, disconnect any power source.

2. Remove the links from the helicopters in accordance with the procedures given in the A109 E Maintenance Manual

.

3. Secure the larger spherical bearing of the link in a bench vice equipped with p rotective false jaws

.

3.1. At the other end apply a dynamometer on the spherical bearing and perform the check of the torsion value force for the spherical bearing rotation as shown in figure 1.

3.2. In the same manner perform the check of the necessary torsion

va lue force for the smaller link spherical bearing rotation as shown in figure 1.

3.3. Check that the force torsion value is lower than 7.30 N f or both the spherical bearings. In case a force torsion value above the

limit is detected, even if in only one of the spherical bearings, it is necessary to replace the link with a serviceable one with the

same P/N. Proceed with point 7.

3.4. In case both force torsion value s are inside the limits at point

3 .3., proceed with point 4

.

4. Carefully clean the link stem using alip hatic naphtha or equivalent with a soft non metallic bristle brush, exercising care to protect the two spherical bearings.

5. Perform a visual inspection of the stem for cracks using a 10x magnifying glass (see figure 1 for the affected area ).

CAUTION

In ca se of doubt for presence of cracks, it is necessary to perform a l iquid penetrant inspection of the affected area as reported in Annex 1

.

6. If no cracks are found, r einstall the links on the helicopter in accordance with the procedures given in the A109 E M aintenance

Manual

. Otherwise, replace the link with a serviceable one with

the same P/N.

7. Return the helicopter in a ready to flight condition.

8. Record compliance with PART II^ of this Bollettino in the helicopter log book.B.T. 109EP

- 141 Rev. A

Page 5 of 5 

### Indica tive picture

. The force value must be verified on both

spherical bearings

.



## LINK ASSY P/N 109

- 0130

- 05

- 117



# FIGURE 1 End secured in a bench vice equipped with protective false jaws

Force to be applied:

7.30 N Area in which the visual inspe ction must be performed on

all 4 faces using a 10x magnifying glass.1 of 3 

# ANNEX 1

Liquid penetrant inspection:

CAUTION This inspection must be performed by personnel qualified at least at level II in the liquid penetrant method

, in conformity

with the international standards

EN4179 or NAS410

. In case the above mentioned personnel is not available by the Customer, set aside the link and send it to Agusta Westland S.p.A. or to a Laboratory certified to perform liquid penetrant inspections.

Required Material

All following materials shall comply with SAE

- AMS2644 requirements and shall be listed in the relevant QPL :

 Liquid penetrant of Type 1, Method C and level 2 of sensitivity

,

 Class 2 solvent

,

 Developer form “d”

.

 Aluminum adhesive tape;

 Paint stripper I.A.W . TT

- R

- 2918 spec., Type I ;

 Some clean, dry cloth;

 A clean and dry hair pencil

.

NDT Process

For lighting conditions and other penetrant process requirements, the inspection shall comply with the requirements of ASTM E

1417.

Compliance Instructions

1. Protect the two spherical bearings using Aluminum adhesive
tape.

2. In the area suspected of cracks presence, carefully and totally remove the paint and the primer, for an area sufficient2 of 3 to reveal the point to be inspected. For this purpose use the paint stripper

.

3. The paint stripper must be left to act for sufficient time. The chemical action shall be made easier by scrubbing with a soft

bristle brush.

CAUTION

The use of any other mechanical tool, like scrapers or scotch

- brite

or others are forbidden.

4. The surface to be inspected must be carefully clean ed and completely free from any residual of paint and/or paint stripper or contaminants. Remove any residual of

contaminants u sing a clean soft brush and cloth or towel paper and class 2 solvent

.

NOTE

Th i s operation shall be performed very carefully; any

contaminant left on the surface can prevent the penetrant to

detect cracks.

5. After the solvent is completely evaporated perform the penetrant inspection as follows:

NOTE The link, the penetrant and the

ambient shall be in a temperature range between 15

and 45 °C.

5.1. Apply the penetrant with a clean and dry hair pencil on the area to be inspected and leave it for not less than 30 minutes of penetration dwell time.

5.2. Remove the excess of penetrant fi rstly with a clean and dry cloth and then with a cloth dampened with class 2 solvent.

NOTE

The cloth must not be soaked with solvent and especially avoid to apply the solvent directly on

the link.

5.3. Darken the part up to 20 lux maximum and then light it with the black light. (1,200 μ W/cm 2 )3 of 3 5.4. Repeat the removal of the penetrant excess with a clean cloth dampened with class 2 solvent until all background fluorescence has been completely removed.

5.5. After the solvent is completely evaporated, apply a thin and uniform layer of the developer. Before the application, vigorously shake the developer can for at least 1 minute.

CAUTION In case of any developer sagging, the part shall be carefully cleaned an d the whole process repeated.

5.6. After 10 minutes of developer dwell time, examine carefully

the area.

CAUTION

Before starting the examination,

the operator must ad apt his sight

to darkness for at least 1 minute and during examination he cannot wear sunglasses or photo

chromatic lenses.

5.7. Carefully verify in the suspected area in order to confirm the crack presence.

5.8. At the end of the inspection, carefully clean the part from any residual of the products used with a clean cloth soaked

with class 2 solvent and with soft brush.

6. Restore the primer and the finish paint in accordance with the procedures given in the applicable Maintenance Manual

.

7. Remove the Aluminum adhesive tape from the two spherical bearings.Note:

Remarks:

Informazioni:

Information:

Al fine di gestire le varianti alla configur azione base, in relazione all’emissione de l Bollettino Tecnico, preghiamo di voler compilare il presente modulo in tutte le sue parti e sped irlo all’indirizzo sopra indicato. Si ring razia per la gentile collaborazione data.

We request your cooperation in filling this form, in order to keep out statistical data relevant to aircraft configuration up- to-date. The form should be filled in all its parts and sent to the above address. We thank you beforehand for the information given. **MODULO APPLICAZIONE BOLLETTINO TECNICO**

TECHNICAL BULLETIN COMPLIANCE FORM Data:

Date:

Numero:

Number:

Revisione:

Revision: Prego spedire a questo indirizzo: Please send to the following address:



### AGUSTA **WESTLAND S.p.A.** 

CUSTOMER SUPPORT & SERVICES - ITALY

PRODUCT SUPPORT ENGINEERING DPT.

Via del Gregge, 100

2101 5 Lonate Pozzolo (VA) - I T ALY

T el

. : +39 0331 664905

Fa x : +39 0331 66468 4

Telefono:
Telephone:

Fax:

Data Applicazione B.T.: B.T. Compliance Date: Denominazione Cliente ed Indirizzo:

Customer Name and Address:

Modello Elicottero

Helicopter Model S/N Matricola

Tail Number Ore Totali

Total Hours Ore D.U.R.

T.S.O.