EASA AD No : 2008-0133 

EASA Form 110 Page 1/2 

 

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2008-0133 

Date: 17 July 2008 

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued by EASA, acting in accordance with 

Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the European Community, its Member States 

and of the European third countries that participate in the activities of EASA under Article 

66 of that Regulation. 

This AD is issued in accordance with EC 1702/2003, Part 21A.3B. In accordance with EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.301, the 

continuing airworthiness of an aircraft shall be ensured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may 

operate an aircraft to which an Airworthiness Directive applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that Airworthiness 

Directive unless otherwise specified by the Agency [EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the 

State of Registry [EC 216/2008, Article 14(4) exemption]. 

Type Approval Holder’s Name : 

TURBOMÉCA

Type/Model designation(s) : 

ARRIUS 1A turbo-shaft engine 

TCDS Number : France No. M16 

Foreign AD : Not applicable 

Supersedure : None 

ATA 73 Engine Fuel & Control - Balancing Piston Life Limit - Reduction 

Manufacturer(s): Turboméca 

Applicability: ARRIUS 1A turbo-shaft engines, all serial numbers. 

These engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, 

Eurocopter AS355N helicopters. 

Reason: Cycle life limit value for ARRIUS 1A balancing piston Part Number 

(P/N) 0 319 20 152 0, initially set at 40 000 cycles, has been reduced to 

16 000 cycles, following the discovery of a calculation error during a 

recent review of the ARRIUS 1 engine family files. 

As of the publication date of this Airworthiness Directive, no ARRIUS 1A 

engines in service are fitted with a balancing piston that has logged more 

than 16 000 cycles, and the outlook for the consumption of cycles on the 

ARRIUS 1A fleet indicates that no balancing pistons will exceed this new 

limit for a few years’ time. 

Moreover, this new cycle life limit value for the balancing piston has been 

incorporated end of 2007 in ARRIUS 1A Maintenance documentation. 

Failure to comply with the new life limits provided in the Airworthiness 

Limitations Section of ARRIUS 1A Maintenance documentation could 

potentially result in an engine in-flight-shutdown and the release of high 

energy debris. 
EASA AD No : 2008-0133 

EASA Form 110 Page 2/2 

 

Effective Date: 31 July 2008 

Required action(s) 

and Compliance 

Time(s): 

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously: 

Before 31 December 2008, modify the cycle life limit value of the 

balancing piston in the engine log book in accordance with the instructions 

of Turboméca Mandatory Service Bulletin N° 319 72 0811 and update 

accordingly the approved operator’s maintenance programme. 

Ref. Publications: Turboméca Service Bulletin N° 319 72 0811 original issue 

The use of later approved revisions of this document is acceptable for 

compliance with the requirements of this AD. 

Remarks : 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA can approve 

Alternative Methods of Compliance for this AD. 

2. This AD was posted on 09 July 2008 as PAD 08-067 for consultation 

until 11 June 2008. No comments were received during the 

consultation period. 

3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Airworthiness 

Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, Certification 

Directorate, EASA. E-mail ADs@easa.europa.eu. 

4. For any question concerning the technical content of the requirements 

in this AD, please contact: 

Turboméca, S.A., ARRIUS Customer Support, 40220 TARNOS, 

FRANCE. Fax: +33 5 59 74 45 15, or contact your nearest technical 

representative at www.turbomeca-support.com